Poor Strawberry Performance
 

Hi all

My Elsantas dont seem to be doing as well as usual this year.

Am I right in thinking that in rainier years more growth will go into the
foliage than fruit?
Also, the plants are 5 years old - is it time to replant?

If I do replant, are the new runners from the existing plants likely to be
OK, or should I be starting with "fresh stock"?
Is there a difference between new runners from old (maybe tired) plants and
"brand new" plants grown from seed perhaps?

Thanks

Phil

Poor Strawberry Performance
 

On 16/07/2012 12:26, TheScullster wrote:
Hi all

My Elsantas dont seem to be doing as well as usual this year.

Am I right in thinking that in rainier years more growth will go into the
foliage than fruit?
Also, the plants are 5 years old - is it time to replant?

If I do replant, are the new runners from the existing plants likely to be
OK, or should I be starting with "fresh stock"?
Is there a difference between new runners from old (maybe tired) plants and
"brand new" plants grown from seed perhaps?

Thanks

Phil


"Not doing so well" implies that they are doing something, which is more
than mine have. Any ripening berries have been ruined by mildew, nary a one.

--
Residing on low ground in North Staffordshire

Poor Strawberry Performance
 

In article ,
says...

Hi all

My Elsantas dont seem to be doing as well as usual this year.

Am I right in thinking that in rainier years more growth will go into the
foliage than fruit?

Not really; but cool wet weather can mean poorer pollination, poor
setting of fruit, lack of sun=poor ripening etc.

Also, the plants are 5 years old - is it time to replant?

Yes, their old age is probably to blame for the decline. Strawberries'
best fruiting is in year 2 and 3.

It's a good idea to root some strong runners every year (pick the best
looking) so you always keep a rolling stock of established plants aged 2
and 3. Each year, dig up and burn anything older.

Janet.

Poor Strawberry Performance
 

On Mon, 16 Jul 2012 12:57:51 +0100, Janet wrote:

In article ,
says...

Hi all

My Elsantas dont seem to be doing as well as usual this year.

Am I right in thinking that in rainier years more growth will go into the
foliage than fruit?

Not really; but cool wet weather can mean poorer pollination, poor
setting of fruit, lack of sun=poor ripening etc.

Also, the plants are 5 years old - is it time to replant?

Yes, their old age is probably to blame for the decline. Strawberries'
best fruiting is in year 2 and 3.

It's a good idea to root some strong runners every year (pick the best
looking) so you always keep a rolling stock of established plants aged 2
and 3. Each year, dig up and burn anything older.

Janet.

Plus the incessant wet will wash nutrients out of the soil so it's
always a good idea to regularly feed with high potash fertiliser such
as tomato food once they start flowering.

If as some predict the climate in the UK is going to mean more wet
summers, it's worth bearing in mind that Elsanta are prone to mildew
and if replacing you might want to consider a different variety.

Cheers, Jake
=======================================
Urgling from the East End of Swansea Bay where sometimes
it's raining and sometimes it's not.

Poor Strawberry Performance
 

Not really; but cool wet weather can mean poorer pollination, poor
setting of fruit, lack of sun=poor ripening etc.


Plus the incessant wet will wash nutrients out of the soil so it's
always a good idea to regularly feed with high potash fertiliser such
as tomato food..

I have a similar situation. So far we have managed to get only about a
dozen fruits, mostly small and misshapen.
Not only that, but the ripening berries began to disappear, and others
showed characteristic tooth marks, so I started to set mouse traps.

I have caught about 20 mice so far, and have not yet stopped the
problem. I would be better cropping the little beggars!

Almost everthing in the garden is about as successful this year.

Al.

As Janet says, it's probably old age, but lack of sunshine won't have helped - lots of things flower a lot more if there's plenty of light and sunshine.

No problem at all with using runners; the only benefit from new stock is that you have a chance to change variety if you so wish.

A wee bit of history
 

On Wed, 18 Jul 2012 08:46:04 +0000, kay
wrote:


I've been helping my father clear out my mother's gardening books, and
in one was a newspaper clipping by Derek Senior:

"A fortnight ago, I referred to the amateur gardener's much-felt need
for a herbicide ... which would kill the toughest deep-rooting when in
full growth; yet which, unlike such root-acting weedkillers as simazine,
would be inactivated on contact with the soil. ... Such a herbicide, I
wrote, did now exist, but you would not find it on the shelves of any
garden centre. Today, however, I bring the glad tidings that it will be
generally available from April 1st..."

This was the launch of Murphy's Tumbleweed, glyphosate for the amateur,
at a time when the newly-available Round-up was only available to
commercial growers.

Hard now to think back to a time where the only choices for really tough
weeds tended to leave the area sterile for several months.

I have a little bottle of Tumbleweed Gel in the shed. Red gloopy
stuff. I wonder is it still legal to use and would it still work. Kept
it as a sort of momento of days past.

Cheers, Jake
=======================================
Urgling from the East End of Swansea Bay where sometimes
it's raining and sometimes it's not.