powdery mildew and strawberries [View all]

I've grown strawberries in a very large planter for a couple of years. This year they are covered in powdery mildew, and reading on the web it seems I need to spray them with noxious stuff, which I am not going to do.

Instead I will rip them out, unless someone knows of a safe way to treat this. If I rip them out, is the soil infected with regards to an effect on say, if I plant tomatoes, cucumbers, etc. in there?

Thanks.