Thread: Growing Strawberries

Originally Posted by mcsavings

Does anyone have any advice on growing strawberries? I've barely dabbled in gardening and not much success has been produced. But we have a little spot in our back yard that would be perfect for say..flowers, but I'd rather try my hand at something more useful. My two main concerns would be deer and birds.

Strawberries grow well in tiers - we bought some inexpensive plastic edging and made a circle, fill it with rich loam/soil, then another circle on top of it, fill it again, and then a 3rd circle on top. I don't know why they do so well like this, only that they Do! Then spread Oat straw all over the top. This helps keep the berries off the ground and from rotting when it's damp outside (& makes certain types of snakes easier to spot).

As for deer, rabbits and birds- there are a number of pest repellent recipes and ideas in the tips and tricks section.

Budget101.com - - Deer and Rabbit Repellent Spray Recipes | Pest Repellent Recipes

I did see something that could deter birds: painting rocks to mimic strawberries then when your strawberries actually grow birds are less likely to go after them because they will they think they are rocks.

Our neighbors used a large fake blow up snake. It was about 3 feet long- she bought it in the toy area of the dollar store. It seemed to work pretty well for her.