Bobberman
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What to do with heavy grass in strawberries!

Our 20 by 20 area with the june strawberries is loaded with heavy grass that is now 8 inches high! Will a mulch work ? I pulled some of the roots in the soft ground but much broke off! What is the best thing to do?

johnny123
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I roto-till between my rows and put straw around the plants.

Bobberman
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The beds have no rows since they have been there for many years! The last few years the grass really got bad!

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SPierce
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I would try a mulch first, and see if it makes a difference. I am running into similar issues with my raised beds! Otherwise, I suppose you could go with a fabric of some sort, leaving openings for the plants to run on top

DoubleDogFarm
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Frank,

You may not want to hear this, but I would move the best of the plants. It's a good idea to renovate a patch about every three years or so.

Prep a new area. Lift the plants, discard the old and transplant the young daughter plants. If you don't have a new location to start a new patch, left all the plants and rototill the current location. Incorporate some good soil amendments.

Eric

Bobberman
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Thanks DD I will probably go with your suggestion after we pick the june strawberries! I will pull some of the grass now. When you roto till a bed like this what do you do with all the grass roots that are ground into small growing pieces? Won't you get a ton of new grass growing?

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jal_ut
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It seems every 3 years, it is well to prep a new bed, then move some of the young plants to the new bed. The new bed will make lots of new runners the first year and next year you can dig up the old bed. It is pretty hard to get grass out of a strawberry bed.

Another plan I have used at times is to run the tiller through it, but skip every other tiller width so that you have tiller width rows of plants left and separated a tillers width. The remaining plants will send out runners into the tilled area, and next year you till the other rows. You can till like this and alternate each year. In this way you always have young plants and the tilling helps eliminate grass and weeds.

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soil
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I would move them too, far easier than to fight the grass without hurting the strawberries. next time mulch well and keep on it.

DoubleDogFarm
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Frank,

You could remove the plants you want to keep and scalp everything else with a line trimmer. Trim it right down to the soil. This leaves the roots to break down and add to the soil. Leave all the trimmings on the surface.

Next broadcast some of your favorite fertilizer and water in.

Now cover the area with kraft paper, newspaper or cardboard. Cover the sheeting with a thick layer of mulch.

Water again thoroughly.

Now it's ready to replant. Just punch holes and insert.


Eric

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applestar
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Sheet Mulching! Good for starting new garden beds anywhere. :D

DoubleDogFarm
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Well Yeah! :)

Eric



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