Refresh your strawberries

Strawberry plants are best refreshed every three years or so because they’re prone to diseases and become less productive with time. To prevent pests and diseases building up, it’s also worth moving your strawberry plants to another spot. Dig over a patch of soil, remove any weeds, dig in some well-rotted compost and sprinkle with a general purpose fertiliser such as Plant Grow natural fertiliser (£9.97 for 10L). Dig up rooted runners from your current bed and cut oà the stems connecting them to the mother plants. Plant the runners in your new bed spaced 35cm (14in) apart with 75cm (30in) between rows. The crown of the strawberry should be nestled level with the soil surface. Water in well. You can leave the old bed to crop for another year to supplement the new bed as it establishes. Then dig up the old strawberries and grow something else in their place.