Allotment Gardening Advice Help Chat
Growing => Grow Your Own => Topic started by: neilbdavies684 on June 15, 2019, 10:03
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Hi,
My strawberries (fully netted) are planted through weed fabric but I’m losing lots of them to either slugs, woodlice, or ants (being eaten from the inside out). I’ve just started a new bed of strawberry’s for next year as my 1st bed needs replacing and they’re also planted through weed fabric but is this providing a nice home for all the creepy crawlers.
What’s everyones preferred method for minimising losses?
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When I can get it I use straw for mine as mine are planted in a bed like yours - not sure there is a vast difference between straw and the fabric method other than the straw will decay and adds to the soil.
Slugs: I am afraid I use slug bait if the weather looks like being very damp and the slugs are a sliding about.. not ideal but it works. I put it down as soon as the fruit begins to form as this helps reduce slug numbers before the fruit ripens. Most of it falls through the straw away from the fruit itself where the slugs hang out during the day..
Other crawlies.. and woodlice: Maybe the straw gives the little darlings something else to gnaw at - not sure but they are rarely too much of a pest unless the ground remains sodden for a good period of time.
One other alternative is pray for loads of sunshime - strawberries love it and the critters are not so keen.
Sorry - no magical solution from me.. I uusually have enough plants so the crop can take a hit.
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Not only are there slugs that leave slime trails on the soil but there are underground ones that will eat potatoes and anything else that takes their fancy. Ants prefer dry places for their nests so am not sure who the culprit is. We grow ours in very big plastic tubs that are raised off the ground that stand on wooden pallets. My OH's idea and it really works well.
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the ones in pots always seem to produce better, undamaged fruit - perhaps they are just a little harder for the slugs to reach ::)
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Don''t be tempted to go for a strawberry planter as a possible solution (the tall type with several cupped planting holes around it,)
Mine turned out to be a high-rise hotel for woodlice, and despite rumours they only eat dead plant material, they did enough damage to mine to severely restrict the plants' growth.
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Don''t be tempted to go for a strawberry planter as a possible solution (the tall type with several cupped planting holes around it,)
Mine turned out to be a high-rise hotel for woodlice, and despite rumours they only eat dead plant material, they did enough damage to mine to severely restrict the plants' growth.
I couldn't agree more, mine was an absolute failure, except for one year when we had perfect weather and the promise of a lovely crop, when I noticed that a little jenny wren had nested in one of the cups and had laid her eggs. Told hubby to forget his strawberries as I wasn't going to either disturb her, or water the plants until the youngsters had flown End result - no strawberries - but three extra little wrens flying around. I can buy strawberries, but nobody could buy that end result.