I got a new type of strawberry this spring. It has pink flowers and longish berries. They are yummy. I had a few yesterday already. I put them in a tub to keep the turtles out of them, and then I made a frame with window screen to keep the birds out of them. There are places where pollinators can get into them though. I forgot the name of them. I want to make some way to keep critters out of my other strawberries too. I have more window screen, and odds n ends of lumber, but the beds are much larger.
You could buy a few lengths of those plastic PVC tubes and cut the long pieces into shorter lengths. Then make hoops from the beds, spanning from one side of your bed to the other then throw netting over them and make the sides secure with the ground so that nothing can get under them. The end result will look like a tunnel. If you have no net, you would have to buy one. The pvc tubing and the net(s) will cost something, but it is a one-time cost and you can re-use them for years and years and years. Examples of what I am talking about: ...or sometimes when the bed is wide you can use double hoops: ...or even make a square structure with corner poles and strings around the periphery: Good luck with your protection project.
AA, I bought a hanging basket last year with pink flowered strawberries. I thought they were excellent, too. They sat in the hanging basket outside all winter long. I bought them in the greenhouse not really expecting much out of them, I figured after this winter they probably died. They started growing and when I went to weed the basket it was tiny little strawberry plants. So I saved them and planted them up in a flat and they are happily sitting in the greenhouse getting bigger. I am going to use them for my gutter project when I get it done. I Have no idea how they will do in the ground, though. I was planning on keeping them in the greenhouse, so let us know how they do out in your raised bed, if that is what you are planning on doing with them.
Just to add to what Sjoerd showed with the PVC pipe and netting... I just did this over my strawberries too. The pipe is very inexpensive and it's so easy to use. Just hammer some stakes in the ground (rebar works great and is also cheap) and put the PVC pipes on them. Don't get the thick ones because they don't bend easy.... I believe mine were the 1/2 inch. And it's also easier than working with wood. Practically no tools required. And if you're using the bird netting, it's best to have smooth surfaces (unlike a wood frame) because that stuff snags on anything!
Those are good ideas for strawberries and other plants needing protection. However, I have them planted in with my wild black raspberries along a fencerow that I made of chicken wire. I have used old sheer curtains in the past, but they only last one or two seasons. Those I clipped to the chicken wire with clothespins and weighted the other end with rocks. The strawberries in this bed have spread to the other side of the chicken wire as have the black raspberries. I also want to raise that bed some... I had tried raspberries in another bed, but it was too close to the stump of a black walnut I had to cut down, and it killed them. It has been several years, and I have Egyptian walking onions and garlic thriving in those beds now. I guess I will see if I can get some bird netting. Is it very expensive? I need to get out there and measure the length of my berry patch.
going from memory.... 20 foot? you can just look online at either of the big box stores for the exact dimensions and pricing. It's called Bird Netting. Edited to give correct details... can't rely on the old memory!! 14 ft. x 45 ft. for $20 sorry about the mis-information
Thanks. That would still be plenty for the job. I was looking at it on various sites. I marked some deer netting to try. It is 7 ft x 100 ft for about $20. It is way too big, but I am sure I can cut a piece in a better size, and save the rest for something else. None of my fence posts are 7 ft tall. I wish.
Compare the size of the holes when you go shopping. You don't want them too big, otherwise those little ones may be able to sneak in
Cheryl said...."it's best to have smooth surfaces (unlike a wood frame) because that stuff snags on anything! " If you look on the last piccie in my series, see the tops of the bamboo and wooden poles---I have placed plastic bottles and plastic plant pots over the tops so that the netting will slide easily and not snag. Snagging nets can make you frustrated REALLY fast with a project like this. It looks like Cheryl is helping you right along with some awfully good advice. The tip about checking the hole size in the nets is a very good suggestion. You want pollinators to get in, but not the little berry-eters. ;0
I was cussing and stomping and cussing more when I was trying to put that netting over the blackberries. I had no idea it would grab hold to any little thing so easily. I ended up having to cut it off. That's why when it came to doing the strawberries, I made sure everything was smooth.
Thanks Cheryl and Sjoerd...I will be sure to do that if I can. The one on Amazon is made by Easy Gardener Deer Block, or Easy Gardener Bird Block. They look the same, but different footage on the rolls. Something got my one pepper plant already. I got a jalapeno pepper plant today, and will add it out there with my tomatoes and peppers. If anything bites that, they will be sorry! Will a pepper plant that has the stem bitten off recover? It was not cut worms. I will plant some other hot peppers out there too.
Sjoerd, I like the square cover best, I think. Last year, I learned that Cabbage moths will fly beneath cover unless it's anchored to the earth. Our garden is fenced, so I might be able to clamp the netting across all the fence and keep most things out, but there goes my pollinators.
