[10dahlia]

i've read in a mag that in the first year of growing strawberries,the flowers on them should be nipped off to stop fruiting.it comments that if the plant fruits ,it saps the strength of the plant for future fruiting.would anyone agree with this please?

[Babstreefern]

Don't bother.  Just pick your fruit when it comes through.  When late Summer, early Autumn appears, you can get cuttings, plant them, and the following year, you have twice as many to pick.

[HugglescoteGrower]

your right that most plants come with such instructions. I have never bothered and I get good crops.

[Frog]

We took advantage of the offer in Aldi, and have put 12 strawbs in down on the lottie. Something has already had a nibble at the leaves  Any ideas what would do this? There is no sign of slug/snail trails. Would rabbits eat them? I guess I would need to net them?

[fletch]

I've never bothered picking off flowers the first year and I always get a good crop. Even runners I take off in Autumn and plant out the following always crop too.

[sclarke624]

Ditto I have not got the will power to take of the flowers, because all I see is potential strawberries YUM! Its the rebel in me LOL

[Trikidiki]

Funny, I was stood on the allotment today looking at the strawberries trying to decide whether or not to take the flowers off. Decided against it.

A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.

[SarahB]

We took advantage of the offer in Aldi, and have put 12 strawbs in down on the lottie. Something has already had a nibble at the leaves  Any ideas what would do this? There is no sign of slug/snail trails. Would rabbits eat them? I guess I would need to net them?

Rabbits have never gone for mine, and we've had a lot of rabbits in the garden. Biggest pest of strawberries in the UK is vine weevil.  Do the leaves look "notched" - angular chunks missing from the leaf edge?  Picture for identification.  The only good control I've found is nematodes.