Help with strawberries

[mummymonkey]

Good morning

I have taken over an allotment and the previous tenant left a load of strawberries, I was thinking about keeping these. Do i have to dig them up and move them? Or just tidy them up and get them ready for this year?

Many thanks

[rustylady]

If you're happy with where they are then leave them. Just take off any dead foliage and weed the bed/row. By the way, welcome to the Vine. Whereabouts are you?

[singleseeder]

I'd just tidy them up and see what you get this year.

You can take runners ready to plant out for next year, so beginning the next generation of plants. I believe that strawberry plants become less productive after 4 years. The old boys on my previous site would 'walk' the row of strawberries for three years (creating a new row with the runners each year) and then pot up runners to replace the oldest row, so beginning again. IYSWIM

Edited to say , 'hello and welcome'. I am rubbish at noticing the fine details in posts sorry.

[briggsy2011]

hi there,

Not taking over the post but I have strawberry question of my own. I have read somewhere that for a bigger crop we have to remove the blossom?

thanks Lou

[singleseeder]

I have seen it suggested that you take off the flowers in the first year to allow the plant to grow stronger.

The flowers, once polinated, become the fruit though, so you wouldn't get fruit in that first year.

Large plants probably don't need this.

[mummymonkey]

Thanks for the info, I will pop to the allotment tomorrow and tidy them up as im happy where they are, do i need to put straw around them?

Rustylady - im in Rugby :-)

[singleseeder]

No need for straw at this stage in the game. If you are going to use straw, it should be added as the fruit forms to keep them off the ground and clean. If added now, it would give a home to slugs.

[rustylady]

As singleseeder says, no need for straw till the fruits form. It's not essential, but does help to keep the fruit clean. Mummymonkey, if you edit your profile and add your location it will show up on your posts (top right hand side - I'm in Lowestoft). Then it saves us having to keep asking where you are.

[daylily]

I would be more than tempted to relocate the lot. You are supposed to be replanting strawberries every 3 years or so. So I would plant up somewhere else the young shoots only. Now, these might not bring much or any fruit this year, leaving some old plants in place might help with this, if they are still productive.