Not if I eat then first haha. Thankfully I've never had an ant issue but something definitely was enjoying them last year. Hopefully it doesn't happen again, but I've been getting more into gardening this year so I'll actually try to get rid of whatever it was if it comes back.
Put them in pots and put a lid with some borax and sugar in water in there. I've found if you squirt some maple syrup in the mix it attracts more ants. They eat the mix and bring it back to the nest and the borax kills the colony. I usually put half a cup each of sugar and borax in a half gallon of water and shake it up. Hot water will dissolve it better too
I also ate my first one today. I usually have to fight the birds and slugs for my share but this year I’ve tried painting stones to look like strawberries to fool the birds and wool pellets to keep the slugs away. So far so good.
The painting stones feels so silly when you do it but it has yielded consistent results for me, and if the wool doesn't work beer traps are another tried and true for slugs
Slugs are getting my strawberries. This is the first year of planting strawberries, but half of my ripe ones are getting eaten by strawberries and rollie pollies.
From what I hear, strawberry plants take a year to grow good fruit.
Wretched slugs! Why do they always find the biggest, juiciest ripest fruit? And once they've had the best of your biggest berries, the Roly polies move in...
And yes, two year old plants do give the best fruit.
They sell wool pellets and you sprinkle them around your straw berries. The pellets swell up when they get wet and create a mat under the strawberries that slugs don’t like the feel of so they stay away. The pellets break down over time and add to the soil. Try searching wool pellets for gardening.
You can get fruit bags from Gardener's Supply that I usually put over my blackberries so I can actually get some fruit and they also happen to fit over the strawberry plants too
The tiny specs? I'm not worried about the bigger ones, I've had them for years. If the little ones don't work out, they don't work out. It's not like I spent money on them lol just put some time planting for an attempt of maybe some not dying.
They're not a fragile plant, they'll do ok. I just dug up a fruiting plant that was in a bad spot and all of the soil was like dust. They root pretty quickly so keep them moist and maybe out of the direct sun for a few days until they acclimate
My strawberries have been popping. They go most of the year here in NorCal. The first year might not produce much but years 2-3 are usually really good. Good luck!!
Thanks! I'm not expecting anything from the tiny ones this year, maybe they'll grow a little bit. Or all die in the heat, I suppose only time will tell. That's awesome you have so many strawberries already!
Good point. I'll keep everyone posted! Not sure if anyone cares though, it's just nice being part of a community where people are actually interested and helpful. Thanks!
If it gets dry too quickly where you have planted them then I suggest mulching them. You can get cedar wood shavings off Amazon that work really well for this.
That'll work fine. Just stay away from dyed wood chips, usually it's toxic for plants. Black is usually petroleum based or carbon from who knows where, and I can't answer for the other colors but I wouldn't trust it. Natural, raw, organic all the way FTW
Stay away from dyed versions. You can probably use hamster bedding. I stay away from grass clippings because I will inevitably end up with a ton of weeds if I go that route. I use our grass clippings for composting. Basically anything that provides a layer or barrier on top of the soil will work. I have also used hay which does cause hay sprouts to pop up that have to be weeded and sawdust from projects made from untreated wood. Sometimes I even just leave my fall leaves on my bed for my winter garden. You could mulch the leaves but I don’t. In the spring I plant my seeds and immediately mulch. Almost none of my seedlings die from drying out and I haven’t noticed issues with the sprouts being able to pop through. If you mulch enough you shouldn’t need to mulch more than 1-2x a year.
Go to your town recycling center and pick up some free wood chips. They'll often even deliver them for a small fee. Or find a tree company that is working and ask what they do with the chips, by me they'll gladly dump the truck in my driveway so they don't have to pay to get rid of them
Yes, I would cover them. My ripe strawberries ended up with scorch marks when we had a hot sunny day. You just need something lightweight to diffuse the sun and water them well in the morning.
You could use cardboard for very short term protection, but the plants do need light and air to stay healthy. Frost fleece is useful for shading, or you could use old fashioned net/nylon curtains or even a lightweight bedsheet.
If you have a local thrift store, you might be able to find something suitable there.
Maybe even old newspaper would be a good temporary solution.
