Strawberries - aftercare

[allthecees]

Last year I bought a load of Strawberry plants. I took the flowers off of them as advised by the 'experts' so I would have a bumper fruit crop the following year. I overwintered them in an unheated greenhouse and they all died! With hindsight I suppose I should have watered them throughout the winter but I thought they would go into a dormant stage and come back the following year.

As a glutton for punishment I have just bought another load of strawberry plants. Can anybody out there advise on how to look after them when they have finished fruiting? Needless to say I will not be picking off the flowers this year.

[Wombat]

G'Day Althecees,

I don't know if this is applicable to the UK as it is here but here goes.....

The strawberries are subject to an aphid borne virus which reduces the crop drastically the second and subsequent years. They attack the fruit.

The way to get around it is to keep some plants back, and allow them to put out runners but not fruit. These can then be grwon on for the next years crop, while destroying the plants from this year. You just foloow the same process next year.

Hope this helps

Nev

[Millymollymandy]

I don't know of any virus in Europe, Nev.

The 'normal' way here is to grow them in situ for up to 3 years, as the first year is not a very good crop. In the meantime make new plants from the runners and plant them out. If you do this every year you will have 1 year old plants, and 2 and 3 year olds giving the (hopefully) bumper crops. Then you dig up and get rid of the old ones.

And crop rotate of course!

I'm just eating my first strawberry harvest from last year's runners! Yum

[Wombat]

Fair enough M3 - some info travels well..........................some don't!