mowing strawberries

I am just finishing up my strawberry harvest for the year. I only have Junebearing. I have heard that you are suppose to mow your strawberries when you are finished. I don't know if I want to do this, being in Iowa I am afraid I'd mow away their winter protection. Has anyone ever heard of this before?

Oh yes! By the time winter comes, your strawberries will have established a whole new bed from the runners.

Don't just mow them - thin them out. Otherwise the plants will crowd each other and produce inferior fruit, as well as increasing the conditions for disease.

Back again! We mowed our strawberry plants about a month ago. They are Ozark. Not as sweet as I like but large berries. They were great sugared and frozen however. Now they have returned and are blooming and ready to pick again. I tried to get my husband to mow them or plow the middles before they bloomed the first time but he didn't have the heart. After standing on his tip toes and his head to pick he finally mowed. The idea was to kill them out and plant a new sweeter variety which we will still do. Mowing didn' t hurt these at all. At least they are not nearly as thick and you can see where you are sticking your hands. I don't care for snakes in my strawberries. We are still going to plow them and plant a new variety in the fall or spring. Does anyone know a large variety that is sweet to eat freshly picked?

The day after I posted this question, we went out and mowed and I re-tilled a "row" or 2 in my bed and I just went out and checked them and they look really good. I was so afraid I mowed them too close to the crown, but they look great!

I have june bearing fragaria strawberries. They came out wonderfully sweet. I've made ice cream topping and it is just scrumptious, along with the jam. I got the plants at a local nursery and just bought what they had.