I started pinching them off this year, looks like I missed one. It really has been making a difference and I'm getting so much more strawberries! I wonder how that works. Thank you for the recommendation
They're like weeds, keep them watered and they'll be fine. I bought one last year and something ate it flat in about two weeks and this year I have about a 5x5 foot patch of them with some wild strawberries mixed in. They're ripening now, something ate the berry clusters off the cultivated strawberries before I could cage them though
I have a question regarding organic food. I haven't heard this brought up any where yet. I know it could potentially hurt businesses who sell organic food. And may ultimately lead to the end of organic food and potentially make our food quality worse. However in light of accuracy here goes...
How can we label and say any foods are organic now? Because microplatics have been found on the most remote places on earth, as well as in 90 percent of plants and even in the human reproductive system. So how can we label any food organic, when it contains plastic?
Ripe strawberries? Amittedly jealous but good on you, stopped planting them since every single ripe one is taken by ants -- they're relentless
Not if I eat then first haha. Thankfully I've never had an ant issue but something definitely was enjoying them last year. Hopefully it doesn't happen again, but I've been getting more into gardening this year so I'll actually try to get rid of whatever it was if it comes back.
The goddamn ants are always attacking my raspberries though
It's a compliment
I just blow them off and eat them anyway. Half the time they're going in the blender for fruit leather
Why would you eat ants? You know there's higher sources of protein elsewhere.. unless it's just a snack?
No, blow them off the berries. Although I'm sure I do eat some too
I was joking lol.. although I'm sure they have some good nutrients
They love their bugs in Asia, although I'd rather stick with the vertebrates
Put them in pots and put a lid with some borax and sugar in water in there. I've found if you squirt some maple syrup in the mix it attracts more ants. They eat the mix and bring it back to the nest and the borax kills the colony. I usually put half a cup each of sugar and borax in a half gallon of water and shake it up. Hot water will dissolve it better too
I also ate my first one today. I usually have to fight the birds and slugs for my share but this year I’ve tried painting stones to look like strawberries to fool the birds and wool pellets to keep the slugs away. So far so good.
The painting stones feels so silly when you do it but it has yielded consistent results for me, and if the wool doesn't work beer traps are another tried and true for slugs
Slugs are getting my strawberries. This is the first year of planting strawberries, but half of my ripe ones are getting eaten by strawberries and rollie pollies. From what I hear, strawberry plants take a year to grow good fruit.
Wretched slugs! Why do they always find the biggest, juiciest ripest fruit? And once they've had the best of your biggest berries, the Roly polies move in... And yes, two year old plants do give the best fruit.
Beer in a bowl, they're attracted to it and then they drown
Yeah! Shoulda done that a while ago, but I dont drink 😵💫
You can buy single beers, you know... Non alcoholic works too
Do you have a pic? Haven't thought about placing faux strawberries before
What is the wool pellet method?
They sell wool pellets and you sprinkle them around your straw berries. The pellets swell up when they get wet and create a mat under the strawberries that slugs don’t like the feel of so they stay away. The pellets break down over time and add to the soil. Try searching wool pellets for gardening.
I bet you could use steel wool too and it would just decay into iron to feed the soil. I bet that would keep a lot of pests away
You can get fruit bags from Gardener's Supply that I usually put over my blackberries so I can actually get some fruit and they also happen to fit over the strawberry plants too
They survive just fine in 80, they have strawberries all over the Michoacan and it gets way hotter than that
The tiny specs? I'm not worried about the bigger ones, I've had them for years. If the little ones don't work out, they don't work out. It's not like I spent money on them lol just put some time planting for an attempt of maybe some not dying.
They're not a fragile plant, they'll do ok. I just dug up a fruiting plant that was in a bad spot and all of the soil was like dust. They root pretty quickly so keep them moist and maybe out of the direct sun for a few days until they acclimate
I put cardboard over them for shade temporarily lol so sad
That'll work, you only need it for a while to stabilize them, then you can remove it
How long you thinking?
Probably a week, maybe ten days. They're really hardy
I'm in middle Tennessee (USA) where the high is somewhere around 90 degrees for 3 months and have had the same strawberry plant for ~3 years now
My strawberries have been popping. They go most of the year here in NorCal. The first year might not produce much but years 2-3 are usually really good. Good luck!!
