Poor strawberry yields

[davholla]

This year I have not had many any idea why ?
I did lose quite a few to a rat but even so a lot of plants have had none.

[davholla]

[KathrynH]

Could be a number of reasons. Maybe the rat ate more than you think or perhaps you lost them to slugs, snails or numerous other little creatures who sneak up without us noticing. If you just didn't get many in the first place it could be that you have had your plants too long. They only really do any well for about 3 or 4 years and need to be refreshed with new ones taken from runners on a different spot. Or it could be the unexplained phenomenon of some things doing wll one year and not the next, for no apparant reason whatsoever!

[tartonterro]

we lost a lot to slugs and squirrels last year so put the majority of ours into hanging baskets and we have had a bumper crop this year, i also split a lot of older plants which seems to have done them the world of good.

[kt.]

we lost a lot to slugs and squirrels last year so put the majority of ours into hanging baskets

Do the birds not take many from the hanging baskets?

[bedrockdave]

how old are the plants as the yields do go down after the plant is three years old, also did you cut right back after cropping last year , I have had a bumper year this time after doing this last year

[cacran]

I did not know you had to cut the plants down. Do you have to cut them right back to the ground, then? I know my plants are over three years old but they are still cropping well, do you think I could leave them there for another season? I plan to make some sort of frame work to make some new off the ground beds for next year and maybe grow them in grow bags, not fully sure of the details yet. If I leave my old plants where they are, try cutting them back and take some runners off for the new beds, to get them established before the old ones are completely spent, do you think it is a good idea or what? ???

[davholla]

how old are the plants as the yields do go down after the plant is three years old, also did you cut right back after cropping last year , I have had a bumper year this time after doing this last year

]Only 1 year and I did. 
When should I prune at the end of the season or as soon as they finish cropping ?

[kt.]

When should I prune at the end of the season or as soon as they finish cropping ?

Don't prune until you have finished taking runners.