[mandycharlie]

We planted some strawberries today, and were given some straw earlier in the week.

It was a bit windy so I didn't put any down,,

Would you

a) put straw down for strawberries

and if so

b) when, just after planting, when they'd growed a bit, when their flowering  or when they start to show their first fruits.

[agapanthus]

Personally I would put straw around when the fruits start to form....to keep them off the soil and keep them clean

[Aunt Sally]

I agree with agapanthus.  And it makes them look so nice too.

This thought has brought back a very happy memory for me.

In another of my professional incarnations (before I worked at Shell) I worked for a couple of years at East Malling Research Station (in the early 70s),  Counting crowns in the strawberry fields .  The rows were planted wide enough for them to be cultivated by a horse drawn cultivator before they were strawed.  Wish I'd thought to take a photo.

[mandycharlie]

In another of my professional incarnations (before I worked at Shell) I worked for a couple of years at East Malling Research Station (in the early 70s),  Counting crowns in the strawberry fields .  The rows were planted wide enough for them to be cultivated by a horse drawn cultivator before they were strawed.  Wish I'd thought to take a photo.

Sounds like a wonderfully serene job, I'm quite jealous actually.

Oh thank you both of you,

thats just what I needed,

[muntjac]

hate to admit it  but i have to agree with aggypants stick it down when they flower ... dont use hay  

[mandycharlie]

thanks Munty

It is most definately straw..

Did I ever tell you the time, (probably not as I've only just met you) I was in Poland in the late eighties.  We were having a meal in a smart hotel in Warsaw, and I asked for a straw for my drink, and thats exactly what I got,  a straw.  Okay, it was wrapped individually in a smart paper wrapper... but it was a straw,,, a straw, straw..

We were so amused, we asked for some to take home, and they gave us a big handful, we still have some..  

hope you liked that..

[muntjac]

know what ya mean ,, sure iwas straw and not reed tho brown in clour with no growin  bands

[mandycharlie]

no it was straw munty, no growth bands, just continious lines.

when I eventually find the ones we have stashed for our memorabilia I'll send you a couple.

[ziggywigs]

I'm having trouble imagining the size of the straw you were given....LOL. Where they standard size straws or larger strands of straws?  

I use grass clippings for my strawbs and add over a period of time whilst the leaves are forming.  Once the leaves are covering in beetween the rows i stop adding the grass clippings and this keeps the slugs at bay and also keeps the fruit clean.

[mandycharlie]

Because it was a natural product, there were various different sizes of straws... so.. some were quite small in diamater, (all the same length) and if that didn't suit the drink you were drinking, you just tore open another wrapper and hopefully came across one that was bigger.

but they were all smaller than the huge plastic ones in the shops these days, and it really was in a very small way, a new adventure..

[ziggywigs]

 I now have visions of you being surrounded by discarded straws whilst trying to find the right one for your particular drink.

I must admit it's a great idea and much nicer than those plastic ones.

[shaun]

did they do those twirly whirly ones mandy i like those ones  

[ziggywigs]

with flashing light eh Shaun  

[shaun]

ohh yes please and a fluffy thing on the end that gets on your nerves  

[muntjac]

my jades got a special  pink panther one