Topic: straw or not, that is the question?

[weedgrower]

just wondering what people put underneath their starawberries to keep them from touching the soil. put straw underneath them last year and lost a lot to slugs. then somebody pointed out that the straw will be a great hiding place for slugs

[Suzanne]

I have used straw and it was good in terms of keeping mud splashes off of the fruits which I think it is used for. But better was to plant them in a raised bed through a weed suppressing fabric and to cover with a bird net.

For slugs Ii put down growing success organic slug pellets - and then hope to heaven that the field mice don't find my strawberry patch as these seem to be the blighters now that take the fruit.  :o