My strawberries do not dieback. Well some did, but I think they are problem plants. Probably have a leaf fungus. Slugs are easy, just use the organic slug pesticide. Like Sluggo. Raspberries grow in just about anything, Not sure why they would taste different? The only thing I can think of is stink bugs. Strawberries like a rich soil, mine perform better in the better soils. I have one patch which really is used as a ground cover. the soil is poor, and the berries tend to be small and dry. So I guess they would taste better if better soil is used. Thinking about it, some of my raspberries that suffered some winter damage produced berries that were not great. They were small and bitter. But if the cane produced normal sized berries they tasted fine. I have 2 raspberry patches one is in a raised bed with premium soil, the other is in ground with a clay soil that has been amended every year for three years. Still it is rather poor. I cannot discern any difference in taste between the beds.

Here is what worked for me. Start with leaf mold on top. Compost is nice if you have it. Some manure if you have it. Now start chopping and mixing and go as deep as you can. Mix in some more if you can. Now that will turn to mush when it rains and all the carbon you put in there will suck out all of the nitrogen for the next year, so plant something that does not need nitrogen. Clover and vetch are ok. If the soil looks yummy to you, consider beans. I would do beans because I like to eat my garden. But I have used each of the other too. Clover was very satisfying and easy. Then I would do garlic in fall and potatoes next year, all the while mulching and mixing and hilling. That will be GREAT soil by midsummer next year. Enjoy.

Flora, the goal is a functioning biology from the get go in spring. Daffodils are there to feed mycorrhizae, and provide minimal amounts of carbon, and make photosynthesis when other plants are not making it. I think such a system would provide for light for my main crop, since they are all low plants. For water, there are circumstances where a living mulch saves water, generally with deep rooted things such as clover. For nutrients, when I got my soil test I got a recommendation to add I think 50lbs of P per acre. But there are 2000 lbs of P in that same acre right there, ready to be mined. And when it comes to soil structure, this arrangement could provide it, but cultivation does not. Parsley, I don't disagree, but there is something to be said about rotating vegetables. Rotations and permaculture don't mix, although I am trying to mix them a bit. Tox, I got into juicing because of smallage (I mix it with other greens). And I planted it only once! And it is all over the place now.

If you have heavy soil it can take years of organic matter to loosen it. And staying off it - I quickly learned to make paths between beds and avoid stepping on my clay. Also keep it mulched in winter (and summer thunderstorm season) to keep pounding rains off. When I made a compost pile on a garden bed for winter and saw how loose the soil was underneath by spring, vs. the bare soil next to it, I knew something was up. Of course you can't add large amts. of compost forever so this cover crop thing is good. Just saying that leaf/grass clipping mulch for winter is a good thing.