From: songbird@anthive.com   
      
   Snag wrote:   
      
   >    The strawberry patch is sending out so many runners it isn't funny .   
   > Already started 16 plants most of them I've given away . Just put 8 more   
   > 4" pots out and could do 8 more . These today will be used to extend the   
   > berry patch , along with some on the edges that will be moved to the   
   > expansion area once they're well rooted .   
      
     at one time i had four strawberry patches, three were outside   
   the fenced gardens.  then the deer found them.  i now only have   
   the one patch inside the fence left.  the raccoons, chipmunks,   
   groundhogs and birds all found that patch too and i barely got   
   any production the past several years, but finally this year i   
   did get enough berries to put up some freezer jam.  it's   
   delicious.  i'll have to limit my feasting upon those jars in   
   the freezer to just once every few months.   
      
     this was all a way to say that i started with six plants.   
   five of one variety and then a year later i picked up another   
   variety as one plant and put that in the first patch.  from   
   that first year i had over a hundred plants and gave away   
   18 of them and still had plenty more (that i used to start   
   the three other patches outside the fence).  over the next   
   few years i expanded those patches to fill in large areas   
   and had many thousand plants.  for about five years i could   
   ask people to come over and pick what was extra after i put   
   up freezer jam.  i could do 50+ pints in three days.  now i'm   
   happy that i got almost 8 pints total for the entire season   
   plus what we ate fresh.   
      
     plan on renovating the strawberry patch in the third year,   
   basically the easiest thing to do is to just go and turn under   
   a third of the patch from then on and rotate through the patch   
   to make sure it all gets turned under eventually.  the crowns   
   of the strawberry plants will reduce their production the   
   older they get after 2 years.  let the runners start in the   
   turned under patch and then you'll keep it going with better   
   production, when done turning it under apply some good top   
   mulch with some compost under it.  no need to add other   
   fertilizers unless your soil is particularly devoid of   
   nutrients.   
      
      
     songbird   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)