The home-grown, sun-ripened strawberry is one of the great pleasures of life and they can be planted between November and May in a sunny position in well-drained soil that holds some moisture.

Those on heavier soil can mound up a bed to improve drainage – add some grit if you wish. Incorporating organic matter (well-rotted manure, or an underground layer of friable garden compost) will improve soil structure and help retain moisture in dryer periods – whatever your soil.

Plants can be spaced 15 to 18 inches apart (up to 45 cm) and the weeds must be kept at bay by regular hoeing. Choose a sheltered position because strawberry flowers blacken in frost. If a night frost is forecast, cover any flowering plants with thick fleece otherwise you will lose some of your crop. As soon as the plants begin to bud up, water on a high potash food – the same one that’s applied to tomatoes will do. Although there are even higher potash strawberry feeds available.

After cropping, all the old leaves are removed and your plants may need watering in dry summers because next year’s fruit buds will form by August.

When winter ends, any faded leaves will need to be removed and an application of slow-release fertiliser (like blood, fish and bone) can be applied.

It sounds so easy. But it’s open warfare between you, the slugs and the birds. The birds are easier to deal with because netting keeps them off. Use sturdy wooden stakes and hammer them in so that they are about 18 inches or two feet above the ground.

Cover each stake with a small pot and use a fairly fine net (as in the picture) with canes woven along the bottom edges.

The height of the net makes it impossible for blackbirds to peck through the net. The woven-through canes keep the net firmly on the ground and stop tunnelling birds lifting up the net. This system is effective and decorative.

Slugs can be deterred by regular hoeing and the application of water-on nematodes (nemaslug) in the third week of April and again in mid May. Always apply on damp afternoons or evenings to allow the nematodes to penetrate the soil. Straw can be used to support the fruit and keep it clean, or mats can be bought.

Last year’s cool summer gave us 45 pounds of fruit off 35 plants – quite a crop. Our best varieties are ‘Hapil’ (from Ken Muir – 01255 830181) and ‘Sonata’ (from Thompson & Morgan – 0844 248 5383). Both produce orange-red fruits that are very sweet.

‘Marshmello’ (from Marshalls – 01480 443390) was singled out by Raymond Blanc for its flavour so I shall be growing some this year. You can order and plant throughout the year. But in summer ‘frozen’ plants are dispatched. This sounds terrifying but these cold-stored plants get away well.

There are also perpetual-flowering strawberries (like ‘Mara des Bois’) but the fruits have an alpine strawberry flavour. So this one is for puritans rather than hedonists like me.