Fruits may occasionally be affected by phyllody, and the fruit fly spotted wing drosophila (SWD) is likely to become an increasing problem. The connectors, either build a balls or joiners are used to connect the 13mm crossbars, these then connect to the legs. Have you always wanted to grow a vegetable garden but are worried that it’s too tricky or time-consuming?

Damp strawberries will quickly go mouldy, so only wash what you can eat and blot them dry on kitchen paper. Our insect net is a standard weave with the weft monofilaments crossing the warp monofilaments at right angles. We used our circular saw, but PVC pipe can also be cut using a PVC scissor-style or ratchet-style cutters or hacksaw.

The full, upright plants produce high yields of large, triangular leaves that are rich in the phytonutrient lutein.

Ideally, you should use a fixed net cage with holes large enough for pollinators to access the strawberry flowers, which cannot stretch and become entangled.

A wooden frame added to this raised bed holds the bird netting up and off the strawberry plants below.

In the warm, humid climates of zones 9 and 10 it may suffer in the summer; in zone 10 it is best to lower your expectations and just consider it a cool season annual. An easy-growing plant for the garden or container, Italian oregano hails from the Mediterranean region.Each fruit cage comes with all the necessary equipment including net, fixings and door which are easy to assemble. The horti-balls are easy connectors to fit tubing in and the knotted net was a perfect fit keeping birds away. Not surprisingly, the traditional mulch for strawberry beds is straw – simply spread a thick layer around the plants before they start fruiting. This is a great plant for the fall garden because it attracts migrating hummingbirds and butterflies. Simply fill a large container with peat-free multi-purpose compost or soil-based compost, then follow the planting instructions above.

Since our cage wasn’t terribly big, we just used 4 connectors at the top with no PVC or connectors around the bottom. Plant one at the edge of a gate so that when the gate opens and closes the lemony scent fill the air. Dried basil just doesn’t have the aromatic quality of the fresh leaves, which are often added at the last minute to many Asian dishes. It is also slower to set seed than ordinary dill varieties, which means that you can harvest foliage longer. I’ve had them for 2 years, and while they have their cons, they are a great solution for growing strawberries in a small area.

To prevent birds stripping the fruit, build a framework of bamboo canes covered in netting or chicken wire over the plants as soon as the berries start to ripen. This easy-to-grow, hardy herb produces pretty clusters of white flowers with purple dots in the summer, adding beauty to your garden. Look in particular for varieties with an RHS Award of Garden Merit (AGM), which shows they performed well in trials – see our list of AGM fruit and veg. Starting from the bottom of one side, unroll netting and drape it up and over the PVC frame down to the ground on the other side.