Strawberries

[nutNhoney]

I moved my strawberries this spring to the new raised bed so wasn't expecting a bumper crop. However, I really wasn't impressed at sharing any of the delectible berries with a creature that only eats part and leaves the rest! I've been doing a clean pick each morning, then checking in the afternoon, and troubleshooting. I kept checking in the evening for slugs and set out a few traps to see if slugs had managed to get into the beds. I finally found what was eating the ripe berries - strawberry sap beetle. I caught the little creature right in the act! I'm taking the organic approach and checking the bed several times thoughout the day to pick any ripe berries. It seems to be working ok with losing only a couple of berries a day.

[EvelynMcH]

I used to have a lot of half-eaten fruit, too. You might want to try mulching around the plants with coffee grounds - I originally did it for slugs, but it seems that a lot of critters do not like them. I've even had fruit that touches the grounds/soil that survives being eaten, and that was always the end of any fruit in the past. Just don't get the grounds on the strawberry leaves - they will get black spots and eventually die. -=>epm

[Brian Watson]

I use sharp sand, which keeps off the slugs and snails.

Birds and other critters are only stopped by netting over the strawberries in my garden.

-- Brian "What's the point in growing up if you can't behave like a kid when you want to."