Beginner Gardening: Help needed with strawberries.., 3 by vanita79

vanita79 wrote:
Hi purchased strawberry plants a few months back which looked very healthy but now they tend to look dull and the leaves also limp rather than standing up straight. I think its the weather warming up and also it was infested with some serious pests a few weeks back. I had mulched it with neem leaves but had to remove the mulch because the soil was badly infested with these black flies and aphids I think. There were also a lot of white microscopic creatures moving about the soil. I treated the whole plant with soap water and tomato leaf spray diluted ofcourse. And it seemed to work.

There are still a few flies which I spray away by just splashing water on them. Is there anything else I can use to keep this plant disease free? There was also this bug that fed on the seeds and causedtheberries to be deformed. I think Ihave managed to get rid of many though I still sometimes see these creatures moving around the root area. I wonder if any of them would be feeding on the root and making the plant weak.

What can I do to restorethe color and glow of the leaves? What would be a better mulch than leaves that help the pests to hide under?

Also, why does the center of the flower (berry part once strawflower has died) become dark? Is this normal or a problem?

The last image shows what the plant looked like when it was new.

Hope I can get help. The strawberries are so juicy and sweet, I dont want to lose this plant.