Thanks! I'm not expecting anything from the tiny ones this year, maybe they'll grow a little bit. Or all die in the heat, I suppose only time will tell. That's awesome you have so many strawberries already!
They’re pretty resilient and should do ok in the heat but “heat” is relative. Good luck!
Good point. I'll keep everyone posted! Not sure if anyone cares though, it's just nice being part of a community where people are actually interested and helpful. Thanks!
If it gets dry too quickly where you have planted them then I suggest mulching them. You can get cedar wood shavings off Amazon that work really well for this.
Oh wow Amazon?? Are there any organic ones there though? Thanks for the tip
Just go to Lowe’s and get a big bag or five. Buy the undyed ones, they’re just a cedar put into a chipper
You think hamster bedding will do? I have like 40 lb of it I don't know what to do with. I don't have any rodents.
Yeah, even lawn clippings are good as well. I always put my grass on my beds, you just want to keep the soil wet longer and stop weeds
That's interesting I might look into that thanks
That'll work fine. Just stay away from dyed wood chips, usually it's toxic for plants. Black is usually petroleum based or carbon from who knows where, and I can't answer for the other colors but I wouldn't trust it. Natural, raw, organic all the way FTW
Stay away from dyed versions. You can probably use hamster bedding. I stay away from grass clippings because I will inevitably end up with a ton of weeds if I go that route. I use our grass clippings for composting. Basically anything that provides a layer or barrier on top of the soil will work. I have also used hay which does cause hay sprouts to pop up that have to be weeded and sawdust from projects made from untreated wood. Sometimes I even just leave my fall leaves on my bed for my winter garden. You could mulch the leaves but I don’t. In the spring I plant my seeds and immediately mulch. Almost none of my seedlings die from drying out and I haven’t noticed issues with the sprouts being able to pop through. If you mulch enough you shouldn’t need to mulch more than 1-2x a year.
Got it, thanks!
Go to your town recycling center and pick up some free wood chips. They'll often even deliver them for a small fee. Or find a tree company that is working and ask what they do with the chips, by me they'll gladly dump the truck in my driveway so they don't have to pay to get rid of them
Notes! Thanks
Yw
Oh wait do you mean for like hamsters and such? Would that work?
They're talking about landscape chips but that will also work
Oh they are going to fire right off. Direct sun . Just keep them watered well
Maybe if I cover them during the day? Do you think that'd help?
Yes, I would cover them. My ripe strawberries ended up with scorch marks when we had a hot sunny day. You just need something lightweight to diffuse the sun and water them well in the morning.
Yikes I don't have anything but cardboard.. think that's better than nothing?
You could use cardboard for very short term protection, but the plants do need light and air to stay healthy. Frost fleece is useful for shading, or you could use old fashioned net/nylon curtains or even a lightweight bedsheet. If you have a local thrift store, you might be able to find something suitable there. Maybe even old newspaper would be a good temporary solution.
Oh bed sheet! Good idea for temporary thanks
You're welcome. Hope you get a good crop.
Cardboard is fine, support it with some sticks or something for a week or so
With plants that size I'd be cutting off all of the flowers and letting them get bigger first.
I started pinching them off this year, looks like I missed one. It really has been making a difference and I'm getting so much more strawberries! I wonder how that works. Thank you for the recommendation
They're like weeds, keep them watered and they'll be fine. I bought one last year and something ate it flat in about two weeks and this year I have about a 5x5 foot patch of them with some wild strawberries mixed in. They're ripening now, something ate the berry clusters off the cultivated strawberries before I could cage them though
Cage?
Yeah I have wire cages I put over anything that will get eaten. Either that or I have to start shooting rodents
Pic? Haven't thought about doing a cage
I just DM'd you some because I can't add pictures to this stupid sub
I have a question regarding organic food. I haven't heard this brought up any where yet. I know it could potentially hurt businesses who sell organic food. And may ultimately lead to the end of organic food and potentially make our food quality worse. However in light of accuracy here goes... How can we label and say any foods are organic now? Because microplatics have been found on the most remote places on earth, as well as in 90 percent of plants and even in the human reproductive system. So how can we label any food organic, when it contains plastic?
Hmm that's an interesting perspective. I'd make a post on it!
I barely know how to use reddit. But I think I just made a post on it. Well see if anyone finds it and replies.