Extending strawberry bed.

[Poolcue]

Is it better to plant in long rows or in blocks?

[Poolcue]

[Digeroo]

Since they will probably need netting from birds, I would suggest net size blocks.

[gavinjconway]

Do them to suit your plot layout and to fit somewhere out of your planting rotation as they are there for a few years... and as Digeroo says to suit your netting..

[cornykev]

I do mine like a number 5 on a dice.   

[gavinjconway]

Very corny kev...    great way of describing the diamond shape..

[planetearth]

I dug all mine out this year, what the birds couldn't get at throught the netting, the mice, squirrels, frogs, foxes and slugs finished off except for a few hidden ones that got mildew and rotted.

I reckon I spent about an hour of my time for each strawberry that I harvested - never, never again.

Seriously - grow something that gives a better satisfaction to work ratio and buy your stawberries from a shop.

[gavinjconway]

Strange - I had a mean crop on my wettttttttt plot for a first timer plotter. I got 9 kilos off my 100 odd new first year plants. It just depends on individual conditions..

[Digeroo]

Mine did not do well this year a lot were mouldy.  Just hoping next year will be better.   Relalised I should have covered them with so much rain around.  Certainly not giving up on them yet.  My MIL always put  her strawberries carefully in bunches into jam jars.  I hope to reenact this with plastic bottles next year.    I had some plants under bottle cloches to speed them up and they did very well, I just do not have enough 5 ltr sized to do the job.   I will also try the 99p cloches next year as well. 

I am sure the weather will be different next year.   

[Poolcue]

Thanks for your responses.
As I have got some 10x4 pea and bean netting I'll plant to utilise it.

[manicscousers]

I do mine like a number 5 on a dice.   

me, too 

[Digeroo]

I am not sure that pea and bean netting has a small enough gap between the mesh it is meant for growing peas etc up.   Suggest you get garden netting, I like the stuff from 99p shop, though they sell if quite fast from some stores when they get it in the spring.

[Toshofthe Wuffingas]

The five dots on a dice are known as a quincunx.
(
Useless knowledge expert talking)

[Poolcue]

I planted a couple of rows of White Lisbon spring onions in between my current row so no dice shape for me at present.

[the_snail]

This reminds me I have to sort my strawberry bed out as it has got very weedy. I am going to plant mine in rows in black membrain to reserve the moisture and stop the weeds from growing through. 

[gavinjconway]

This reminds me I have to sort my strawberry bed out as it has got very weedy. I am going to plant mine in rows in black membrain to reserve the moisture and stop the weeds from growing through. 

Thats how mine are as well. It seemed to stop the slugs as well..

[Garden Manager]

I tend to grow mine in fixed beds so the planting area is set by the size of the bed. I plant withi the bed in a grid  rather than in rows to make best use of the space. As others have said it makes it easier to net this way.