What did you do in the garden today?

[BReeder!]

As I continue planning for the warmer weather, I'm concerned about the strawberry patch I plan to put in this year. It's going to be in a raised bed 10ft long by 2 or 3 ft wide. Squirrels and birds will be a problem, so I want to protect them while they grow. I've never used a row cover. Anybody have experience and suggestions? I want to leave it on from the time I plant the bare roots until harvest if possible. That means I need something that would allow rain and sunlight through while keeping birds and squirrels out. I could use bird netting or the white fabric insect barrier material. The second option would provide added protection, but do strawberries need pollinators to access their flowers?

 

[Elyrian1]

I built a cage around the strawberry bed. 4x4s in the corners, stretched chicken wire around them, them put a lid on it about three feet up. Lid opens in two halves all the way out so I can stand in there. Or rather, so I can do the "don't step on a plant" splits and dance.

 

[BReeder!]

I built a cage around the strawberry bed. 4x4s in the corners, stretched chicken wire around them, them put a lid on it about three feet up. Lid opens in two halves all the way out so I can stand in there. Or rather, so I can do the "don't step on a plant" splits and dance.

I wasn't thinking of a permanent cover, but it makes sense since it's a perennial bed. I have hardware cloth and/or chicken wire in the shed.
How tall do strawberries get? I'm growing Jewel strawberries. I don't want to build the cover 3ft tall if it only needs to be a 1ft. The raised bed well be a for deep (built with 2x12s) and I want to be able to reach in, not have to walk on it. If the top of the cover is 1ft over the bed (2ft from the ground), I know even DS will be able to reach over to pick strawberries.

 

[Elyrian1]

I made it taller because I had some blackberries in there too, but you could probably get away with 1 maybe 1.5 feet tall. If you do that, you can make the sides into flaps that you fold up to reach in unless the bed is too wide for that. Permanent was the way to go for us, as we have rabbits and magpies year round and they were robbing us of fruit and eating the plants.

 

[BReeder!]

I made it taller because I had some blackberries in there too, but you could probably get away with 1 maybe 1.5 feet tall. If you do that, you can make the sides into flaps that you fold up to reach in unless the bed is too wide for that. Permanent was the way to go for us, as we have rabbits and magpies year round and they were robbing us of fruit and eating the plants.

Rabbits...
I have those too. I'm going to finish tacking wire to the fence all around the garden to hopefully keep them out. It will still be an effort to find where they burrow underneath though. I'm not digging the wire into the ground because I don't want to catch it with the tiller Also half the fencing is our 6ft privacy fence that's cemented into the ground so the cement pillars pose a problem to work around. I did have some success laying old timbers along the ground at the bottom of the wire. Seems like the rabbits think its solid and don't try to dig under like they do if the can see that there's a gap they just need to make bigger.

 

[Elyrian1]

Yeah, last year we had a baby rabbit take up residence in the herbs. He didn't really eat them, just had a nice bunny sized bed in the basil. He's grown now, and likes to hang out in the backyard still. I'm shocked he hasn't been eaten by coyotes yet. We're in a suburb, so can't do too much about him, but so long as he stays out of the strawberries, we won't have a fight.

 

[BReeder!]

Yeah, last year we had a baby rabbit take up residence in the herbs. He didn't really eat them, just had a nice bunny sized bed in the basil. He's grown now, and likes to hang out in the backyard still. I'm shocked he hasn't been eaten by coyotes yet. We're in a suburb, so can't do too much about him, but so long as he stays out of the strawberries, we won't have a fight.

I have a raised bed I was filling all last year with plant waste, some dirt and some manure to compost in place for planting this year. A rabbit made a neat and have birth in that bed...

 

[CluckerFamily]

As I continue planning for the warmer weather, I'm concerned about the strawberry patch I plan to put in this year. It's going to be in a raised bed 10ft long by 2 or 3 ft wide. Squirrels and birds will be a problem, so I want to protect them while they grow. I've never used a row cover. Anybody have experience and suggestions? I want to leave it on from the time I plant the bare roots until harvest if possible. That means I need something that would allow rain and sunlight through while keeping birds and squirrels out. I could use bird netting or the white fabric insect barrier material. The second option would provide added protection, but do strawberries need pollinators to access their flowers?

I haven’t tried this but heard about painting rocks like strawberries and placing them in the patch ASAP. The birds will think they are strawberries and find out they are just rocks, so they eventually stop checking in on the plants. By this time, strawberries start flowering and bearing fruit. The birds leave them alone for the season.
Thinking of trying this! It’s a great kid winter project!

 

[Elyrian1]

I tried the painted rocks. No dice. Magpies were too stinkin' smart for that. Might work for other birds though.

 

[Sally PB]

do strawberries need pollinators to access their flowers?

Yes, they need some kind of insect. You can hand pollinate them, but I've never done that.

I haven’t tried this but heard about painting rocks like strawberries and placing them in the patch ASAP. The birds will think they are strawberries and find out they are just rocks, so they eventually stop checking in on the plants. By this time, strawberries start flowering and bearing fruit. The birds leave them alone for the season.
Thinking of trying this! It’s a great kid winter project!

If you do, please tell us how it goes! It sounds like a great idea.