The last of our strawberries have been harvested and it’s been a great year. Now’s the time for some simple easy maintenance to ensure an even better crop next year.
Clear away any of the straw or wood wool around the base of the plants that has been cushioning the fruit to stop slugs and snails finding a place to hide.
Cut back the old foliage to 4 or 5inches above the crown to stimulate new leaf growth.
If it’s an established row and you have lots of runners use the runners to fill any gaps in the row, peg them in place with a bent piece of wire (I use a paper clip!)
Other runner’s can be propagated by trailing them into separate pots and pegging them in place, after around 6 weeks as new leaves and their own root system and begin to grow, cut from the mother plant and plant out into the soil or over wintered in a greenhouse.


