Strawberrys and straw

[susiewoosie]

I wonder, can I use straw from a pet store to place under my strawberrys?

[piskieinboots]

I can't see why not - I use straw from a stable

[susiewoosie]

Thanks Suzie, I've been worrying where I would get some from. Do you wait until the strawberrys have started to grow before you put it down?

[FB.]

The straw is to stop the fruits rubbing on the ground and to reduce the ability of slugs to get to the fruit.
Until there are visible fruits growing, there isn't much need for straw.

[susiewoosie]

That's great FB thanks for the help.

[Two_Sheds]

I've never used straw under strawberries, ever

[piskieinboots]

I've never used straw under strawberries, ever

I used it because it was free- but it would work just was well using weed suppressant under the strawberries - as FB says, it's more about keeping the fruit clean and (hopefully) slug free.

[Alison]

I've used it in the past but not got around to it the past couple of years and not had any problems, have found that it does keep the fruits off the ground but it also hides the slugs so pluses and minuses and it's more work so don't think I'll be bothering again.

[susiewoosie]

Thanks for all your replies. Last year I lost quite a lot of my strawberrys from slugs and cheeselogs and I was hoping that straw might save them.

[Two_Sheds]

Cheeselogs.

??

Woodlice?




If you have a mulch, you'll be providing the perfect hotel for slugs, sadly.

[Kleftiwallah]

Make sure it is STRAW you use (if using anything) and not hay. I refer to your comment about a pet store as they normally have bags of hay. I used some free hay and found it didn't allow moisture to disipate promoted dampness leading to mould growth around my strawbs (60s pop group). Cheers, Tony.

[susiewoosie]

Think I will just grow them as they are then Hopefully this year will be better

[Farmer_Gyles]

i never use straw with my strawberries either .... they grow just fine, nice colour, no major slug problems, but then i do use slug pellets all over the veggie patch at least every 2 weeks through spring/summer .... will be using some crushed eggshells this year to help keep slugs away from lettuce and things ....