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i had 6 strwberry plants which produced a small crop this season, with runners now i,ve got about 15 plants how do i protect the plants over winter for ready for the next season..

By gadga on 20 October 09 in Growing

You could also pot up the runners to give them a good start, either to add to your strawberry bed in a more organised fashion than their random spread, or to plant up in another area. Any good multi-purpose compost will do. Use something like a 3" square pot. the pots will be as hardy as the plants in the ground. If there are any leaves on your plants give them a shearing off for the winter - helps to minimise disease. Feed them all with a good dollop of manure or chicken manure pellets in the spring. I put the wood ash (potash) from the log burner on them as well - it helps the fruiting.
Don't forget to move your strawberry bed every 3 years to avoid build-up of disease. You need to use fresh plants - either your own young runners or buy in certified disease-free runners.
Jules

By JulesBD on 22 October 09 | Report misuse
Strawberries are totally hardy so don't need any protection over winter - if anything the frosts will kill off any nasties that may be hanging about. All I would do is tidy away any dead leaves. If you put a cloche over them in the spring you will get an earlier crop, but the plants will survive the winter without any protection.

By fenellaj on 22 October 09 | Report misuse