Gardening: Strawberries specifically

[Miss Marple]

I cannot keep the deer out of the strawberries. But I've seen some of the "grow bags" available for strawberries and I've considered hanging them on my patio. I don't think the deer will come up on the concrete that close to the house. So in searching up "grow bags" I found some DIY ideas. Have any of you made your own grow bags? I have lots of bags - canvas type book bags - and thought those might work better than plastic because there is more air circulation.

 

Curious to know if anyone has done this and how you made your own bags. I'm not opposed to getting new plants every year. Advice? photos? websites?

[Wabi Sabi]

Have you considered putting something over your strawberries? I'm going to try to build something like this for mine:

 

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-3PIOAOR9VKA/T93-JhdDiiI/AAAAAAAACwM/5JpOL7gCqs0/s400/strawberry+cover.jpg

[Miss Marple]

Have you considered putting something over your strawberries? I'm going to try to build something like this for mine:

 

http://2.bp.blogspot...berry cover.jpg

 

Yes, but the deer then just trample the garden. I need to put them where the deer won't find them :p Those frames look really nice, though. I just don't want to do anything so 'permanent'. But I might just have to resort to that.

[Trilliums]

I have never grown strawberries in a grow bag but was also considering it here. The biggest concerns for me are watering (making sure I don't forget to water regularly or over water) and being sure I fertilize frequently enough.

 

You could use stiff wire fencing and 3 foot metal stakes to section off a small area. Then the costs tend to add up though.

Good luck with your strawberries. :)

[MomsintheGarden]

If you only want to grow a few strawberries, you might find grow bags to be workable, at least until the deer figure out that their salad bar is hanging up. :( They will be a pain to water, and strawberries fruit best after a winter. Most strawberries are planted in the spring for fruiting the following spring, or in September for fruiting the following spring. Do you really want to water your grow bags all summer, then winter them over (where? garage?) to get a crop the next year?

 

I agree that covering the plants is the most workable solution. We've used these with great success:

http://www.gardencommander.com/

They are easily removed for planting/weeding/harvesting. You could make them from fencing wire if you are handy. We live in the country and have a large deer population in our area. After several years of use, only one of our garden commanders was slightly damaged by a deer stepping on it. I highly recommend a solution like them.

[amsunshine]

I agree that covering the plants is the most workable solution. We've used these with great success:

http://www.gardencommander.com/

They are easily removed for planting/weeding/harvesting. You could make them from fencing wire if you are handy. We live in the country and have a large deer population in our area. After several years of use, only one of our garden commanders was slightly damaged by a deer stepping on it. I highly recommend a solution like them.

 

 

Thank you for this! We don't have deer, but I've been having a heck of a time keeping the birds from eating our strawberries -- these look like they might work for us!

[Tammyla]

Cool idea for using canvas bags. We used a plastic grow bag that was store bought and it fried the tomatoes no matter how much I watered.

[KrissiK]

We are experimenting this year with growing strawberries in a rain gutter hanging on the fence. I'm on my iPad and can't figure out how to do a link, but my blog is in my siggy, go there, scroll down about 3-4 posts and you should find some pictures. I can't say it's a success right now, but they are alive and producing, so so-far-so-good.