Strawberry leaf scorch - what to do?

[Edith]

Have just noticed red marks on the leaves of pretty much all my strawberries. Looking on google am pretty sure that this is leaf scorch, which seems to be a fungal disease.

I was planning a new strawberry bed this year. My allotment is on a hill, and the new bed is towards the top of the slope, whereas the existing (inherited) one is at the bottom, and in an annoying place. New bed is dug etc.

Now obviously I can't replant these strawberries in the new bed, I assume they need to be removed from the plot (we are not allowed bonfires-I presume it would be daft to compost them? Could they go into a "hot" compost bin, does anyone know?)

The thing is, I'd quite like strawberries this year. Can I replant another, disease resistant, variety in the new bed? The new bed is about 12 feet from the old bed. Also, it seems that leaf scorch is spread by water, and the new bed is perhaps a metre higher up than the old bed-so no run off of water!

Thoughts?

[Flummery]

In my experience, in common with a lot of other plants, the leaves of strawbs go red in the cold weather - it doesn't affect the plant. I'd leave them for a bit and see how they go. I don't think Strawberry Leaf Scorch is that common. Going red in the cold is - I do it meself! That's just my feeling - anyone else?

[Edith]

that is interesting....I would absolutely love to believe that its just the leaves going a bit red. Aside from that the other leaves of the plants are quite shrivelled...

the leaves have red blotches on them. They do look exactly like the googled pictures of leaf scorch. We also have strawberries growing at home in the garden which don't have these red blotches or shrivelled leaves-just nice green leaves. Hmm.

I think if it wasn't an allotment, I'd just shove them in the ground, but the neighbouring plot also has strawberries so if it is this leaf scorch thingy, I obviously want to be a little carefull not to spread it!

[TonyF]

Edith, I'd leave them and I agree with Flummers. I think they've just been overwintering because that's what mine were like until I sorted them a few weeks ago.

It's what they're like every winter actually - if you've got leaf scorch you'd have seen it last year when they were growing, I think they're just killing off their last years leaves and setting themselves for this year.

[Edith]

Well I am inclined then to shove them back in the ground. They were fine last year-a really good crop. Taste really good too. About the only good crop on the whole plot-we got a real double whammy of serious slug damage and blight on everything that could get blight, only the strawberries and blackberries really cropped at all noticably.

As long as the neighbouring allotmenteers aren't on here in 6 months complaining about the eegit who stuck leaf scorch infected strawberries back into the ground and killed off their entire stock...