Strawberries under cover?

[Snadger]

I've just planted a new bed of strawberries which I have taken from a couch grass iinfested bed!
After planting up a good sized bed and heaping straw around plants as a mulch and to keep the wind off them, I still have loads of plantlets left.

Winter will see my greenhouses pretty much devoid of plantlife so I have thought about potting the plantlets up into 6" pots and overwintering them in the greenhouse! Is this a good idea and will I get an early crop, or do they need to be exposed to the elements to fruit well!

[pigletwillie]

Keep them outside Snadger till early in the new year and then bring them in, they need a bit of cold to fruit well. you should get some fruit by the middle to end of May. if you bring a few in at a time you will get some succession with the fruit as well.

[valmarg]

We grow all our strawberries in pots (no allotment and not a big enough garden).

As Piglet says they do need to be outside for Winter, but if you put the pots in your greenhouse about the end of March, you will get an early crop. We do this every year, and are usually picking fruit mid to late May. Can recommend it!!

valmarg

[JennieAtkinson]

Snadger, I have a grow bag in the polytunnel full of strawberry runners but I drag it outside about now and leave it out until late Jan, then bring it in to the tunnel, and I always get some early strawberries in May.

[Glasshousevirgin]

I have read that its necessary to get a bit of cold on them to fruit well. You need the heat once they start setting fruit to ripen it I suppose.