Strawberry Fruiting Problems and Tips

What can you do if your strawberry plants aren't fruiting very well?
🍓 Strawberries won't fruit well if they are in cramped or overcrowded beds.
🍓 The more common June or Summer bearing varieties will be reaching the end of their fruiting cycle towards mid July. At this point runners are produced which will grow new daughter plants where the nodes touch bare soil. This is how strawberry plants are propagated and why beds get easily overcrowded.
🍓 If we have a dense mix of unproductive old plants and potentially productive new ones, they are all competing for moisture and nutrients and therefore none of them do well. In an old, unproductive bed, it is better to propagate new plants and to move the strawberry bed to a new location in the garden. Old plants, which are easily identified as they have larger, more crowded crowns, should be discarded.
🍓 Whether planting a new bed or tidying an old one, we want a spacing of 45cm between rows and plants. Plants can be left to grow on until August when they can be cut back to just above the crown. With the leaves out of the way, we can now feed the soil for the following season by adding a dressing of well rotted compost or manure around each plant.
🍓In cooler temperate climates, it is highly recommend to grow strawberries undercover in a polytunnel or greenhouse: the yield and fruit quality is much, much better.
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[@karinrodger1952]

My problem this year has been mouldy strawberries. They are growing in my tunnel and I'm trying to be careful with watering but have lost a lot before they turn red. Any suggestions for next year?

[@andrewdavidson3918]

Hi Karin. I would say this is down to airflow in the tunnel, I would keep all the doors open as much as possible in summer, even at night. Also keep your planting distances so there is plenty of room around the plants. How are other plants doing in your tunnel?