Strawberry Magnum Marionnet 97 - Fragaria ananassa

The 'Magnum' Strawberry is a non-perpetual variety, providing large, very tasty, firm and sweet red fruits. Good yields. Strawberries can be grown in pots or in the ground. Plant preferably in autumn for a harvest around the month of June.

Strawberries can be consumed in multiple ways: they can be eaten raw, with sugar, cream or can be sliced into thin strips and dried, before being incorporated into mueslis or cottage cheese. If you have a plentiful harvest, also consider making jams, coulis, tarts, ice creams or sorbets. You can also freeze strawberries.

There are 3 categories of varieties:

- wild strawberries or 4 seasons strawberries, producing small fruits from June to October

- non-perpetual varieties with large fruits, blooming only once a year in spring, producing very large fruits around the month of June

- perpetul varieties with large fruits, blooming twice a year or continuously, producing large fruits from June to October

Indeed, the wild strawberry or woodland strawberry, present in Roman times and in the medieval period, was crossed in the 18th century with a species brought back from Chile, allowing for, through successive selections, different varieties with large fruits.

The Strawberry is a hardy perennial belonging to the Rosaceae family. This variety has a stocky habit, with persistent, ovate and dentate trifoliate leaves. It offers small white flowers with a golden heart that will transform into large red fruits. Botanically speaking, strawberries are considered pseudocarps, with the achenes (seeds) appearing on the surface of the skin.

For harvesting, pick the fruits as they ripen, every 2 or 3 days, ideally in the morning. Strawberries are fragile, pick them with their calyx by pinching the stem 1 to 2 cm (1/2 to 1in) above it. The texture of the fruit is a good indicator of its ripeness. It should be firm and yield slightly to the touch. Strawberries are rich in vitamins and minerals. They can cause irritation for some people as they stimulate the release of histamines.