Wild Strawberry Mara des Bois plants (everbearing) - Fragaria vesca

Excellent achievement from French nurseryman Marionnet, the Organic 'Mara des Bois' Strawberry is a productive, highly perpetual variety, producing highly fragrant fruits that evoke the subtle aroma of wild strawberries. Enjoy it fresh or on a tart to fully appreciate its exceptional flavour. Easy to grow, this multiple award-winning variety has become a timeless classic with unmatched success. Best planted in autumn or spring for a continuous harvest from June to the first frost.

Certified plants from Organic Agriculture.

Strawberries can be consumed in various ways: eaten fresh, with sugar, cream, or sliced and dried to be incorporated into muesli or yoghurts. If you have a plentiful harvest, consider making jams, sauces, pies, ice creams, or sorbets. You can also freeze strawberries.

There are 3 categories of varieties:

- woodland or perpetual varieties, producing small fruits from June to October

- non-perpetual large fruit varieties, flowering once a year in spring, producing very large fruits around June

- perpetual large fruit varieties, flowering twice a year or continuously, producing large fruits from June to October

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

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 produces small white flowers with a golden centre that transform into large red fruits. Botanically speaking, strawberries are considered pseudocarps, with the achenes (seeds) appearing on the surface of the epidermis.

For harvesting, pick the fruits as they ripen, every 2 or 3 days ideally in the morning. Strawberries are delicate, so pick them with their calyx by pinching the stem 1 to 2 cm (0 to 1in) above it. The texture of the fruit is a good indicator of ripeness. It should be firm and yielding to the touch. Strawberries are rich in vitamins and minerals. They can cause urticating reactions in some individuals as they stimulate the release of histamine in the body.