ummm heres where i am going to agree with your MIL..lol
Here's my ugly garden.....
The straw still on them was frozen. Proabably not today though.
She put the green fencing around her berries so the deer and rabbits wouldn't eat them.
First off, there's no berries yet!!! They're new plants!!!!
!
deer and rabbits love fresh plants not just fresh berries, we also put nets and fencing around our plants.
Um, I've never lost a single tomato to a deer why would they start now.... and she's got more bunnies in the city than I do here.....
Can we say paranoid?
we live in the city,we have rabbits,bears and deer come into the yard and try to eat little fresh plants.!
Oh well. My bet is that she'll cover again next year and make more work for me.
YAY.
i bet you are going to be right..lol
we use to have friends that had a u pick strawberry farm, and they always covered their strawberries in straw.... straw-berries... say the name again strawww berries..lmao
Mulch between plants after planting to keep the soil temperature cool, deter weeds and to keep the fruit off the soil. Straw is the traditional strawberry mulch. Do not use black plastic since it will raise the soil temperature and optimal fruit production requires cool soil.
In colder climates, mulching over the strawberry plants will prevent injury to the crowns. Wait until the temperature drops to 20 degrees F. and cover with several inches of straw or pine needles. Be sure to use a mulch that can be easily removed in the spring.
when you put straw around and over the plants, it helps to retain water and provide nutrients to the soil that the strawberry plants need