Kitchen Garden Forum

We have just planted out a completely new strawberry bed, as the old one had lost it's vigour. Has anyone found a way to keep the fruits clean that actually works? and isn't just a hideyplace for slugs and woodlice?
We've tried, over the past 25 years, straw (obviously) weed membrane etc etc. nothing seems to work, and so we end up with muddy strawberries. (you'd have thought we'd have cracked it by now, wouldn't you?!!)

We did the same last year turned one of the raised beds into a strawberry bed planted them through weed membrane than put straw down both sides of each row what few strawberries we got where clean but we did not get a lot hoping for a better crop this year

I think straw keeps them clean enough, re. the slugs, woodies, earwigs,ants, ect. on my allotment they don"t seem to touch them till they are ripe, so I pick them a day or two early and they ripen nearly over night, ( jobs a gudden).

Hi RetroPants!

Mine suffer the same, better in the drier bed, but I am planning to try a raised adventure - small scale this year as I have a bit of guttering left over from sorting the shed & saw this as a way to plant on a website. I'm going to attach this guttering between a couple of post & plant up some runners I have potted on. If it works I will expand it next year & release some ground space. The fruit should hang down over the edge so remain clean & I thought some copper tape around the posts would keep the other naughty ones away, it plastic guttering so hopefully even the wood lice won't be interested!

It kind of makes sense which is why I'm trying it. Will let you know!

I'm growing half of mine under glass in troughs off the ground, done this once before and it worked well, will have to see how I get on this year.

I always use straw and as the strawberry bed is near the pond it always has lots of little frogs hiding in it to deal with the creepy crawlies.

Hi RP
I use a good layer of straw under the plants. Before putting down the straw I run a soaker hose either side of the row and sprinkle a few slug pellets around. The rows get netted soon after strawing. This usually works well though if there is a prolonged spell of damp around fruiting time a lot of fruit will get mould. The soaker hoses work well as it means the straw doesn't get wet during watering.

Does anyone use those raised units that are used commercially nowadays? Certainly would make picking easier.
John

Dear Retropants, i wonder if you put 15 tog of straw down on your strawberry bed, instead of 4.5 tog of straw, this might help cure the problem.

oldherbaceous wrote:Dear Retropants, i wonder if you put 15 tog of straw down on your strawberry bed, instead of 4.5 tog of straw, this might help cure the problem.

In the balance between dirt and slug damage I think you are better off without the straw and just wash them. One year we lost a lot to voles until we found a large fruit stuck in a burrow entrance so realised what was happening and started setting traps.

I get fed up with straw sprouting and growing, I will not use it this year.

oldherbaceous wrote:Dear Retropants, i wonder if you put 15 tog of straw down on your strawberry bed, instead of 4.5 tog of straw, this might help cure the problem.

I was about to complain last year then found if I put more straw down and tended to the fruits daily by lifting and nurturing then they were fine but I went to Scotland for 14 days and nature had it's deserved feast.

When is Geoff going for a holiday ?

Nothing planned this year unless you count decorating my son's house.

Too much to do to go away eh ? Same here though I do escape then spend the whole time thinking about all that grass that'll need cutting and my neighbours didn't water my plants or they soaked then and killed them. I don't have reliable neighbours.

I'm catching up on decorating now, new carpets, joinery work, painting then moving all the furniture back. It's a killer.

I'm looking forward to gardening weather, I have mixed hedging barebroot plants arriving in two weeks. I'll place then alongside the stock fencing so when the posts rot the fence doesn't fall down.

My dog keeps scratching her eyeball on the sharp,spines of the sea buckthorne. Whilst the sea buckthorne was an excellent choice for this area it isn't friendly to animals or me.

For the last few years I have grown my strawberries off the ground so they are slug free but nearer the birds so they need to be netted and watering needs to be attended to. You pays your money and you takes your choice as they say.