I think I’ve had two strawberries off of my strawberry plants in the GreenStalk planter this year, even though there have been an abundance of berries.
(On a side note: the plants I put in my hoop house have provided me with just one berry so far.)
Back to the strawberry saga.
If you haven’t been following along, let me give you a little recap.
First, there were the fruit flies devouring the berries. Every ripe berry was covered in little black flies.
My first strategy was to tuck in some cotton pads with some clove essential oil on them. This worked, but I realized that it would also keep away the pollinators.
So my next strategy was to put the fruit inside a mesh bag. That worked well for a day or two and we did get a couple of ripe fruit! Win.
But, that changed when I found a bag covered in red juice and the berries inside mutilated.
Thos morning
This morning I found several bags on the ground, ripped from the plants, eaten right through, and the berries half- eaten. Also, several plants had crushed leaves and stems.
So frustrating and I’m feeling a bit hopeless.
On the security camera, at my house, I saw this: Could he be the culprit? Does he look like he is heading to the strawberries next?
Next strategy
I’m not sure how I’m going to win this one.
I could put the insect cover over the GreenStslk but I’m pretty sure he will destroy the cover as he goes in for his treats.
I could put the GreenStslk in the hoop house, but, again, I think he will just create a way in, destroying the plastic.
I could move the tower to my fenced in garden, but, oh the work - talking it apart, finding a space in the garden, levelling the paver (again) and restacking… and then the strawberries aren’t available for casual snacking, which was the whole intent.
We could set a live trap and re-home the guy but where there is one raccoon, there are more!
What we are going to try is to cover the tower at night with the heavy frost cover, which you can’t see through, and secure the bottom with some bricks.
I am hopeful but not positive that this will work. All I can do is try.
