Whoops - I was thinking Sunset zones, and see that you are a zone colder, not warmer, than me. If you expect more nights below 22, say, maybe you ought to wait. I should not post when I am so sleepy :).

Rick: What is your strategy for dealing with weeds? I would give that some thought before expanding your patch to four 40' rows. Keeping the plants thinned to 8-10 inches apart is easy, but the weeds can be nearly impossible. I will try to respond to your specific questions, but keep in mind that all these issues are insignificant in a strawberry planting when compared with weeds. 1. Runners may be transplanted any time from late fall, right through winter and into spring. 2. The ground never really freezes in N. Virginia. That is why no insulating mulch is required in winter. If left around the plants in spring, mulch can harbor hatcheries for slugs, pillbugs, and the black strawberry-eating beetle. In most N. Virginia locations, strawberry plants remain green throughout the entire winter. Deer eat them, often pulling them out by the roots. You can reduce deer damage by covering the patch with the cheap, black plastic fencing material sold at bigbox stores, but it must be pinned down or the deer will simply move it out of the way. 3. You can place your runners wherever you like, maintaining a rough distance of 8-10 inches between the plants. Any closer than that and they will start to crowd, sunlight to the berries will be reduced, berry size will decrease, and fungal problems like gray mold will increase. If a runner has rooted in an acceptable location, leave it where it is. 4. If you planted bareroot, bundled plants only this past March, they are still young and should be good for another year. I am a little surprised that you harvested an acceptable crop from spring planted berries. That testifies to the vigor and productivity of the Jewel variety. When I renew a strawberry patch, I remove all plants two years or older in favor of vigorous new runners. Older plants will have longer crowns and are easy to identify. Berry size and productivity fall off rapidly with older plants. After years of fighting weeds in my strawberry plantings, both annual and perennial, deep-rooted types that are nearly impossible to remove, I planted my most recent patch on 10' wide, 6 mil. black plastic from Lowes. Sometimes they have 6 mil. plastic that is 20' wide. That would be even better for a wider patch. The plastic was one of the better ideas I have had. I just cut an "X" in the plastic for each plant; when runners formed I cut slits and made sure the new crown of leaves was in contact with the soil so it could root. Of course you can't root all the runners from a vigorous variety like Jewel; maybe only 20% or less. Toss out the rest. Worked great. There is some hand labor involved, but nothing like what you will soon face from weeds in a patch as large as you contemplate. A few weeds will still grow around the cuts in the plastic, but nothing like you will see if you leave the area open. If you feel like trying another variety, that's up to you. Delmarvel is good, from the same development program as Jewel. So is Honeoye. But you will find it hard to improve on the productivity and quality of Jewel, although like most of the berries grown around here it is a little tart and requires some sugar to bring out the strawberry taste. Don Yellman, Great Falls, VA

Ayala: I can't get your link to work, but planting strawberries two inches apart in your hanging baskets would result in serious overcrowding, which would lead to very poor berry yield. Three or possibly four plants in a 16 inch container is plenty. Strawberry plants will become quite large, and will fill up the basket in good growing conditions. I don't quite understand your second question about transplanting. Do you have strawberry pots with pockets for planting on the sides? If so put in one plant per pocket, with a couple of plants at the top. If the baskets are open and flat at the top (no side pockets), fill the baskets with soil then put in 8-10 plants. Thin them to three or four when they begin to grow up. You may have some losses, so it's a good idea to begin with a few extras. Obviously, putting in plants before filling with soil would bury the plants, which would kill them. You won't have to worry about transplanting for a while. Strawberry seeds can be a little difficult and slow to germinate. Wait until the seedlings are strong, healthy, and about two inches tall before transplanting from your seedbed to their final locations in the hanging baskets. If you can provide an environment warm and humid enough to germinate seeds, you could seed directly into the baskets and avoid transplanting entirely. Just make sure that if you do, you thin the plants to three or four in each basket to avoid overcrowding. I can't avoid the feeling that there is something you are not quite telling us about your hanging baskets, and your transplanting plans. The better your description, the more helpful the answers to your questions will be. I understand the difficulty if English is not your native language, but give it a try. Don Yellman, Great Falls, VA

Hi Sorry thought everybody knew those terms.lol Since strawberries are such a valuable crop like tomatoes they are produced in many climate zones and different types do better in different locations. A "Cultivar" is usually a named variety which has better characteristics for a particular area. "Everbearers" are those that produce fruit for long periods of time. . "June Bearers are types that produce in the spring only.. SB are temperate plants requiring a cold rest period so in Florida they are grown in reverse. During winter. Everbearers tend to produce offsets sacrificing fruit production so you get lots of plants very little fruit. Since florida has at least 5 zones different types do better so different cultivars are used . In 10 for example I used "June bearers" though the season is short they produce 10 x as much , But exhaust themselves natually. But that's fine anyway because they can't tolerate warm nights.. While it MAY be possible to grow them in a bed maybe in 7/8 not in 9/10. Certainly not in my experience. All eventually croaked in the heat lol. Since SB are commercially produced in florida there is much info available on methods. Check out the lists of which type produced the most fruit in the various areas. The box stores are a poor source for starts mainly because they usually carry everbears.With names you'll be able to keep an eye out for appropriate ones. Again the U. F will give you names of types that produced well in your area.culture choices and disease /insect control. Don't expect too much . Even in ideal situations 1 pint per plant per season is considered Excellant!! Was hoping someone with Bed growing methods would chime in. I don't believe it's possible anywhere in florida.??? Of course the great advantage here though the season and production are limited it's in the dead of winter.!!! How cool is that ?? What tastes better than a fresh strawberry?? Okay maybe a vine ripened tomato?? gary