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Removing strawberry runners.

  • 12-06-2013 11:13am
    #1
    amandstu
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 3,960 ✭✭✭


    I know you have to do this but to be honest I have never noticed a benefit from it.

    Now I am thinking that it may be because I have been letting them get to a too decent a size before I pinched them out.

    As I have now started to do this (pinching them out at the first opportunuity when they are really tiny) can I hope that this will make a big difference and encourage the plants to put out extra leaves ? (and so boost the size and healthiness of the fruit that has already formed)

    Ps the books I have read indicated that there should be about 8 runners to a plant.This ,in my case seems to me a wild underestimate .

    Is that an indication that my plants are over stressed or would that be fairly normal (I would say more than 20 runners per plant if not more)


Comments

  • #2
    Boombastic
    Closed Accounts Posts: 6,496 ✭✭✭Boombastic


    amandstu wrote: »
    I know you have to do this but to be honest I have never noticed a benefit from it.

    Now I am thinking that it may be because I have been letting them get to a too decent a size before I pinched them out.

    As I have now started to do this (pinching them out at the first opportunuity when they are really tiny) can I hope that this will make a big difference and encourage the plants to put out extra leaves ? (and so boost the size and healthiness of the fruit that has already formed)

    Ps the books I have read indicated that there should be about 8 runners to a plant.This ,in my case seems to me a wild underestimate .

    Is that an indication that my plants are over stressed or would that be fairly normal (I would say more than 20 runners per plant if not more)

    Benefit would be new plants. 20 runners/ plant is a bit high but if you keep pinching them out early should keep them right. How old are the plants?


  • #3
    amandstu
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 3,960 ✭✭✭amandstu


    It is their second year but under a plastic mulch which was impermeable and so the soil underneath got dry in the heat (didn't the spring/summer came very suddenly and late ?) .

    I have resolved that problem by making lots of holes in the black plastic mulch but the plants are taking a while to make nice sized and healthy leaves (as well as bigger roots no doubt)

    They aren't under cover -just under this mulch which as I say I have now partially opened to the rain and the watering (it looks a bit like a home made colander now!


  • #4
    redser7
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 2,730 ✭✭✭redser7


    Next year will be their big year and should give you the heaviest crop. SO try and helpo them out as much as possible and remove the runners. If you want to increase your stock maybe let 1 or two runners per plant form and pin them down.


  • #5
    Boombastic
    Closed Accounts Posts: 6,496 ✭✭✭Boombastic


    amandstu wrote: »
    It is their second year but under a plastic mulch which was impermeable and so the soil underneath got dry in the heat (didn't the spring/summer came very suddenly and late ?) .

    I have resolved that problem by making lots of holes in the black plastic mulch but the plants are taking a while to make nice sized and healthy leaves (as well as bigger roots no doubt)

    They aren't under cover -just under this mulch which as I say I have now partially opened to the rain and the watering (it looks a bit like a home made colander now!
    They should produce fruit this year. Are they in blossom or have you already harvested? I have some plants outside here in blossom at the moment, feed them and let as much light is as possible. Keep pinching out the runners.


  • #6
    yellowlabrador
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,192 ✭✭✭yellowlabrador


    I tend to let one plant make runners and put pots of compost and soil under the little plants, and tie them in with a hairclip to encourage them to root. This allows me to replace a portion of my plants every year as I find that as the plants get older, the strawberries get less. I think that in the industry, they replace plants every 2 years.


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  • #7
    amandstu
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 3,960 ✭✭✭amandstu


    Boombastic wrote: »
    They should produce fruit this year. Are they in blossom or have you already harvested? I have some plants outside here in blossom at the moment, feed them and let as much light is as possible. Keep pinching out the runners.
    They have fruit but it is still small and unripe.

    I do have some which I have already picked but these are from a few plants ,some in pots that I put separately into a small tunnel as an (happy) experiment.


  • #8
    Boombastic
    Closed Accounts Posts: 6,496 ✭✭✭Boombastic


    amandstu wrote: »
    They have fruit but it is still small and unripe.

    I do have some which I have already picked but these are from a few plants ,some in pots that I put separately into a small tunnel as an (happy) experiment.

    If there is fruit currently on them definitely make sure they are well watered and fed to swell the fruit


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