Strawberry pruning advice please!

Hi all,

So I finally got an allotment this year :-) Something I couldn't have done without years of quietly lurking on this forum - Thank you!

I inherited a large bed of summer fruiting strawberries on the plot - in my 1st year naivety I covered the strawbs with such a fortress of nets to keep the birds out, it made it very hard to pick the fruit and weed!

Now I need badly to tidy up and weed the plot which looks a bit of a jungle. I was wondering if it's now too late to just cut back all the foliage altogether, or whether this is too brutal? I know some people mow their patch, but usually earlier I understand. It would be a lot easier to cut everything back than to be more selective - so I can get to the weeds, remove the spotted leaves which have sprung up and rid the area of slugs!

What does everyone else do/advise on this?

 

I'd cut them back now Mr J to about 3" above the crown and remove all the old leaves, I'd be worried about damaging the crowns if I mowed them

 

I don't cut back mine till the end of October....As Lolimac says remove all the old leaves...Do NOT mow your plants you will do damage to them...

 

Thanks all :-) that's this morning's task sorted! Am I going to do any harm if I cut new leaves that have come through recently by accident?

Also, do you all usually worry about covering the row with straw?- I've read some people do this to protect against freeze-thaw damage over winter. Is that an issue in this country?

 

No it won't be a problem Mr J,They'll all die back over winter anyway,I've never mulched my plants as they're in raised troughs and I take them out and pot them on then put somewhere sheltered but that's because I haven't got the space for a proper bed,I'm not sure if they need mulching if in open ground,back up will be along shortly to let us know

 

Thank you! All very useful advice :-)

The plants we inherited have been so prolific I would hate to damage them!