Well, I'm not a strawberry expert (hopefully one will chime in soon), but I certainly wouldn't say you are doomed. Better late than never. I think three weeks is enough time to prepare the soil. You might have to prepare it differently than you would have had you done it a year ago, but there has to be a way. I don't recall any special preperations when I planted mine a few years back, but then I'm not getting a fantastic crop either. At the worst I'd say they won't thrive, but I wouldn't expect them to be doomed persay.

pattinsoldier:

You don't give us any information about your soil, your climate and current weather conditions, nor any hint of your location. These are important facts for anyone trying to help you. You also do not describe the plants themselves -- are they potted or bareroot strawberry plants? There is quite a difference.

If the area you plan to use is currently covered with sod, I don't see how you will be able to prepare it in a matter of weeks without some backbreaking work or heavy equipment. And if you strip off the sod, what is underneath? If you were able to kill the grass with Roundup quickly, you might begin to till the soil with a strong, powerful tiller, but you will still face the problem of stripping off the dead grass and matted roots. Then if the soil is clay, as is very common, you will have to amend it with a lot of organic materials before you can successfully grow strawberries.

Converting sod to good garden growing conditions is a process that takes at least a year, and even then will involve a lot of pretty heavy work. Next time you try this, start with about 25 plants so you don't have to do such a large area all at once. Plants may be cheaper by the 100, but not if they can't be planted.

I am sorry to have to tell you this, since it is not the usual cheerful Gardenweb commentary, but I think you will have to find a home for those 100 plants other than your own garden plot, and think about preparing your bed way before you even think of buying more plants.

Don Yellman, Great Falls, VA

When you till or plow under grass, the grass will heat up as it decomposes. This is not good because it may take 3 weeks for this to happen so you can plant. To ilimate part of this, Rent a sod cutter and remove the top. Then till or plow. If you have bareroot plants comming, put them in the fridge. They will keep a long time.

Set mower on lowest setting and scalp the lawn, remove clippings and cover the area with plastic. In three weeks it should be pretty dead without using chemicals. Cut slits in the soil to plant the strawberries.

If this doesn't work you are out the least amount of work and expense and you can then go ahead to prepare it for next time.

I think you have plenty of time to get the bed ready if you are willing to do some work and also carefully monitor after planting. If I was in your situation I would turn the soil and sod over with a shovel. I'd dig deeply trying to make sure most of the sod ends up buried. One way to do this is to dig a trench the width of the bed and place the soil to the side, making the trench at least 18 inches deep. Then you can turn the soil next to the trench over into the trench, making sure the sod on top ends up upside down in the bottom of the trench, and the soil from the below the sod ends up on top. This will, in effect, move the trench about a foot or so farther into the garden. It has to be done shovelful by shovelful and requires some work, but if you slice off managable sized vertical slices of sod and soil it isn't backbreaking. You can use the shovel and your weight to cut a slice of sod and soil off the edge of the trench, then flip it into the trench. You keep going this way, turning the soil into the trench, burying the sod, and moving the trench along through the bed, leaving behind freshly turned soil. Finally, you can take the original soil removed from the trench and use it to fill the trench, which will have mirated ot the far end of the bed.

This is also an opportunity to incorporate organic material into the soil, which impproves any soil. I would normally recommend that you add 6 inches of organic matter such as compost on top of the sod before you turn the bed over, but in this case, since strawberryes are hard to remove weeds from, your first priority should be to make sure that all the sod gets buried. The presence of the compost (or manure, or leaf mold, or peat moss, etc.) can make it a little harder to see the sod, but if you think you are up to it, the organic matter will really help.

Once the bed is turned over and you have picked out any bits of green grass you see sticking through, place a mulch over the entire surface. I like organic mulches like leaves, grass clippings, etc., but many people use black plastic or landscape cloth. In any case, you want a thick mulch that will prevent any weeds or grass from growing through. wait a few weeks to allow the grass below to die, and plant your strawberries. Monitor very carefully all summer to make sure no grass is permitted go grow between the strawberries.

I would not recommend using a rototiller for this. A rototiller will mix the grass with the soil, leaving a lot of the grass on the soil surface where it will try to regrow. Also, I don't like tillers in general because they don't get deep enough an often leave a hardened layer just below the tilled soils, caused by the tines hitting the soil below. If you have the ability, nothing can beat tilling with a shovel (although it is a lot slower).

Has anyone ever tried the lasagna bed method for strawberries? I have never done this myself, but there are books out there you could check for more information. You could spread cardboard (stripped of any tape) over the grass. Pile it up with several layers of wood chips, compost, grass clippings, the like. There is no digging involved. Since you will be planting right away, put a layer of new soil on the top, then plant the strawberries in that soil.

Rosefolly

As I mentioned before, that grass turned will get HOT.
Not good for the berries.

Wouldnt a much easier, simplier solution be make a raised bed to put them in??? Cardboard or newspaper over the sod, and fill with high quality amended soil and plant???? Am I missing something here?

billinpa, I think you may be on to something.

Pattinsoldier, Craigslist is a good place to look for free compost where I live and could save you some cash on this project. You may even find what you need to make a raised bed too. Look for them both in the Free section.

Thank you all for your suggestions. I haven't decided what method I will try yet, but I think I will try something to get them in the ground. If they fail, then I'll try again next year. By the way, I live in SW Virginia. It has been quite mild here lately, in the 50s-60s range....typical Spring weather. It has been rainy the last few days, so I can't work the soil yet, but it should dry out this weekend. I have a neighbor who can plow up the area with a tractor which should get it dug up deep enough. I don't think Craigslist is very active in this area, but it's worth a try. I like the raised bed idea. Paulc gardener has me quite worried about the heat from the composting sod. Ladyslpr- thanks for such a thorough answer. Your plan might work the best, but with 3 kids under the age of 5, I just don't think I can swing it. I am already being quite ambitious by starting the garden!! Keep the ideas coming...I really appreciate it!! Thanks

Hendricus and billinpa both have very valid techniques for a quick solution. Strawberries are so tough and proliferate....you really want to try to kill as much grass as possible, but in six months from now you will be wondering why in the world you ever worried to begin with!

Good luck! Kill your grass, and work on your soil amending after-the-fact. Not ideal, but you should be fine.

I'm with billinpa, go with a raised bed. Lay down cardboard over your grass and bulid yourself a raised bed for your berries. With the square foot method, you can plant 4 strawberry plants in each square foot. In a 4'x6' box you can plant 96 plants! You can give away the extra 4 plants or plant them into a pot. :)
Check out the square foot gardening forum for more info and advice.
Best of Luck to you!
Happy Spring & Happy Gardening!
Keep Smiling, Amy :)

Here is a link that might be useful: Strawberries in Square Foot Gardens