Why replant strawberries?

[TZ-OH6]

I'm a bit confused about the need to replant strawberries every 3-4 years. I understand that the mother plants run down, but can't you just take out the 4 yro mother plants and leave the still productive younger plants that grew up from runners? Is it a matter of density inhibition/thinning out the bed? I'm thinking that there should be some type of yearly maintenance that could keep a small plot producing well year after year. And exactly how do you replant the bed? Pull up young plants and reset them or do you have to buy new sets (and why are they different)?

[feldon30]

Larger farms don't bother with salvaging and replanting the daughter plants.

[rxkeith]

it has to do with disease build up over the years. on a large scale, any new plants used to start a new bed would carry the existing disease into the new area. so, it s better to start over with disease free plants.
now, on a smaller scale its possible to keep a bed producing for a longer period, provided you do the upkeep. thinning out periodically, removing older plants, and being able to spot any diseases before they can take hold. if production drops off significantly over the years, all things being equal then its time to get new plants, and put them in a new spot.

keith

[Ruth_10]

I have grown strawberries for many years and have never restarted a bed from scratch. I do cut back the plants after the berries are done (a lawnmower with the deck set high works well; grass cutting shears work too but are more labor intensive) and remove as much of the cuttings as possible (this will also remove diseased foliage). If an area has gotten really thick, I will dig out a few plants to open the area up to air circulation.

I also let the patch "drift" a bit by either letting the runners take root or by replanting the plants I dug up when thinning other parts of the patch. It helps, too, to add some compost or other appropriate fertilizer now and then. I add a shovel full of compost to the hole left behind when I dig out a plant and will maybe sprinkle more compost around the bed.

After cutting back the foliage and thinning, the patch can look pretty pathetic, but it will spring back gangbusters.

Keeping weeds out takes some work, and this may be a big reason why people replant every few years, to start from a weed-free bed. But if you keep after the weeds, remove old foliage, fertilize (compost), and thin on a regular basis, you should be able to keep a bed in good shape for many years, at least that has been my experience.