So, this week, I was out in the veg garden, getting things ready for planting, weeding, pottering and actively avoiding the strawberry patch at the bottom of the plot. Why was I avoiding the strawberry patch? Because it has gone bananas. I have more strawberry plants than I know what to do with, and I barely get to eat any of them, because of squirrels.
With that in mind, I thought I’d impart 3 pieces of strawberry wisdom:
- Cut off the runners in autumn
I don’t know if anybody else feels like this, but when I cut off their runners, I feel like I’m murdering their baby strawberries. This feeling has cost me because what started off as a plot of 16 strawberry plants is now a plot of some 300 strawberry plants, and that’s not an exaggeration. Don’t get me wrong, I’m happy that the strawberry patch has grown, but I feel I’ve let it get a little out of hand. So my advice to other people is, know that strawberry plants will naturally put out runners and allow what you want to grow on, but perhaps be a bit ruthless in cutting off any that are unwanted, or your 2m by 1m strawberry patch may soon be 5m by 2m! - Pull up strawberry plants that have appeared in other parts of the garden
This took me by surprise a little, but I soon found new strawberry patches growing in other parts of the veg garden. Presumably squirrels, birds and mice had dropped strawberries around when they were thieving them, and the strawberry seeds had found their new home this way. I have let some take hold, but again, I’ve let it get out of control. There’s an argument to say it is sensible to pull these plants up while they are new and young, as soon as you see them! - Cover strawberries with netting as soon as they start fruiting
This is my annual battle – to stop squirrels from eating all my strawberries. They start pinching them before the berries are fully ripe, so I really don’t get a look in. I have, in the past, used fruit netting with 2cm holes so that bees and pollinators can still do their job on the strawberry flowers, but this was totally ineffective against birds and squirrels. I have tried mesh netting which protected the strawberries from birds, but did nothing to deter the squirrels who just nibbled holes through it so that they could reach the strawberries. I keep meaning to try a wire mesh netting, or chicken wire propped over hoops, which I think would be the most effective guard, but I haven’t yet got around to it. Perhaps this year will be the year. So, you can see that I haven’t got it right yet, but maybe you’ll be a bit more dedicated to squirrel-proofing your strawberries than I am. And if you don’t have to contend with squirrels, I hope you enjoy all your strawberries, because I imagine that you could get quite an impressive crop without squirrels in the garden!!