Mulching Strawberries Over Winter

[PyreneesPlot]

Having dutifully tidied up the strawbs by clearing away all the (useless) weed matting and leaf debris, and given the bed a really good weed, I'm now looking at bare soil aound the plants.
Bare soil gives me the shudders , but I keep reading that they should be left like that for the winter

What do you do with yours?

We are still picking a few and have had the "last" harvest four or five times!

Thanks lovelies

[Jungle Jane]

I've got sawfly larvae cocooning around mine so ive got bare soil & I'm moving the soil around a bit to expose them to the birds & frost when it comes. Previous years I've just left the straw there,just a thin layer & they're fine (the sawfly larvae came with some shop bought plants this year,my old plants were fine until about a month after finding them on the new plants in a separate trough).

[Aberdeenplotter]

Mine are a mess of weeds growing through barley straw just now but I normally try to have them cut back, weeded and forked up between rows before winter. As JJ says, exposing them to the birds tends to get rid of nasties including slugs and slug eggs

[Bigmallly]

After removing the runners & dead leaves, I just tickle around the plants with a hoe & leave the soil bare.

[Potstubsdustbins]

That reminds me thanks.............must tidy the strawbs.

I don't mulch either but then a gain I don't garden in the Pyrenees.