Summer is peak berry time, but by September the pace slows and attention turns to tidying and refreshing fruit beds for the season ahead. Strawberries, everyone’s favourite, finish cropping in mid-June to early July, and although everbearing varieties can stretch the season into early autumn, most gardeners rely on the traditional types.

By September these plants have switched from fruiting to producing runners, making it the ideal moment to bulk up your stock, start new patches, replace older plants or share young plants with friends. And if you know someone growing a particularly flavoursome variety, now is the time to ask for a few potted runners.

Whatever your intention, a good tidy of the strawberry bed now will pay dividends next summer. Begin by removing weeds that have crept in over the growing season, taking care not to damage the crown or roots. Clear away dead or damaged leaves and any old fruit that may be hiding beneath the foliage. This simple clean up improves airflow around the plants and reduces disease pressure.

If your strawberry plants have been in place for several years, now is a sensible time to think about replacements. Plants lose vigour as they age, and overcrowded beds tend to produce smaller and fewer berries. Rather than persisting with a tired bed, plant fresh stock while the soil is still warm.

The average productive life of a strawberry bed is three years, sometimes more, and its good practice to clear a bed after three or four years, having first established another. Late summer into autumn is an excellent time for planting because the soil retains summer heat, encouraging root growth, and the cooler weather reduces stress on young plants. Anything planted now will settle in over winter and be better established for the following year.

Runners need attention this month as if left unchecked, they drain energy from the mother plant and quickly root and crowd the patch. These long stems with small plantlets are the strawberry’s natural method of propagation. Select runners only from your healthiest, most productive plants. Pot the plantlets into small pots of good quality compost, keeping them attached to the mother plant while they root – a bent piece of wire will hold them in place.

Solid root system

Once potted, runners take four to six weeks to form a solid root system. They’re ready when they resist a gentle tug and have produced fresh leaves. Runners potted in early September can be transplanted from late September into October, while the soil is still warm enough to support further root growth.

Plants established in autumn settle slowly over winter and are noticeably stronger the following summer. If the weather turns unusually cold or wet, simply hold them in their pots a little longer and plant them out in early spring, though autumn planting generally gives the best results. If you already have plenty of plants, don’t feel obliged to keep every runner but do remove any you don’t intend to use.

When planting new strawberries, choose a sunny, well-drained position and incorporate plenty of well-rotted organic matter or compost. Strawberries dislike sitting in wet soil, particularly over winter, so drainage is important. Space plants generously (45cm each way) to allow good air circulation and avoid the temptation to cram too many into a bed.

Established strawberry plants benefit from an autumn mulch of leaf mould or well-rotted compost or manure. This tidies the bed, suppresses weeds and improves soil structure over winter, but keep it clear of the crown to avoid rot. Straw is best kept for summer, when it’s used to keep ripening fruit clean.

Container-grown strawberries also benefit from a September tidy up. Remove unwanted runners, dead foliage and ensure plants aren’t becoming congested. Refresh the compost or move plants into slightly larger containers, if necessary.

A September strawberry tidy is less about creating a perfect looking bed and more about giving plants the best possible start for next year. Keep the best plants, propagate from the strongest runners, remove what you don’t need and take advantage of the warm soil while it lasts.

My ‘All Gold’ autumn raspberries are producing lots of fruit right now. Do I need to prune them? – Emily, Co Wexford

No, enjoy the delicious golden yellow fruit now and leave the canes standing until after winter. Autumn fruiting raspberries crop on this year’s new canes, and once they finish those canes are spent. Prune in late February or early March next year by cutting all stems down to ground level with a sharp secateurs. This removes old wood and encourages strong new primocanes that will bear next autumn’s crop. If the clump is congested, thin weak shoots in spring to improve airflow, aim to keep 8-10 strong canes. After pruning, mulch the row and water during dry spells to support vigorous regrowth.

Module/tray sowings for transplanting in the polytunnel: Winter lettuce, lambs lettuce, claytonia, Chinese cabbage, oriental greens such as pak choi, mibuna, mizuna and mustards, rocket and perpetual spinach.

Module/tray sowings for transplanting: Spring cabbage and perpetual spinach can be sown early in the month.

Direct sow outdoors: Leafy crops such as winter salads, spinach, lambs lettuce, oriental greens and coriander can be sown directly outside now. To ensure their success in days of fading light and lower temperatures, have a cloche or fleece to hand. Hardy annual flowers such as calendula, cornflowers and nigella can also be direct sown outside now.

Do you have a gardening question? Email icl@farmersjournal.ie or post to Irish Country Living, Irish Farm Centre, Bluebell, Dublin 12.