It
is perfectly acceptable to simply allow your strawberry patch to
become a wild and tangled mess, though productivity is likely to go
down within a few years. The problem is that you will not be able to
tell which are the older plants and which are younger. A better
alternative is to deal with the strawberry runners and move them to a
new growing position, so you can keep full control and will be able
to tell which plants are older and will become less productive and
which are still young and vital. To keep control of strawberry
runners you will have to act this month and next.
When
you see runners developing roots, rather than allowing those to take
root in the soil and become new plants wherever they want to, you can
make sure that your runners take root in pots. Do not immediately
disconnect runners from their parent plant. Instead, it is best
practise to allow them to remain attached and moving the pots to
them. You can use pegs or bent sticks to secure the runner and make
sure that the roots of the new plant stay in contact with the soil.
By
allowing the runners to stay attached to the parent strawberry plant,
you are ensuring that the new plants get the best start possible.
Only when the runners have had a chance to develop a strong root
system should you cut the runners and allow the 'baby' strawberry
plants to be moved to their new location. You can place them
somewhere else in your garden or keep them in a covered space such as
a greenhouse, conservatory or polytunnel for an earlier crop of
strawberries next summer.
Make sure that you continue to harvest any remaining strawberries on your parent plants and make sure you provide both parent plants and runners with enough water to keep them happy and healthy and next year, you could have even more delicious strawberries to eat. If you run out of space, keep the runners and give the small plants away to family or friends who might appreciate them.