Renewing Strawberries

[Sue]

I know you're supposed to finish with strawberries after three years and replant a new bed but I've nowhere else for them to go
What to do?

Time is up this autumn for half of my strawberry bed. Is it fatal to grow on new runners, dig up the old plants and replant with new?

It's a big bed - runs down one side of my allotment, just don't have that much spare ground not being used.

Sue

[Paul Wagland]

If you have to use the same ground for the next three years, I would aim to grow the new runners in pots until spring rather than planting in the ground straight away. That way you can turn over the soil a couple of times through the winter to let the cold get right in deep and kill and pests. Not foolproof, but it would be a start....

[SarzWix]

Could you grow them on in grow-bags for a year? They could sit on pallets or something on top of the current bed and you could have the bed covered in manure or compost. Feed and rest at the same time?