Moving a strawberry bed question

I have about 100 established June bearer strawberry plants that I would like to move to a new location. They are just now setting out runners, (which I am capturing in pots and will plant in the new bed as well.) However, I just thought of something. The only suitable location I can move them to is currently planted with tomatoes. AND, they are just about ready for the burn pile as they were hit with blight that I was unable to control. I have given up on them, but my question is:
Will this affect my strawberries if I move them to this spot. Can I do anything to the soil to make sure they will be ok? I really need to move them, and I really need this spot to be ok. Thanks for any help or advice.
I Love Dave's Garden!

I just read this:

"Repair and cure blight-infected soil by deeply turning the top 10 inches of ground over. This practice buries the tiny seeds of the fungus, which can live in the topsoil for years."

I grow both strawberries and tomatoes, and am a Master Gardener (since 2012), have studied this stuff, work with 8 clients and this is what I would do:

I would completely remove and discard the soil in which the tomatoes were growing. Definitely discard. Go down as deep as is practical. Then I would get a sulphur spray (organic by Bonide or Safer) and I would treat the area the tomatoes came from. I would do it on successive days. And give it a good soak. I have used these products on a lot of gardening problems for myself and my clients. Get a concentrate and cheap spray bottle (the pressurized ones with pumps are great and cost about $10 at a garden center or hardware store).

But... are you sure that it is blight? Please see this excerpt. The source is Missouri Botanic Garden:

https://www.missouribotanicalgarden.org/Portals/0/Gardening/Gardening%20Help/Factsheets/Tomato%20Diseases45.pdf

"Verticillium Wilt
Verticillium wilt is a disease caused by a fungus which infects many plants including tomato es, potatoes, eggplants, peppers, strawberries, raspberries and ornamentals. The fungus is soil-borne and can persist for many years. This means that once identified as a problem, you should not plant any of the susceptible crops
listed in the same area for at least three consecutive seasons. The disease is more prevalent in cool than in warm climates."

I know that this is a lot of information but I want to make sure that you have all the facts that you may need.

Donna

Thanks for taking the time to answer my question. It did make me question whether it really was blight. After bringing in a few leafs in various stages, and poring over pictures, I am certain that it is septoria leaf spot.
A cooperative extension article I read said it is not soil borne, but will overwinter on crop residue.

So besides thorough removal of all the debris, I am going to take your advice and remove all the soil where they are, and get rid of it. I have plenty of compost to replace it. I guess I should just mix it with some new garden soil right?

My concern is how far the spores traveled around the area, so I am going to treat it with the products you recommended.

Thanks again!
Christa

Christa, I am very pleased to be of help. I know how frustrating it is when things go wrong in the garden. It's great that you have compost. Mixing it with garden soil should work well.

I think that you are handling this very well. Bravo!

Donna

Thank you Donna, for your help. And encouragement. And I notice I said 100, It is actually around 200 , plus offspring I will be having from shoots. I really, really., do not want to lose them. Quite frightened of moving them, will be quite the job, but it is necessary.
Christa

Take it a bit at a time. I need to move about 100 geranium 'Bevan's Variety' and I just go out and move a few at a time.

And by the way, they are REALLY hard to kill. One of my clients had too many, and asked me to take some. I threw them in my trunk and forgot about them for several days. Popping them into compost and watering them saved them.

But speaking of fear, I have a story. The number 2 guy in the fire department here lives across the street, and while he is an extremely capable person he is terrified by aspects of gardening. He asked me last spring how to prune his roses, and I explained that you let them leaf out, and then remove the dead wood (anything brown or white), eliminate crossing limbs and then shape them.

He came over at the beginning of June and asked if he could prune them now. Puzzled, I explained that I had pruned mine a month before, and, well, let's take a look.

I see roses six that are fully leafed with about ten inches of dead wood on the top. I didn't laugh (he's such a great guy) and asked why he hadn't cut them back. He said he was afraid to do it. I pointed out that he ran into burning buildings for a living, and that this wasn't that big a deal. I explained that it is almost impossible to kill a rose by pruning it. So I said, let's get our pruners and do it together. So I pruned the first rose while explaining exactly what I was doing, and why. Then we pruned the second one together so he could get the practical ideas behind it, and ask questions, which he did. Then we each took a rose.

By the end, he had it, and was very grateful, and I felt very good (did I mention that he's a studmuffin?)

So if a man who runs into burning buildings for a living can feel intimidated by pruning a rose, you should feel completely confident, since you actually know what you are doing.

Donna