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My poor strawberries
5 posters
Page 1 of 1
My poor strawberries
Something is eating my strawberries. I have them growing but as soon as they are look close to being ripe I go back and they are eaten. One problem I have read is I need to cover the ground so the fruit doen't sit on the soil. What do I cover it with mulch? What do I do to save my precious berries?
sjbutts- Posts : 14
Join date : 2013-03-21
Location : Charlotte, NC
Re: My poor strawberries
A lot of folks find straw (not hay) a good thing as mulch under strawbs. As to the pilfered fruit, netting may be your friend. Good luck.
43 years a gardener and going strong with SFG.
https://squarefoot.forumotion.com/t3574-the-end-of-july-7-weeks-until-frost
There are certain pursuits which, if not wholly poetic and true, do at least suggest a nobler and finer relation to nature than we know. The keeping of bees, for instance. ~ Henry David Thoreau
https://squarefoot.forumotion.com/t1306-other-gardening-books
Re: My poor strawberries
What a bummer! Easy enough to remedy though. I use pine needles under my berries and netting laid on top. You could also use sheer curtains or tulle if you have some.
CC
CC
CapeCoddess- Posts : 6824
Join date : 2012-05-20
Age : 68
Location : elbow of the Cape, MA, Zone 6b/7a
Re: My poor strawberries
If it's hunks out of the berries, then it's prob. birds, but, soft spots or small holes/bad spots, it's prob snails/slugs, with roly pollies and pill bugs and milipedes, which finish them off. I put bird netting over the bed, and finally got some sluggo plus, which has really worked. I was worried about the sluggo near the berries, so I put it down under the mulch.
The bugs/snails were so bad and so smart. I put the sluggo plus in the beds, so the bugs and snails crawled up the outside of the box, and got to the strawberries hanging over the edge. I had to sprinkle the sluggo all around the outside of the boxes too.
Jo
The bugs/snails were so bad and so smart. I put the sluggo plus in the beds, so the bugs and snails crawled up the outside of the box, and got to the strawberries hanging over the edge. I had to sprinkle the sluggo all around the outside of the boxes too.
Jo
littlejo- Posts : 1575
Join date : 2011-05-04
Age : 70
Location : Cottageville SC 8b
Re: My poor strawberries
Mine is a table top.
Last summer I noticed ants all around some chewed-looking berries that were touching Mel's Mix. Did the ants cause it or move in after something else attacked? Or when the berries touched the soil and rot set in were the ants attracted? I don't know for sure.
So I used pine straw all last winter and refreshed with more this Spring. The results of using pine needles is like night and day. The ripened berries are sitting dry and pretty on top of the pine straw. So far there is zero berry damage and no ants either. I'm guessing the ants moved in last year when they got a whiff of the tiniest rot on a few berries. (?)
Last summer I noticed ants all around some chewed-looking berries that were touching Mel's Mix. Did the ants cause it or move in after something else attacked? Or when the berries touched the soil and rot set in were the ants attracted? I don't know for sure.
So I used pine straw all last winter and refreshed with more this Spring. The results of using pine needles is like night and day. The ripened berries are sitting dry and pretty on top of the pine straw. So far there is zero berry damage and no ants either. I'm guessing the ants moved in last year when they got a whiff of the tiniest rot on a few berries. (?)
llama momma
Certified SFG Instructor- Posts : 4921
Join date : 2010-08-20
Location : Central Ohio zone 6a
Re: My poor strawberries
I read, in Mother Earth News I think, that soft bodied creatures like slugs don't like pine needles. Could be true as I haven't had a problem with them.
CC
CC
CapeCoddess- Posts : 6824
Join date : 2012-05-20
Age : 68
Location : elbow of the Cape, MA, Zone 6b/7a
Re: My poor strawberries
Thanks so much! I will be off to buy pine needle tomorrow.
sjbutts- Posts : 14
Join date : 2013-03-21
Location : Charlotte, NC
Re: My poor strawberries
Do you have a local park nearby? You could ask the ranger or naturalist if you can take some. Free is always best.sjbutts wrote:Thanks so much! I will be off to buy pine needle tomorrow.
llama momma
Certified SFG Instructor- Posts : 4921
Join date : 2010-08-20
Location : Central Ohio zone 6a
Re: My poor strawberries
I think there are different species of slugs/snails. My berries are beneath a pine tree, plenty of needles. Seems like mine 'love' pine needles. One thing I've learned, pick berries, then water. Ripe berries will rot quickly when wet.
Mine are plain snails, not 'hot pink".
Jo
Mine are plain snails, not 'hot pink".
Jo
littlejo- Posts : 1575
Join date : 2011-05-04
Age : 70
Location : Cottageville SC 8b
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