Strawberry plant

purplecow1977

Bought a strawberry plant. Was thrilled when my first strawberry appeared. I gazed at it for a few days, refusing to pick the red luscious fruit. Just one more day I thought. And then it was gone. Birds I assume as I put it up on a patio table & someone had a feed so can't be rats (I hope!)

ANYWAY how do I protect my lovely fruits?!!!! Now I've zero red ones as they've all been chomped!! :-(

anto9

I grow them in large hanging baskets .Snails will be the main eater ,if they are on ground level .

Francie Barrett

Birds are the most likely culprit. I have a few different fruit canes and once the fruit starts to ripen, the birds come out in force and leave me with nothing within a week. I initially tried to cover the canes with a bit of fencing mesh I had sitting in my shed. The gaps between the mesh (only an inch) were too small and the little b@stards ended up squeezing through the gaps. Either try a very fine mesh (you can buy it in some euro stores cheap enough) or else you could try putting a pane of glass/sheet of clear plastic over your pot.

purplecow1977

I don't think it was snails, practically the whole strawberry was gone, the red part anyway! Must try get some mesh. Can I fasten it around the plant on the ground or should I hang it and attach it somehow?