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Too many strawberries?

Green MagpieGreen Magpie Posts: 806
in Fruit & veg
I know this sounds like bragging, but my strawberry plants have MASSES of berries on them. The first are just beginning to ripen, but most are still green,and many are still tiny. Should I be thinning them out at all, or will they all ripen eventually?

Posts

  • LisaJLisaJ Posts: 48
    I would think that they would do, as long as long as the sun keeps shining and they get some water too.  Mine are mostly still flowers with very few strawberries yet.  :(
  • paul_in_surreypaul_in_surrey Posts: 239
    I've got loads of little berries too and I've got absolutely no intention of thinning them. I am regularly cutting off any runners they throw out so they put their energy into the fruit. Picked the first ripened ones this morning - yum. I think the nature of strawberry plants is like rock stars, you get a year or two of big hits and then they start struggling to repeat the magic and are best replaced with something newer.
    “Success is the ability to go from one failure to another with no loss of enthusiasm.” Winston Churchill
  • Green MagpieGreen Magpie Posts: 806
    Thanks, Lisa and Paul. Mine are in their fifth year in the same bed, and last year was the best crop ever. They're a bit later this year, but so was Spring. I had wondered about starting a new bed, but if it ain't broke ...  
    Good idea about the runners. I have already done a bit of a cleanup of dead leaves and debris, but I'll check for new runners too.
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