wilting strawberries - they're all drooping and dying!

[Alice]

What a shame Eskymo. Life's just a mystery.

[eskymo]

Andrewo - I think you were right with suggesting Vine Weavil as I've just pulled up a load of wilting spinach plants to find little grubs munching at the roots of most of the plants and these were situated right under where the mass strawberry suicide happened.

What do I do now. Is there anything I should treat the soil with. I'm worried about planting stuff in that small patch now as I'm sure it will just get eaten. I'm also worried about the rest of my crops too. Do Vine Weavil attack beetroot and turnips as I've got some planted nearby.

I thought my garden was going to be bug free as I don't seem to be getting any slug or snail damage - they all seem to have buggered off as there were tons last year, but now I've got Vine Weavil to contend with.

Any advice on how to deal with this pest?

[charliefred]

I dug up all my strawberry plants today- red spider mite- so beware all.

regards cf.

[catbud]

When my strawberries were looking poorly I made sure they definately got enough water-looking lots better now

[bramble]

Hi Eskymo, just been reading the thread about the fate of your strawberries and your attack of vine weavil. How did you get on and have you got rid of the dreaded pests?
Regards, Gabrielle.

[eskymo]

I just dug up and threw away the ones that were affected...I've also not planted anything in the ground where I had my spinach patch - not sure what to do to be honest. I dug the ground over and removed all the grubs I could see, so hopefully got rid of most of them.

[GardenFan]

I think if you keep turning the soil then the birds will do the work for you (I think thrush's are very found of these grubs). There are also organic\bio and chemical treatments available. Check out the RHS website page for advice on treatments etc.

Hope that helps

[Red Redding]

Hello Eskymo, I have read your blog about your strawberries plight (as I have the same problem), well the wilting part anyway. I don't think I have the bugs as it's new seeding soil that I have used in my pot. Although I have used some grass cutting to paTch the holes in the pot to stop the water running though the top holes and give the water a chance to get to the bottom off my strawberry pot.
My friend at work said I need to feed them with some Tomato plant food. Any one got any ideas?
Red

[Two_Sheds]

Red - have you planted them too deep? Give us a photo of your pot please, it will help

[bendipa]

I just dug up and threw away the ones that were affected...I've also not planted anything in the ground where I had my spinach patch - not sure what to do to be honest. I dug the ground over and removed all the grubs I could see, so hopefully got rid of most of them.

I'm confused. You started by saying that you'd grown your strawberries in containers and gro-bags. If you bought your compost from a reliable source or used a brand name, there should not be a vine weevil infection. Or did you use your garden soil for the containers? You earlier said you didn't ffind any weevil grubs in your containers, so that can't be the source of your strawberry problem. I'd suspect vertillicum wilt which is a common strawberry fungus if you grow a variety which isn't resistant.

[Two_Sheds]

I don't think you'll get an answer from Eskymo: this thread is from 5 years ago

[mlb2000]

although the original post may be old this has been of some help to me. i have the same thing happening to my plants. they are shop bought plants and brand new compost has been use also shop bought. i have 5 plants in a long container. one plant wilted and died and all the other plants seemed fine. now in the last 2 days i have had 2 more plants look bad. its as if it just stops growing, if there is fruit on the plant they stay at the size they were when the plant began to wilt. the other plants look fine, strong plants, good sizes, flowering and sprouting new stems etc. what is this fungus and how do i get rid of it, is it obvious to see? thats if it can be seen. it seems the likely cause of the problem and i have researched on the internet which came up with a suggestion for crop rotation of non suseptable plants for 5 yrs or something like that. which seems like an awfully long time to wait. where does this fungi come from? please help many thanks

[singlebilingual]

I have noticed today one of the three strawberry plants in the planter looks the same as pic. I only planted them last year bought from Morrisons.

I'll be checking in the morning for fungus or beatle grubs. I thought it just wqsn't getting enough water in the hanging basket