Strawberry plants
Strawberries for me have been difficult. We planted these a few years ago and it has really done a good job of covering the area that was designed for them. The problem I have is I’ve planted the wrong variety. We got the variety that is supposed to produce all season long. That means we get one or two strawberries at a time. That’s okay if you only want to put it in your cereal once in a while. I like to make strawberry jam so I think that the variety I should have gotten was the one that produces all at once. There is also another variety that is just a ground cover and doesn’t produce strawberries at all. Another problem we have is birds. We wait and watch for the the strawberries to ripen. Then one day we wake up to find that all of our waiting was in vain because the birds ate the strawberry before we even had a chance. This year my husband built a cage to go over the strawberries. It has windows on the top so we can still pick and we have had some success with it. I also think we might have a slug issue with the strawberries. So here is my dilemma do I pull up all the strawberries and start over with the right variety or do I just leave it the way it is looking nice?
The cage that Corey built
I would just start over. If they are that much work, I would rather put in that much work for something that will end up being useful.
Sounds like these aren’t working for you. Pull them out. You’ll be happier in the long run. Check with a nursery in the area to see what is the right variety for your climate and soil. Have you ever contacted the Master Gardeners at the Extension Office? Just my 2 cents.
Thanks gals. I think that is what I’ll do. I’ll pull them up this fall and then find out what is the best for our area and start over. It’ll probably take a couple of years for them to look as good but hopefully I’ll be happy with the results
HI Karen! I love your fun garden posts. We have had slug problems with our strawberries as well and there are a couple cheap and eco friendly ways to get rid of them. I started saving my egg shells and crushing them up and putting them around the perimeter of the strawberry bed. The slugs don’t go across because it cuts them. There is some turf that you spread as well that is meant to deter slugs. Slug bait is another option:) Maybe you could give some strawberry plants as gifts if you decide to pull them up:) HAve fun and good job!
Thanks Aubrey, I’ll try the egg shell thing it’s very interesting and I like to stay away from chemicals as much as possible. Giving the strawberries away as gifts is a great idea. I was planning on pulling them up this fall giving them away might not work because they will probably die if transplanted so close to our harsh winters.