[GardenShed]

Do Strawberries need moving to a different bed after three years?  I know productivity falls after the third year and so I can replace them with new plants, but do I need to switch beds?

In building a new bed I have turned over the earth, added new compost and manure, but also added some of the compost / fine soil from another bed to bulk it out, however, the bed it came from had potatoes in it last year.  Will it be ok to grow potatoes in the new bed - I added about 10 spades worth of compost from the old bed.

Lastly, do onions need manure or lime? Still trying to work out the best 5 year rotation and was thinking:

Potatoes - manure and compost
Legumes - Lime and compost
Brassicas - Lime and compost
Onions - compost
Roots - compost

[Goosegirl]

Strawbs are supposed to be moved to a different bed but only after about 6-7 years - not sure if it is written in stone though. Not sure about the pot soil - could be ok - see what others think. For onions, I wouldn't add lime unless your soil is quite acidic, nor manure, but compost will be fine. Legumes shouldn't require lime either unless your soil needs it as said before.

[surbie100]

My understanding is that strawbs should be shifted to a new bed when they are replaced after 3ish years to stop the build up of disease and viruses.

But also that you shouldn't move them to a bed that has recently had potatoes in.

[gavinjconway]

Strawbs are normally replaced after 3rd or 4th year as they go off their best production.  Potatoes and strawbs a re of the sort of same family when you look at the viruses but a few shovel fulls wont make any difference.