strawberry runners

[Ken the Chef]

I have taken a lot of runners this year to replace my first year planting. All my strawberries are in tub, buckets, hanging baskets and an old cast iron BBQ.
Do I need to plant them out now into their final growing pot or wait until spring? All the new planting will also be in pots

[Capsid]

According to Gardener's World, the first plant on the runner are big enough to give you fruit next year and it is worth planting into its final site; for the other smaller plants it's best to pot up into small pots and let them establish with overwintering in a cold frame if possible.

[Ken the Chef]

I have only bothered with the first plant on each runner and I do like to pick fruit in the first and second year before starting again.

[Alison]

I tend to leave mine in the 3" pots that I put the runners in to root over winter and then plant them up in their final place in the spring. I too only ever take a single plant from each runner and not more than 2 per plant as I find that it weakens the plant too much otherwise and make sure I cut any others off before they develop.

[Ken the Chef]

I just kept putting pots under them untill I had no more pots then cut all the others as they appeard- that was a full yime job too

[Two_Sheds]

I have only bothered with the first plant on each runner and I do like to pick fruit in the first and second year before starting again.

... but 2nd and 3rd years are the "best" cropping years for strawbs?

[Brengirl]

This is my first visit to playschool. Don't know anyone yet so hi. I have spent many years dabbling in the garden but now that I am retired and have very little to do I have become addicted. Talking of strawberries, this year was my first crop. I only had six plants and it was very disappointing. I too have set a few runners which I will leave in the glazed shed overwinter. I am looking for the 'perfect' strawberry so have been doing test runs with shop bought and have saved seed. I now have so many little baby plants I am not sure what to do with them. Was it waste of time?

[Two_Sheds]

have been doing test runs with shop bought and have saved seed. I now have so many little baby plants I am not sure what to do with them. Was it waste of time?

Maybe.
If they were f1 varieties, your baby plants won't be the same as the parents.

What you could do, is eat lots of varieties, decide which flavour you like best, and buy plants of that variety.

[Brengirl]

Thanks for noticing me. Point taken

[ginger ninger]

I bought a cheep packet of "Alpine Strawberry seeds" from B&Q (there make) this year and they've been great, I put some in the seed parcel I was so impressed with them, Had lots off them and very tasty too. If you can get some Brengirl give them a go, with them only being small plants, they don't take lots of room up.

[Scottishnewbie]

alpine strawberries are supposed to be fab as well. small but very sweet

[faerieprincess]

I bought a cheep packet of "Alpine Strawberry seeds" from B&Q (there make) this year and they've been great, I put some in the seed parcel I was so impressed with them, Had lots off them and very tasty too. If you can get some Brengirl give them a go, with them only being small plants, they don't take lots of room up.

I planted them from seed this year and most of them have already given me the odd strawberry. Apparently the birds don't go for them as much as they do the other strawberries. They also like part shade so that makes it easier to find somewhere to plant them!

[Shadylane]

I tried growing alpine from seed with no luck whatsoever so I got some runners of ebay instead. They didn't do all that well this year either (fruit wise), in fact they did carp, hopefully next year will be better. Maybe I'll try the B&Q ones Ginger.

As for variety, I can deffo recommend mara des bois. Got those off ebay too and they're gorgeous. We inherited some unknown varieties down t'lotment and while lovely the depth of flavour of the mara's is just so much better in comparison. Trouble is they're not producing runners which is beyond annoying

[Brengirl]

I bought a cheep packet of "Alpine Strawberry seeds" from B&Q (there make) this year and they've been great, I put some in the seed parcel I was so impressed with them, Had lots off them and very tasty too. If you can get some Brengirl give them a go, with them only being small plants, they don't take lots of room up.

I only grow stuff for my ever increasing family to come and pick. This sounds a good idea thanks.

[Ken the Chef]

I was watching Alan Titmarch the other afternoon and he did a short piece on over wintering strawberris!
He very simlpy cut of all the old floiage, not too short and left the plant to regrow next year, store away with a little protection from fosts.