Hello all:

I'm a fairly new gardener - I've been row gardening only 3 seasons. I'm tired of putting in all the hard work with a garden only to see it get choked out by weeds in the mid/late summer so this year I'm going to try my hand with some square foot garden boxes.

I have a dedicated, fenced-out garden area (to keep the dog from eating the fruits of my labor) 12x15 feet long. I'm planning on rototilling all the old stuff in and covering with weed guard then putting several garden squares inside then filling around them with gravel.

Only one problem - last year's strawberries. They are 3 years old now. I'm not sure what kind they are - but they fruit twice during the summer. The "row" I planted three years ago is now 3 to 5 feet wide. Obviously if I let it be I won't have any room for my boxes.

Will the strawberries tolerated being dug up, kept in pots or something while I build the garden boxes, then replanted in a week or so? I have 8 squares planned for strawberries and I was planning on saving newer runners to plant in each (1 in each box). Obviously I'll have a lot I can give away if they will tolerate being transplanted twice. Or since I planted them 3 years ago would I be better off composting the plants and buying new strawberry plants this year?

Thank you!