[heygrow]

Two questions here!

I inherited our strawberry patch 3 years ago, so don't know exactly how long they have been established, but would guess at least 5 years. Also don't know the variety. Conventional wisdom seems to say you need to renew the plants after 3 years. However they have produced every year and this year is the biggest and best crop I've had (good year for strawbs all round). I have always pushed runners into the soil to establish more and given them a feed.

Question 1 - Are you supposed to renew them because they stop fruiting or because the fruit looses it's quality? (my wife says they are a bit mushy, but not sure if she means me or the strawbs  ). I think they are taste great and sweet if left to ripen on the plant.

Question 2 - I will probably replace them this year. What variety would folk suggest for flavour and good cropping?

Thanks

[Trillium]

I personally grow and love honeye, which I believe you can get in the UK.

If the berries seem a bit mushy, it's likely due to a recent rainfall when the berries suck up all the water they get and are less nice than usual. If you can wait a few (dry) days before picking, they'll reduce back to a tastier size. This is important to know if you want to make jams - less water content makes a tastier product.

Strawberries are regularly renewed/replaced because the mother plant dies off after the 5th year, hence all the replacement runners. Her peak production is at year 3 then quickly declines after that.

Also, the soil has been used up of nutrients and needs to be refurbished so you can either work around existing plants or pull the lot, refurbish the soil (including weeding) and replace with runners or new plants. Older plants often hold diseases or pests so cleaned beds should just have young plants.

[fatcat1955]

My plan for strawberrie's is plant them and in the first year cut off all the runner's as soon as you see them.
Second year pot the runner's taking 2 or 3 from each plant.
Third year as soon as they have finished fruiting dig the up and compost them.
You would have couse planted the second year plant's in a new bed.