advice on growing strawberries

poohbear59

Thanks Steady edddie and nodwah, My garden is beginning to look like Fort Knox, wire cages everywhere but it seems like a good idea to make another to surround the chimney pots. We have loads of stones here. They'grow' out of the ground every winter so I have plenty to put some in the bottom of the chimney pots as a starter. All the gates and fences have chicken wire to keep out the rabbits but they can get in through tiny holes in the dry stone walls. I am very determined that this year I am not feeding all the local wildlife!

susieb

I'm coming a bit late to this, but just picked up 12 plants reduced, so thought I will have a go. Theres loads of rabbits here, so am going to plant in hanging baskets to give them half a chance, one they have finished fruiting and produce runners I can just drop them onto the ground surround with a few pots and peg runners down then. Do you think this will work?

teapot2

Thanks to all for the advice from the beginning of the thread onwards :beer: I've got a tub with three healthy looking plants and lots of strawbs forming but still green of course :j

I gather my next task will be to net them to keep birds off. My question now is what kind of netting and where do you get it from? I won't need much as its just the one fairly small container so don't want to spend lots. any money saving ideas?

Ta teapot

lyns_2

I got my netting today from willkinsons £1.49 it covered a 2 tier basket and has enough left to do another 2 0r 3

teapot2

lyns wrote: »

I got my netting today from willkinsons £1.49 it covered a 2 tier basket and has enough left to do another 2 0r 3

Thanks unfortunately there are no Wilkos anywhere near me and for that matter most of the other cheap shops are absent round here :-(

steady__eddie

Just a little tip that I remember reading some years ago (when I was able to fovus on small print), some strawberry diseases are transmitted through the leaves so when the leaves start dying off and turning brown and crispy, I always nip them off and put them in the bin (suitably camouflaged no, recycling in my area) I won't risk the compost heap - just in case.

Wig

richyrich7 wrote: »

You can deter slugs and snails from climbing your pots by wrapping copper wire around them about half way up they wont cross copper, or you can buy a copper self adhesive tape to stick on.

Or 1p/2p pieces if you can work a way of sticking them to your pot - double sided carpet tape perhaps :think:

Pink.

Wig wrote: »

Or 1p/2p pieces if you can work a way of sticking them to your pot - double sided carpet tape perhaps :think:

Do you have to secure them to the pot? Would it be possible to put them around the base or at the top edge of the pot?

Wig

Pink-winged wrote: »

Do you have to secure them to the pot? Would it be possible to put them around the base or at the top edge of the pot?

Yes I would think either method would work, come to think of it you could "mulch" with 1p around the base of the plants.

I have to admit even though I thought of & sugested this I haven't tried it myself. but if copper really is a repellant then 1p/2p coins should work. I'm so intrigued by the idea that I am going out now to put a slug into the centre of a ring of coins to see what it does. BRB.

Wig

Yep it works! it seemed to me the slug could sense the copper was there even without touching it it was about 15mm away all around him and he initially just circled "on the spot" without going near it, then he realised he was surrounded, and he went closer he clearly did not like coming into cotact with the coins. After a few minutes I opened a gap for him he went for it straight away.

Because this slug was an experimental slug I decided to spare his life, I chucked him into a neighbours garden (don't worry none of my neighbours are gardeners especially not that one).

I think this could be a great idea. better on a patio to protect pots, because you can surround the pots and not have to worry about losing the coins into the soil.

When using in the garden soil I can see that digging the soil is going to become troublesome, you will either have to remove the coins first or lose them into the soil. Also not sure about the toxicity of copper coins for the soil.

One thing possible would be to drill 2, 3 or 4 holes into each coin and mesh them together into a mat or ring which can be easily laid around your prized plants.

I like this idea, it could be the solution I've been looking for. I'll report back after I have really tried the different methods.