Mulch for strawberries

[northener]

Hello, what do you lot use for under your strawbs to stop the fruit getting dirty. Would grass cuttings be any good?

[northener]

[redimp]

will shredded paper be any good as a temporary measure until my other half gets round to getting some straw of her farmer mate?

[Robert_Brenchley]

Grass cuttings should be fine, but only use half an inch or so.

[Merry Tiller]

Straw tends to harbour fewer Slugs

[Spookyville]

we have inherited a largish strawberry patch when we moved. looking a bit sad now, saw Gardners World and old Monty chopped them down and then spread compost mulch over them liberally. Is this the way to go ? There is currently old straw from last year around them.

Should I remove straw, chop them back, mulch them, and then re-straw with fresh straw - if so when? TIA

[thomasb]

I put fresh straw around the strawberries each year.
Thomas

[Columbus]

Hi Northener,

Last year in the absence of anything else I used fleece (which was fine at the time but I still have a few plants in my patch with roots stuck through old fleece)

Col

[weedbusta]

weed fabric seems popular in the allotments around me so i followed suit and it seems fine.

[jennym]

Around now, I lightly shear off the oldish leaves, then apply a mulch of compost. I don't put compost on in the autumn. When the fruit starts to come, I sometimes put clean straw under the clusters of fruit.

[sumbody]

I take it from these replies that you all have new growth on your strawberry plants now then ????

I have nothing still - pulled one out of the earth - no growth on the roots either - my whole batch of plants bought last year are still dead-looking.  Think I should give up as a bad lot ???

Will contact suppliers I think - although they said wait to May/June for growth - but I would have thought there would have been SOME sign of growth by now - ???

[Spookyville]

Around now, I lightly shear off the oldish leaves, then apply a mulch of compost. I don't put compost on in the autumn. When the fruit starts to come, I sometimes put clean straw under the clusters of fruit.

thanks, that answered my queries. thought I was becoming inivisible  ;D

[Paulines7]

I take it from these replies that you all have new growth on your strawberry plants now then ????

I have nothing still - pulled one out of the earth - no growth on the roots either - my whole batch of plants bought last year are still dead-looking.  Think I should give up as a bad lot ???

Will contact suppliers I think - although they said wait to May/June for growth - but I would have thought there would have been SOME sign of growth by now - ???

Sumbody, perhaps your plants were Autumn fruiting.  If the supplier said wait until May/June for growth, I would do just that especially with the cold winter we have had.