Tag: summer fruit

Strawberry Boxes Protection

My strawberries are full of bloom and have tripled the bed in three of the beds. There won’t be enough to freeze but hopefully there will be enough for fresh strawberry bread, muffins, milk shakes or in a fresh salad.

I grow mine in big tractor tires that have no other use. I can get 10-12 plants in each tire. They easier to work on when they’re raised a bit off the ground. The black tires warm the dirt inside that makes for a bit of a early harvest. Last year the deer got the strawberries before I did or the birds and this year a chipmunk has taken up residence in one of the tires. Sadie will take care of them for me.

I made tops out of some of the old fence wire we took down to keep the deer from devouring all of them. We have two does and three last year fawns that bed next to the greenhouse every night.

This tall circle of woven wire will protect from deer scavenging..
This tire just has three layers of short pieces of woven wire laying on top of the tire.
This strawberry planter has an old piece of window screen attached to four wooden sides that keep the varmints out, but the screen is too heavy and is mashing the plants. I will replace it with woven wire like on the first two.
The deer got about half of this one before I took action. I need to place another square of woven wire over what is there to keep their noses and teeth OUT!
This planter is where the chipmunk has taken up residence and Sadie and I will take care of that soon with wire and some more plants for it and the previous one.
The strawberry planters are to the right of the greenhouse and in front of two cherry trees.

Strawberries are easy to grow when you can keep the critters out of them. Fresh strawberries are delicious and good for you as most fruit is. Above the strawberries and behind the greenhouse are three tires with blueberries that are starting to bloom even after two weeks of freezing weather. We still may harvest enough fruit for a few milkshakes or some homemade ice cream, but that’s another post for the future.

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