[missmoneypenny]

My crop this year was very unimpressive. They are Cambridge favourites, mostly created from runners off my old 5-6 year old plants. So it was the 1st year after I created the new bed.
Is there anything I can do to ensure next year’s crop is better?
Should I be putting horse manure between the plants? Or anything else? Thanks for any advice.

[rowlandwells]

we to grow Cambridge had an exceptional crop this year many good size fruits tasted good when picked put many in the freezer

moved the bed about three  of years ago and planted with fresh plants from runners of  the old bed  we are going to re-site the bed this year how we do it is we cultivate the ground and cover it with well rotted horse manure then cover with a breathable poly sheet we then cut holes in the sheet and plant


then apart from making a frame round the bed with raised post's to hold the anti bird netting that's all then just pick the crop when its ready don't use any other fertilizer had no probs

[DHM]

Never do well in their 1st year, next year will be fine!

[Goosegirl]

If your new bed was one you used for the previous crop they don't do as well as being in a different bed. If it was a different site, then first year plants should have their initial flowers removed to bulk the plant up for the following year. If you need runners from these plants, take just the first ones off from the plant and cut off the rest of the runners so as not to stress the parent plant.

[snowdrops]

Also don’t plant where you’ve recently had potatoes or near to potatoes.

[andreadon]

Also don’t plant where you’ve recently had potatoes or near to potatoes.

Eek!
that's exactly where the strawberry bed in my new plot is!
when I dug it over, it was full of volunteer potatoes.
What's the biggest problem, and should I move my strawbs now and put sometthing else there?

(I didn't plant the strawberries, they were already there. I just dug it over to get rid of the weeds and left the strawbs)

[snowdrops]

Strawberries are susceptible to the viruses potatoes can have. I wouldn’t worry for now, just keep an eye on them next year, if they seem to be healthy, take runners off them & start a new bed elsewhere. The thing with a new plot you aren’t going to know what was there the last couple of years anyway

[missmoneypenny]

Thanks for all these lovely recommendations everyone. It’s good to hear they don’t usually do that well in their first year. They are not on the same site as the parent plants, I moved them along the plot. They are close but not right next to 2018s spuds ( cabbage patch in between). I’ll cover the plot In horse manure as soon as the council drops some off. It might even suppress some weeds!