Strawberries

A Snake in Our Strawberry Patch

~ McArtor ~ Leave a comment
fig and strawberry leaf hideout

I found a big snake in our backyard strawberry patch! I saw the brown, black and white stripped snake a few days ago as I reached to remove the netting over the plants. It was not a slim little garter snake. This snake was long and coiled beneath the strawberry and fig tree leaves. It was still until it saw me, then it poked its head through the netting, opened its mouth and wiggled its tongue at me. I ran for my camera. When I returned to the strawberry patch, the snake had completely disappeared. A bit nervous, I combed through the strawberry patch with a long stick and picked the last strawberries of the season.

Why did a big snake visit our small strawberry patch?

Snakes do not eat fruit, but they eat the critters (rodents, moles and chipmunks) that nibble our strawberries.  Also, the fig leaves and strawberry plant leaves provide a cool hideout for the snake during the hot days.   Although a bit frightening,  the snake is a beneficial garden critter.  It may even be more effective in protecting our strawberries than the netting!

Strawberries

~ McArtor ~ Leave a comment
strawberries under netting

Strawberries are abundant and ripe now!  We have two supply sources for fresh picked strawberries..our backyard and at our community garden plot. The strawberries in our backyard have less damage this year because we covered them with netting.  Only the bugs have access to the fruit, not the birds so our yields are greater.  We already picked two and a half pounds from our backyard patch.   Last evening we picked another 2 and a half pounds from an abandoned plot in our community garden. A woman saw my son getting into mischief in our plot so she asked him if he wanted to pick the strawberries from the unclaimed plot next to her. The plants were rambling into her garden space and loaded with berries.  We picked and picked.  The strawberries in the community garden were not covered with netting and did not seem to have damage from hungry birds.   Could it be because the birds  have more natural food sources at the Howard County Conservancy than in our backyard?

What organic methods do you use to protect your strawberries?