Mara de Bois: 13 weeks later

First Mara de Bois strawberries

Actually 13 weeks and a day since the bare root plants were tucked into potting soil. These two could've stayed on the plant another day or so, but I didn't want to wait any further for our first taste test. Result? Very good! They taste a little bit like the tiny alpine strawberries that grow wild here, only sweeter and juicier. The size is small to medium, and the shapes range from heart-like to oblong or roundish. I'll try my best to wait for the others to fully ripen and see if there's much of a difference in the level of sweetness. I always figured these would be great for morning breakfast, but after tasting them in the late afternoon after a full day of sun, the warmth and sweet strawberry flavor made Mara de Bois, literally, melt-in-your-mouth delicious.

Several days ago


Strawberry plants all along the railing (super easy pickings!)

Mara de Bois strawberry chronicles

I have to confess, in previous years I buy one or two strawberry plants from the nursery, set them in the ground, and pretty much let them fend for themselves. There is no fussing over them, no diligent watering routine, and maybe only a sprinkle of guano if it happens to cross my mind. But after reading so much about the popularity of Mara de Bois strawberries, I figured it was high time I got serious about growing this luscious fruit. First plan of action, get ourselves to Ingegnoli (in Milan) where they had bare root Mara de Bois (an everbearing type) among the varieties on offer. I picked up 25 (19,50€) and a box of fertilizer designated for berries.

On the way home it occurred to me that those fancy french Maras might appreciate a potting soil specifically made for their kind, so we bought 6 (20 liter) bags at the next nursery on the drive back. The following day I spent all morning planting them in window boxes, along with a handful of Framberry runners that I saved from last year. I'm dreaming of berries all summer long but better to not get ahead of myself. I'll track their progress and update in future posts.