Help! Grass took over in my strawberry bed this year. Is there a way to kill the grass without poisoning the fruit? I've tried to pull all the grass and it doesn't work. Am I supposed to cut the plants back before the freeze? I've never really known how to winter my strawberry plants. Also, can I fertilize the ground with something to make premium berries?
From what I know, strawberry plants have a fruitful life of 4-5 years. This is the main plant. You see shoots that occur each year. Each shoot is a new plant with a 4-5 year cycle. Not knowing the age or your patch, or if you are ok to start fresh, I would say to yank up the strawberry plants, pull up the grass, tilling or mixing the soil, then create a border to eliminate further encroachment of the grass. You can get fresh strawberry plants next year. Spacing of the initial plants is important too, allowing the shoots to create generational opportunities.
