[starry]

this is my second year of strawberries and I have been harvesting for the last 2 weeks punnet after punnet my question is I read somewhere that after they have finished fruiting I should  cut the plants down leaving the plants to just a few inches from the ground but  I cannot remember where I read this  :blink: does anyone do this it seems a good Idea as I can then give the "patch" a good tidy but I am scared  in case it ruins the plants? 

[Ice]

I don't know the answer to your question but I do like your signature.

[sunshineband]

I think it is to get rid of all the old scruffy leaves and unwanted runners in one go. The plants then grow nice new leaves and build up again for the next season .....

at least that's what my dad said and I do some things just because he did 

[digalotty]

yes i done this last year and my strawberry's have been brilliant this year,   if you cut them down after the fruit has finished they will have time to put some clean growth back onand keep the plants strong
then in early spring give them a sprinkle of bfb

[starry]

ok thanks all I will give it a go and ICE thank you I liked it too not that I have ever pushed anyone down the stairs!! (might have felt like it on occassion )

[totalnovice]

I didn't cut any of the old leves off last year. I have had tonnes of strawberries. I might give it a go this year as it was a bit of a fuss to pull the sraw off, being careful of the runners, avoiding the leaves. If i can do it all in one go it would save a load of time.

[Diddy Gardener]

Instead of starting another thread on strawberries, I thought I would sneak my question in here 

I planted strawberry plants about 3 months ago (they were new plants) and nothing has happened. No flowers, no growth that I can see. Nothing... just sitting there like a bunch of green leaves, staring defiantly at me.

I do have chickens and chuck the poo on there from late autumn and leave to rot over the winter. Everything else seems to be doing fine... oh, except for the rhubarb - measly crop, but better than no crop last year 

[bigben]

Diddy I planted a load of plants last autumn and some are doing really well and producing fruit this year but others planted just inches away in the same soil are doing nothing. I am hoping they are sorting their root system out so they really take off next year. Are they getting enough water?

[Diddy Gardener]

Diddy I planted a load of plants last autumn and some are doing really well and producing fruit this year but others planted just inches away in the same soil are doing nothing. I am hoping they are sorting their root system out so they really take off next year. Are they getting enough water?

Well, I'm in Scotland so I would hope so. But when we have a dry spell (??) I do water them.

[monkeywobbler]

Diddy, by "new plants", do you mean this is their first year? If so, you probably won't get any strawberries (unless kept in a greenhouse). Next year they will produce fruit - you should save any runners you get in order to expand your harvest the year after. Hope this helps.

[braders1234]

Similar question from me, I took a number of plants from runners (there were taken from plants that were runners the year before) and planted in a bed, I have loads of leaves, only a few strawbs (none have lasted to go red) and hundreds of runners.  I have about 20 plants.  I have already taken of about 60 runners a couple of weeks ago and have loads more again.

I was expecting a bonaza of strawberry goodness but have not had one.

Should i expect a better harvest from these plants next year or do I dig em up.

I have watched jealously neighbours pliots with shop bough strawbs redding up nicely!

[monkeywobbler]

Braders - do you mean the plants that are two years old don't produce fruit, or the runners you took from older plants? If the former, I'm not sure why to be honest, I haven't ever had a problem with two year old plants producing fruit. My one year old plants produced a few flowers, but I've been picking them off.
If it's the latter, then they should produce fruit next year.

[braders1234]

Ok, history is this..

I took runners of well established strawbs and planted them out last spring - at the end of last season I took new runners off these plants and planted them this spring in a new bed.

So these are plants taken from runners taken from runners.

[monkeywobbler]

So the newest runners you've got should fruit next year. I think