The Best Ways to Protect Strawberries From Pests and Diseases
Before moving to Portland, I didn’t realize how passionate people could be about strawberries. But once I started growing strawberries, I realized that a disproportionate percentage of the berries I grew would be lost to insects, wildlife, and disease. Since summer is short, I’ve worked hard to minimize my losses and have suggestions for protecting these precious garden gems.
Keep strawberries off the ground
Strawberries are ground cover plants that spread through shoots that create the next generation of strawberry plants. Each plant has berries growing at the ends of its stems, which are usually in contact with the ground. There they are exposed to prolonged exposure to soil moisture, are easy to collect by insects, and are more difficult to detect for collection. So the obvious answer is to prevent contact with the ground.
There are many options, including the classic strawberry planter . There are many versions of this traditional terracotta pot with multiple portholes for berry plants, and you simply plant one in each porthole. In recent years, I’ve seen Pinterest boards littered with strawberries growing in gutters so they can be lifted off the ground. I built a vertical planter and all of these solutions have some common benefits and challenges. Because you don’t plant your plants in the ground, your plants have less soil to root in, and that soil dries out faster. You’ll need to keep this in mind and make sure you’re using soil that contains moisture-retaining additives, such as potting soil, which usually includes vermiculite and perlite. Make sure the soil has the right fertilizer (strawberries like slightly acidic soil) and a consistent watering system to ensure the soil is always moist (but not soaking wet). Lack of soil protection means your plants lack insulation from winter cold, making it unlikely your plants will survive year after year; expect to replace them every spring.
However, I argue that it is worth it because each plant is perfectly exposed to the sun and the berries hang where air circulates around them and are out of reach of soil pests such as pillbugs. The berries are easy to spot and exposed to sunlight to ripen. All this makes the choice easier. It’s not for nothing that I like to free up the soil for other plants.
If you can’t position your berries vertically and don’t have enough ground cover, strawberry stands may be the answer. These trellises are like a small platform for your berry plant to grow on, and they elevate your plant enough to keep the berries off the ground. The key is to support the plant early in the season while it is still very small. The nice thing is that there is nothing special about these supports; you can get them from a variety of suppliers and even 3D print them yourself. If you are growing in the ground using these supports, you should still consider additional pest control.
How to protect strawberries from pests
If you don’t intend to use vertical planting, you will have to put in some effort to control pests in your crops. For common strawberry baddies like pillbugs, an application of diatomaceous earth (a silica-based powder commonly called DE) is effective, but it requires multiple applications. DE is popular because it is “non-toxic” and will not harm earthworms or your fruit. Slugs are another berry killer, but DE cannot kill slugs; To effectively control slugs you will need Sluggo (slug and snail treatment), which will also require several treatments (after rain, etc.). The difference is that Sluggo is based on iron phosphate and can accumulate in the soil; therefore, although it is effective, it should not be overused. It is important to follow the instructions.
Red strawberries make them an ideal choice for rodents and birds, and while you can’t fool a rat (your only hope is effective rat traps), you can fool birds. Gardeners sometimes paint strawberry-sized rocks a single red color and place them among their berry plants. The birds will peck at the rocks and over time will learn to leave the berry patches alone. Although this sounds suspicious, I have been doing this for many years and see how it works.