i was planning on making a straw berry patch where potatoes were grown last year i googled that by growing mustard seed and digging it in will help to wards avoiding verticilliam wilt can any one advice me on this and other views would be appreciated
There was just a thread about this in the last week or so - the general gist was probably to be avoided... try a search for that thread.
I agree with the general gist but 2 years ago I made a strawberry bed where the potatoes had been a few months earlier. I dug in plenty of compost and leafmould and the plants have done really well. So it can be OK. Although the potatoes had only been there that once. I know that for certain because it was a field before. Just depends on your attitude to risk I suppose, and whether there's a viable alternative. Don't know about mustard, but why not try it. It'll do good anyway.
the new plot was almost planted with pots being used as a cleaning crop by the previous owner which i took on this year for a fruit and flower area now covered in black plastic since beginning april just dried grass and dust under neath now lol
belt and braces i think, will plant mustard and then dig it in then a thick layer of compost and any thing else i get my hands on a sort of raised bed because strawberry's is quite shallow rooted it might just work will let every one know how they get on i will also keep old patch going so i wont be completely with Berry's if it fail