"TheScullster" wrote
A quick few qs on strawberry maintenance..
We are currently enjoying quality and full flavour strawbs from 9 Elsanta
plants given to us last year.
They are putting out runners with "baby plants" forming.
Should these beginners be pegged into the ground in some way, or maybe sat
in pots of compost?

Depends where you want them to grow, if they can be pegged and left to grow
there so much thwe better but if you will want to move them then pots is a
good idea.

In terms of plant age, should the new starters be used to replace the
existing plants, or as additions? Do the "parent" plants have a finite
life?

Yes they do, about 3 years max IME although I did know an Italian gardener
who changed/renewed his strawberry bed every year, one years crop and out
they went.
You could use the new young plants to enlarge your strawberry bed for next
year and take your existing plants out after cropping in 2010 replacing them
with young plants then.
It's always best to move the bed to another part of the garden to avoid
disease after a few years anyway.

Whilst on about strawberries, an elderly relly used to have a Tortoise for
many decades and he had the run of her whole garden and loved English
Strawberries (wouldn't ever touch foreign ones) which she bought for him.
Needless to say not much grew except the roses with him trundling about like
a tank.
He was given away a couple of years ago as the Aunt became too elderly to
look after him and now in her old garden the roses are underplanted with
self seeded strawberry plants which produce superb fruit.

--
Regards
Bob Hobden
just W. of London