What to do with Strawberries

I have a strawberry patch on my allotment and right now looks a bit sorry for it'self.There are lots of dead leaves and not sure what is the best thing to do.Do I just leave them or do I try and get rid of as many of the dead leaves as possible.What do others do.

 

I just spotted this on Google and wonder ed what others think.

Use shears or large scissors to cut all the fruited plants down to about three inches above the ground, cutting off all the old leaves and runners. This sounds extreme, but it improves the health of the bed by removing potential sources of disease, and also exposes pests for birds to deal with. Sprinkle a handful of general fertiliser and one ounce of sulphate of potash to each yard of row, applying it carefully between the plants and washing it in afterwards.

If you need spare plants to replace old ones or to extend your strawberry bed, propagate your own. Just leave a few “parent plants” unclipped at the end of the rows and peg the biggest, healthiest runners down into pots, ready to replant when they are large enough. You’ll have spare plants for free.

 

Ohh does sound extreme, I have read something like that before mind..I didn't touch the old leaves on mine until I seen new growth coming last year and just replaced some old soil for new but they were in pots/sacks then, they're now in the ground apart from one strawberry sack and will prob do the same unless someone else says its tried and tested and does them some good

As for the runners I let them hang down to the ground (except the thin ones, I cut them off) and set up little pots for them around the sack to root in, once I could see they were good to go I cut them off from the mother and then planted them in the ground.. they then sent out more runners in Sept and I buried them slightly so they'd root. All looks well so far, apart from tatty leaves

 

With the ones I have, (Senga) it depends. Normally, I wont do anything at all apart from remove the runners in Spring. Every third year, I'll collect the runners, remove the old plants, then put the runners in their place.

I never use any kind of fertiliser, ever.

On the odd occasion I have cut them down with the strimmer.... (Deliberately, I might add!)