lucymay:

You cannot bury strawberry crowns under a couple inches of compost. They will not grow up through it.

Gray mold is certainly promoted by wet weather, but the variety of the strawberry can also play a part. Generally, the softer berries suffer from gray mold more frequently than the firm Junebearers. What variety of strawberry are you growing?

Don Yellman, Great Falls, VA

It's Mara des Bois. Lovely plants, really. They seem quite hardy and were going gangbusters right up until we got some rain.

Thanks for the advice on the crowns. I expected that was the case. I wonder if it's worth it to dig them all up and replant them at the end of the season.