Strawberries - starting from scratch please help!

[Bubbles26]

Hello guys,

My OH and I have just been given an allotment  Just waiting for them to send the confirmation through so we can get started clearing, marking out etc

Firstly, just wanted to say that over the last few days I have spent hours reading all the different posts, making notes and trying to take in all the info - this forum has been such a learning life line for me - so thanks! 

I want to grow strawberries but really have no idea where to start and all the advice on here and on line has so many 'terms' (I'll let you know what terms) that I don't understand making me feel really daunted by them and I was wondering if someone could advise me on the basics.

I have allocated a 2m by 2m bed for them which I plan to have as a raised bed for drainage purposes is this enough? And given the space how many plants should be in that space?

I got some info from the RHS website which said not to plant the runners (I have no idea what a runner is do you have to start off with runners or can you just buy a strawberry plant?) until August, but looking on here a lot of people are saying that they have just got their strawberries and have potted them up. Can I get some now?

If I can get them now when do I plant them into the ground?

The other 'terms' I didn't understand were "humus in the soil" and "plant with the crown above the soil"?

If I got plants/runners now - when would they fruit.

I realise that is a lot of questions but this is the only crop that I do not seem to be able to understand how to grow.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

[manicscousers]

Hiya, bubbles26, welcome to a4a 
runners are just small plants that shoot off from the main 'mummy' plant. You can then plant them and grow on.
Our bed is 4'x12', we have 16 plants in that and get lots of strawberries from it. Ours were planted in august last year but you can still plant up intil march, I think, you might not get much of a crop this year, though.
Humus is stuff like well rotted muck, compost, etc. Gives them a good start
The crown is the centre of the plant, just bury the roots. Hope that helps 

[gavinjconway]

Hi Bubbles - welcome. Please add your location so we all know where you are and can help dependent on regional weather etc.. Also if someone is close  to you they may have spare strawberry plants..

Surf the net for strawb plants - they are available now and get them in asap - you will have to wait till the second season to get good quantities. Best to let them just grow a strong plant in the first year by removing the flowers.

[Bubbles26]

Thanks manicscousers and gavinjconway

I'm in North Hertfordshire.

Manicscousers sounds like your bed is about the same size as mine just a different shape so getting 10+ plants would be ok

Gavin when you say get them in - I'm assuming you mean the ground - sorry if that's a silly question

[betula]

When you get the runners place a hair grip over them so they have good contact with the soil.Before long they will root and then you can snip the runner.

You have lots of new babbies that way.

[goodlife]

Yep...no more than 10 plants for that space..If it would be me..I would go more like 6 or 8 ..but it depends how they are sold...some companies sell them in 6's, some 10's or 12's..
Crown is the centre of plant where leaves comes out..in strawberries it looks like swollen lump just above roots and runners are 'baby' plants that grow out of the crown. When runners are formed there comes this string like growth out of crown and along the 'string' forms the new 'babies'. Once these 'babies' touch the soil they start growing roots and form into new plants.
Humus is something you cannot see in soil...it is kind of 'binding' ingredient that keeps particles together. Good soil always have good amount of humus in it..those soils with good humus content is fertile soil.
You don't really have to be concern about the humus..if you give your soil nourishment in a form of compost or other decomposed=rotted plant material..some of that will turn into humus...so basically mix some compost into ground just before planting and your humus situation is sorted..
If you haven't been involved with gardening 'world' before..like with any other subject/hobby, there is loads of new terms and technical words to learn. You'll get there..as long as you keep asking..

[goodlife]

..and little bit more to read..
If and when you get your new plants in..it is quite possible that they will try to produce runners in their first year.
I like to cut them off and not allow new plants do make babies.. ..my belief is that you get better mothers if you allow them grow into big strong 'adults' first...and let them reproduce in second summer. One plant will make more than one runner. But this is my way of thinking..others do differently..
If you ask gardening relating advise..you get 10 different answers to it..you just have to pick the one that suits you or trying to find your own solution to the problem. Its all about daring to try..

[Bubbles26]

Thanks Goodlife,

Everything makes so much more sense now

Would you advise getting plants online or in a garden centre or does it make no difference?

[goodlife]

Either is fine..on line you propably get strawberries sold as 'bare rooted'..it literally means that you get plants with roots showing ..those are most commonly sold this time of the year.
Garden centres don't usually start selling strawberry plants until later on in spring..those are potted in compost and propably cost bit more than bare rooted.
You can also buy plant from DIY places garden section..again potted in trays and later on in spring...but propably bit cheaper than garden centre.
You could also try to get to know your fellow allotment holders..start talking about strawberries with them..ask some advise and who knows, they might offer their runners for you.. It don't hurt to be cheeky...you can always 'pay' back when you have something growing more than you need and ask if they need/want some..
It is not the time of the year for digging any new plants up..so if you are going to try that 'trick'..it will be much later on that anybody will be able offer some runners. Often runners are just chucked away when new plants are not needed so usually people are happy to pass their spares away.....just make some friends and plants will follow..

[winecap]

All good points, but it strikes me that in a bed 2m by 2m, which I think is about 7 foot square, you should be able to have 25 plants in a grid 5 by 5 quite comfortably. I think 18 inches between plants is fine. Considering that they should stay there for up to four years, its worth taking time to dig in a good pile of muck underneath.

[Digeroo]

I actually let some of my new strawberries produce runners in their first summer 2010.  The runner were put into square pots and produced lovely root systems.  These were then put out in August after the space had been cleared of carrots.  The runners cropped amazingly well in their first year, better than their mothers, and much better than their de runnered aunts.  Unfortunately the runners from last year found it rather dry and the roots sytems were very small.  

I suppose the problem with begging runners is that people rarely seem to remember the variety they planted.  I know some of mine but others the labels got moved.

[gavinjconway]

If you look at my web page  http://www.copy-cats.info/veg/veg.HTM  (sorry no seperate pic available)  on the second line of photos it shows how to harvest and grow runners from main plants. I saved some plants from a customer of mine that forgot to water them for 2 months... revived most of them and got many runners. These I'll put into the ground in Spring when my plot is ready..

Yes I did mean into the ground in my previous post. You will get them bare rooted with growing instructions..

[Bubbles26]

Yup, the bed is about 6.5 foot squared - so perhaps a few more that 10 plants?

Was having a look and thinking of getting them online and try to get an early type and a late type to prolong the harvesting.

Thanks so much for all the advice - this is the one crop I can't wait to taste - veg is very practical and obviously tasty but I do have a bit of a sweet tooth

Yummy!

[antipodes]

Hi and welcome,
I planted strawbs about 30 cm apart so over 2 metres I guess that is quite a few plants! If they touch each other as they grow, that doesn't seem to be a problem.
They are very hardy - that means that cold etc doesn't bother them. During winter just leave them to their own devices, they will die off and come back in spring, chuck a bit of straw around them if you are an anxious type 
You can get varieties that crop in succession. They usually give 3 smaller crops, in May, July and September. Not sure what they are called in the uk though.
They are very easy. Try reading a little internet article on them so you udnerstand how they grow and reproduce. I have found that the successive varieties I like hardly ever put out runners, so I have to buy new plants every 4 years... But you don't hav to worry about runners now, that's for when they get established and start feeling...fruity (groan, sorry).
Good luck.