Can i use old soil?

[Autumnsunshine54]

New gardener here! I want to use runners for my strawberry plant to try and grow new strawberry plants but I'm out of compost. I had some cut and come again lettuce growing for 3 months or so that has now died. Can I re-use the compost? And should I try and grow the new strawberry plants inside or leave them in the garden?

The old compost will have lost its nutrients by now, but you can sprinkle it around the garden on the flower beds where it will break down naturally and improve the soil structure.

The best thing to do with strawberry runners is to leave them attached to the original plant, and just pin down the new plants in the soil. If they are in a pot, just tuck them into the compost surrounding the existing plants. They are hardy plants and do not need to be brought inside for winter.

It will have lost its nutrients but I think should do to get them going, especially if you can water them with a bit of weakish feed. Is the mother plant in a pot? If it’s in the ground I’d just let them run and dig them up when you have everything you need, but if it’s in a pot then I\d give your old compost a go. All a bit of trial and error.