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Before I went to Portland, I did not understand how emotional people can be about strawberries. But once I started growing strawberries, I understood that a proportionless percentage of the berries I grow would be lost from bug, wildlife and disease. Since the heat is low, I have worked hard to reduce my loss, and I have suggestions to protect these precious garden ornaments.
Keep strawberries away from the ground
In this way most people grow strawberries on the ground.
Credit: Amanda Blum
Strawberry is a ground cover, spreading through runners, which produces strawberry plants the next generation. Each plant grows berries at the ends of the stems, and they usually make contact with the ground. There, they are in contact with long -term moisture from the soil, easy to insects, and are spotted for you to choose. So the clear answer is to prevent contact with the ground.
By planting vertically, I have space for plants tons, and they are not exposed to wet soil
Credit: Amanda Blum
There are lots of options including classic strawberry planter. There are several versions of this traditional Terra Cota Planter with several purthols for berry plants, and you simply plant a planting in each purthol. In recent years, I have seen that Pinterest Boards growing up with strawberries Gutter So you can raise them above the ground. I created a vertical planter, and all these solutions have some common benefits and challenges. Because you are not planting in the ground, your plants have low soil, and that soil dries up rapidly. You should be conscious of this and ensure that you are using an soil that has additives to catch moisture, such as potting soil, which usually contains vermiculite and perlite. Ensure that the soil has the right fertilizer (strawberries like slightly acidic soil) and frequent water systems, so they always keep moisture in the soil (but not wet). Lack of soil safety means that your plants lack insulation due to winter cold, so it is not possible that your plants will live year -ups; Expect them to change each spring.
He said, I argue that it is worth it, because each plant has excellent performance for the sun, and the berries hang, where the air around them flows and is out of reaching mud-bounds like clay bugs. The berries are easy to spot, and get the risk of the sun for ripening. It makes all for easy picking. Nothing for nothing, I like to free the ground for other plants.
If you cannot go to the vertical with your berries, and you are stuck with a ground cover, Supports strawberries The answer may be. These tralies are like a small platform that grows through your berry plant, and they make sufficient scaffolding your plant to keep the ground berries. The key is that you get your support on your plant quickly in the season while the plant is quite small. The good thing is that there is nothing especially advanced about these support; You can catch them from all types of providers, and even 3-D print They themselves. If you grow on the ground using these supports, you should still consider additional insect safety.
What do you think so far?
If nothing else, apply berries on the edge of the raised bed, so they will grow on the shore, and will be higher than the ground.
Credit: Amanda Blum
How to protect strawberries from pests
If you are not going to the vertical, you will need to do some work to defeat the insects for your crop. For common strawberry villains such as pellet worms, spreading around the diocellus (a silica-based powder called DE) is effective, but it requires many applications. DE is popular because it is “non -toxic” and it will not hurt or hurt your fruit. Slugs are another berry killer, but D cannot kill the slug; For effective slug control, you need sluggows (a slug and snail treatment), which will also require many treatments (after rain, etc.). The difference is that slugo iron is phosphate based, and it can manufacture in soil; So when it is effective, you do not want to use it. It is important to follow the instructions.
Strawberry redness makes them the perfect picking for rodents and birds, and when you can’t fake a rat (effective rat traps are your only condition) Be able to do Fake birds. The gardeners sometimes paint the estimated shape of strawberries in the same red color and lay them between the berry plants. The birds will peck the rocks and eventually trained to leave the berry patch alone. While it seems a suspect, I have been doing it for years, and have seen it work.
