Strawberries !!

~~Diane~~

At the moment I have 12 plants and just put a couple of runners into pots to see if I can manage to get them to grow.

I was wondering what is a good amount of plants for a family of 3, we love fresh strawberries but I was also wanting to make jam. I realise that this probably won't be till next year now.

Also I was reading somewhere on the forum that strawberries don't need deep soil, if I were to put them in troughs or pots how deep sould they be?

Any advice greatfully received.

katholicos

~~Diane~~ wrote: »

At the moment I have 12 plants and just put a couple of runners into pots to see if I can manage to get them to grow.

I was wondering what is a good amount of plants for a family of 3, we love fresh strawberries but I was also wanting to make jam. I realise that this probably won't be till next year now.

Also I was reading somewhere on the forum that strawberries don't need deep soil, if I were to put them in troughs or pots how deep sould they be?

Any advice greatfully received.

I bought 12 strawb roots from an online offer earlier this year think it was Fothergills. When they arrived they looked dead, but i planted them in green troughs and sure enough they started to grow I've had my first pickings of them yesterday and today i have just gone out and got another bowlful off them. I think that 12 plants is not nearly enough for jam and for snacking/dessert. So what i am doing, each runner that comes off them i am planting in a small pot of compost. Next year I think i will remove the strawb plants form the toughs and dedicate a whole raised bed to them, though really i could just plant the new runner plants in more troughs as they seem to do so well. I figure that if i can double the amount of plants, i should have enough for us to eat fresh, and also be able to make jams also

macma

We're fortunate to have an allotment and have three rows of strawberries.My husband reckons he's picked his own body weight this year so I'm taking out a row.
Now they've finished fruiting we'll cut off all the foliage ,it looks drastic but keeps the plants clean and encourages fresh growth.Last year we had another "flush "of berries as a second crop.
When taking runners I fill little pots with compost and peg the runner -still attached to the parent plant-down.I only cut it away when it's rooted.

~~Diane~~

We've had a good few deserts with our strawberries but not nearly has much as we'd like.

Thanks for info, i've loads of runners so i'll do some more runner potting tomorrow.

frazzbo

Hi everyone - what are runners, please?

macma

frazzbo runners are the "baby "plants which are sent out on long stems from the main plant,they resemble the parent plant and are the easiest way to propogate strawberries .

gazza975526570

I dont think you can ever have enough - i think ive got about 50 plants and it still doesnt seem enough!

cootambear

macma wrote: »

frazzbo runners are the "baby "plants which are sent out on long stems from the main plant,they resemble the parent plant and are the easiest way to propogate strawberries .

Aargh I promised not to post for a week, but it is a strawberry thread. Runners `run` along the ground , shoots `shoot upwards`. Runners form a little plant at the end which seeks to root. If youre happy where it is, cut it from its parent. I do this before first autumn frosts.
If you are not happy, cut it free, replant and water thouroughly, I do this in August. It varies a lot on variety, but the average no of runners per plants is about 3. Its unlikely to produce fruit the next year, but will come good the year after.

cootambear

~~Diane~~ wrote: »

At the moment I have 12 plants and just put a couple of runners into pots to see if I can manage to get them to grow.

I was wondering what is a good amount of plants for a family of 3, we love fresh strawberries but I was also wanting to make jam. I realise that this probably won't be till next year now.

Also I was reading somewhere on the forum that strawberries don't need deep soil, if I were to put them in troughs or pots how deep sould they be?

Any advice greatfully received.

The delight with strawbs is they will grow well in all soil except water logged. I even grow some in guttering. However in shallow soil you may have to water frequently to stop them drying out.

smithyjules

macma wrote: »

Now they've finished fruiting we'll cut off all the foliage ,it looks drastic but keeps the plants clean and encourages fresh growth..

Just spotted this and thought I'd ask if this is what everyone does? I'm new to this really. I brought 3 strawberry plants last year and now have 10 altogether from potting the runners. We have also just been lucky enough to get our first allotment so I'm planning on moving the strawbs over there soon.

Any suggestions on when it is best to move them?they are currently in pots. and how much space should i put between them?should i then just leave them to get on with it over the winter like i did when they were in pots?

thank you!!

wayne1983

Dont remind me!, weve run out of cream before strawberries:rotfl:
Mind its the way i like it, and to think ive planted raspberries and blackberries, so going to get our moneysworth out of them:j