Your comments and tips

02 Jun 18, Skye (Australia - temperate climate)

Are they frost tolerant? The strawberry farm seems to stop growing them in winter as we get many frosts

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01 May 18, Gavy (Australia - temperate climate)

Thanks Mike. I am going to plant some this weekend and I set my temperature to temperate too.

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04 May 18, Mike (Australia - sub-tropical climate)

I'm in Southern Qld and we plant about mid April. I planted mine a month earlier as I was going travelling for 3 weeks to mid April. The plants have done really well although the new plants are still sending out new shoots (runners). I cut them off. The weather here has just changed from summer to autumn in the last week H 30-33 down to 26-28 and .L 20-23 down to 15-17 at night. Read my post today about planting new runners each third year etc etc.

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28 Apr 18, Ann (Australia - temperate climate)

I have a compost bin. It is full of slaters working away. When I use my compost it appears that the Slaters eat the fruit. They also like to hide under mulch. Any suggestions to deal with the slaters?

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03 May 18, Mike (Australia - sub-tropical climate)

From Gardening Australia. "Growing strawberries in pots or growing melons over structures keeps the plants and fruit off the ground and reduces the likelihood of slater damage. When sowing seed keep mulch well clear of the furrow as slaters don't like venturing far from cover. Make traps from hollowed out orange halves or seedling punnets filled with potato peelings, to distract slaters from seedlings, and germinating seeds. When it comes to seedlings, try plant collars (old pots with the bottom chopped out) for the first couple of weeks, or pot on seedlings to establish them before planting out. Once the stems become tougher, they're less attractive to slaters. Iron chelate based snail pellets are also effective against slaters and, as they break down, they release iron to feed the plants. They're safer than traditional snail pellets for use around pets, children and wildlife but they should be stored and used with caution and common sense. In larger gardens, rotating chooks over vegie beds in between crops is a great way to clear up infestation and provide your birds with protein".

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01 May 18, Mike (Australia - sub-tropical climate)

Don't put the compost around the strawberries. Use another fertiliser (manures etc) and put fresh mulch (fine grass clippings) around your plants.

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15 Apr 18, Karen Stock (Australia - temperate climate)

Hello Margaret, I live in Portland too. Several people in Portland usually post on FB things for sale when they have divided their plants or have runners. Angela Cleary sells them at the Markets. Sometimes Gordon Page has excess. I think I will have spare too Margaret. I'll be sorting them out over the next few weeks so happy to help. cheers Karen

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16 Apr 18, (Australia - tropical climate)

A good idea is to keep 4-6-8 plants to produce runners for the next year's planting. At the end of the strawberry season just give them a little fertiliser and water them regularly and they will produce several dozen new plants. At the local Men's Shed I had 28 plants grow through the summer and they produced hundreds of new plants (700-1000). I dug the majority of them in as they produced far more than I thought they would.

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14 Apr 18, Mark (Australia - sub-tropical climate)

I have been given a half dozen well established healthy strawberry plants from a friend to transplant. I live 40m from the beach. The ground is very sandy. Would they be better put into pots with potting mix or into the sandy soil? Also should I trim the leaves back after transplanting to encourage new growth. My father in law suggests doing this.

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16 Apr 18, Mike (Australia - sub-tropical climate)

I take 40m is 40 meters from the beach. I would suggest you see if you can find some composted grass clipping and a few dry dead leaves - even some seaweed. Go to Bunnings or nursery and buy a bag of composted manure. Mix these into your sand. Yes cut the leaves back on the plants - leave a couple of the small new leaves though. When you plant the crown make sure you don't cover it with soil. 6 plants isn't many, see if you can double or triple that. Plant in a raised row and then mulch around the plants. If intending to grow next year - start preparing your soil 2 months earlier by adding in manure, grass clippings, seaweed, tree leaves, house hold food scraps etc. Add these to your soil and wet and dig in each 2 weeks. You will build up your soil over a couple of years.

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