Q.How to make my strawberry sweet and add flavor?
Dear expert,
My strawberries plants are healthy (no disease), berries look good. They are not sweet enough and have absolutely no flavor (aroma). They taste not bad, but the strawberries I remember from my childhood (eastern Europe) had so much flavor that a handful of them used to fill the whole room with delicious aroma. Please suggest if there is anything I can do about this situation.
Another problem has to do with my fruit trees. The apple trees and a plum tree are about 5-6 years old. They look very healthy. I spray them to keep away the insects and to control the disease. This year they had a lot of blooms. There are no fruits. A nice tall tree has two apples on it, and the plum has one fruit. Last Fall I put some ashes from the fireplace around the roots, and I believe this is why they finally produced a lot of blooms this Spring. Please help! How do I get some fruits out of my trees?
Thank you very much.
Julia Topol
New York state. Hardiness zone 4-5.
It's a sad thing about strawberries. I think many of us have memories of strawberries that were so much more flavorful than the ones available today. Strawberries have been bred to have qualities like size, long fruiting season, resistance to disease, etc, but often the flavor is lost. The only thing I can suggest is to practice good culture, and try as many different varieties as you can, looking for one that tastes the way you want. https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/edible/fruits/strawberry/growing-strawberry-plants.htm
Re: fruit trees, 2 things come to mind. First , young trees flower and fruit sporadically or not at all. Also, spraying for insects may be interfering with the honeybees, which are the major pollinator. You might want to talk to the local Extension Service to find out what is considered minimal spraying in your area. https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/extension-search/
Here are some basic growing tips for apples and plums:
https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/edible/fruits/apples/no-fruit-on-apple-trees.htm
https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/edible/fruits/plum/plum-trees-not-fruiting.htm