my strawberry bed is a lawn

[mummyone]

I have an allotment with a large strawberry bed, it was neglected towards the end of last season due to poor health, now it is covered in grass and looks more like a lawn, what is the best way to resurrect it so it becomes a productive bed again.

[Creemteez]

If it's just regular grass I'd just turn the green bit under so that it rots down - gives a good loamy result if left long enough. You could also cover it with old carpet or carboard and let nature takes its course for a few weeks.
If, however it's the dreaded Couch, then I'm afraid there is no getting out of a LOT of digging to remove the roots - and you HAVE to get EVERY LITTLE BIT. Good luck with that!

[mummyone]

thanks for your reply, there seems to be some plants still amongst the grass so do you think it best to dig it over carefully and try to go around the plants that are there, or dig the lot up and replant the strawberry plants i find?

[TEB]

Depends on how large the area is, how old and how many plants there are etc.

[Victoria26]

I've decided to try companion planting this year and there was nowhere I could really put my strawbs so I dug them up and planted them in those plastic hanging bags. They're now on my fence and have started thriving. Fresh growth and also keeping them away from plants they don't like.

Might I suggest digging it all up carefully - saving your strawbs to either plant somewhere else or pot up? If you're going to do it I suggest now is the time as they should start wakening up soon. Good luck.

[Capsid]

Have you been to a Pick Your Own nursery? The strawberries are growing in amongst the grass and only a small area around the plants themselves are bare earth and even that is covered in straw/hay for most of the fruiting season. So I wouldn't worry too much, the plants will come through and you can just weed near the plants.

[Gwyndy]

My own strawberry bed was neglected at the end of last season as the bad weather overtook me! I have just finished sorting it out. I lifted all the plants, trimmed off runners and dead leaves, and heeled them in to a temporary bed while I weeded and dug over the main bed. I have now put the plants back in and they look fine.

[Edith]

Last year I put down a mulch around the strawberries to smother the grass (I used that weed suppressant stuff, purely because I got a huge roll for £1 in a jumble sale). Worked well.

Am moving them to a new bed this year and plan to plant them through more of the same (still have most of the roll!)

[kirsty b]

Mine got a bit nglected too and I was planning on lifting, trimming and then replanting through a fabric mulch. Any runners I find that have taken root I am going to pot and keep to one side.