[Offwego]

Planted a double row of strawberries today 40 in total and thinking ahead to next season is straw ready the best thing to put around the plants, I’m thinking if perhaps grit would be better so that the sharp edges deters slugs and snails which straw doesn’t.
Any ideas for or against please?

[Nobbie]

Straw has the advantage of keeping the fruit off the ground, so you’d need something to do that such as strawberry mats. I found Strulch worked really well this year to keep the slugs off and also keeps the fruit off the earth. Will definitely use that again. I wonder how long the grit would stay effective against slugs before it was washed into the earth?

[Richard Yates]

Planted a double row of strawberries today 40 in total and thinking ahead to next season is straw ready the best thing to put around the plants, I’m thinking if perhaps grit would be better so that the sharp edges deters slugs and snails which straw doesn’t.
Any ideas for or against please?

Before it's time to straw them up, deal with the slug problem by broadcasting slug pellets well around the general area. You'll only need about 1-2g/sq m. Try to cast them evenly, by hand is fine.