Strawberry gardening from the edge.. 7 comments

8 Jun 2006 @ 01:58, by Heidi Schmidt-Goodgame For the last 10 years I've tried to grow strawberries and every year the deer seem to keep them clipped back drastically, preventing them from really spreading and filling in their alotted area. I was about to give up last year, figuring that if you want to live out in the country, don't fight nature. Even so, as a last ditch effort, before giving in to the deer and buying my strawberries at the store like everyone else, I came up with a hair-brain idea. And it's working!! All that grassy looking stuff is garlic. It grows well amidst the strawberries and keeps some other insects at bay. A companion planting solution. ;) I surrounded the entire bed with small wooden stakes. Then I took yarn, yes, regular knitting yarn, a nice bright color, and strung it not just around the perimeter, but also criss-crossed it back and forth over the entire bed. Oh, I may have to restring it from time to time, but yarn is cheap, it's still a lot more satisfying than going out there and finding every plant neatly chewed to the ground. For the first time in 10 years, I have tall bushy plants and every day there are a few strawberries waiting for me. Life is sweet! Why didn't I think of this sooner?

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Category: Farming 

8 Jun 2006 @ 02:10 by bushman : lol
Out here, the birds would steal the yarn. But accually, what you did, has been around forever, and prooves humans ultamatly rediscover old science, in desperation. I had to build fortresses out here to keep the oppertunists at bay. :}  

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