Thursday 5th June 2008
Exclusive Marshmello strawberries that crop in just 60 days flew off the stand at this year’s Gardeners’ World Live, marking the 10th anniversary of the UK’s favourite amateur strawb.
Strawberry Fields, Marshalls garden at GWL was a succulent display of more than 60,000 strawberries of different varieties, including the reigning champ – the Marshmello.
Marshalls Martin Harvey said: "We wanted to recreate a traditional feel, so we grew thousands of strawberries around a run-down shed. It included a wheelbarrow and trough to complete the picture of an old-fashioned British garden."
Known as the 'travel sick' strawberry, the Marshmello almost didn't make it. When it was first trialled, the supermarkets were wowed by its super-sweet taste but soon discovered it simply wouldn't travel.
Martin Harvey explained: "If you want the Marshmello to stay on the supermarket shelves it simply won’t. Its delicious sweetness is lost. The only way to enjoy this melt-in-your-mouth fruit with an old-fashioned taste is to grow your own."
Dr David Simpson, the research leader who bred the Marshmello at East Malling Research, said: "Considering it is only sold by Marshalls, the sales of the Mashmello have been amazing. It’s the most successful amateur strawberry we have bred."
Having been kept in cold store conditions, the strawberries sold at GWL at the Birmingham NEC (June 13-17) will crop in just 60 days. Martin Harvey said: "The crowns think it's still winter so when you plant them they are raring to go. In less than two months you will have a delicious crop of fresh strawberries."
The Marshmello is hardy, meaning you can leave plants over winter. Next year they will follow the natural cycle, producing full-flavoured fruit late June.
Not only that, recent research has shown that the content of ellagic acid – a powerful anti oxidant – in the Marshmello is exceptionally high, making it a superfood as well as delicious.
