Does anyone grow strawberries?

[countrygirl4513]

If you grow strawberries... I'm looking for something to spray on mine that will kill the unwanted weeds etc. They've gone dormant/running at this point and we have tilled them like usual, but I don't want to have to fight the weeds next year to get to them. Any suggestions? It also has to be chicken safe! My chicks free range.

 

[MissPrissy]

Mulch around them heavily. Use newspapers, straw, etc to smother out the weeds. You might even think out the black landscaping material to control weeds. Any chemical weed killer you spray around the plants will leach into the strawberry plants, too. I also have a tiller that I use to hep control the weeds. Good luck. Weeds are like dishes and laundry - just when you think you are finished there is more to be done. LOL

 

[silkiechicken]

To control weeds around the strawberries... well. It just gets tilled over once year and I manually go out there with gloves and pull it out when it comes back. Same with weeds between all the strawberries. I manually pull them all out. I don't use chemical sprays or have any mulch. My strawberry patch is only about 3 feet wide and 18 feet long though and I plant things too tightly to reduce empty spots where weeds can grow. The rest of the area around the berries grows beans, peas, tomatoes, rhubarb, and potatoes.

Then again though. I am also the person who takes a shovel and manually turns over the soil if my lazy little brother doesn't get the tiller out. Takes a few days but it gets done!