I live in Herts UK.
I have two strawberry beds growing well. However I find that when I pick the strawberries a few have chunks taken out of them and many many many of the green strawberries have been disconnected at the stalk and simply are found lying on the floor. They are not eaten simply cut or dropped from the plant. Watering is not a problem.
I do have greyt squirrels raiding my birdtable

Does anyone know for sure what is damaging my stawberries and cutting them off?

thanks

Zero

Woodlice :-((

.

Checked this out, it does not fit the damage because something is cutting the stalk to the green stawberries, it might even be gathering the stwarberries up because I seem to find little piles of green detached strawberries. I might be imagining this, as the drooping strawberries might just be landing n the same vicinity. The green strawberries are then left untouched.

I can only think of Mice?

If you have grey squirrels visiting your garden, and they can access the strawberries, the point will soon arrive when you don't get a single one for yourself. They would strip my parents strawberry bed. So my parents built a rigid wooden box with chickenwire panels to protect them. The squirrels would jump on the chickenwire until it bent down, then stick their hands through the holes and grab the strawberries. But at least they couldn't reach them all. Once they learned to burrow under the box, my parents gave up growing strawberries.

On Wed, 29 Jun 2011 17:51:45 +0000, ZeroZero
wrote:


I live in Herts UK.
I have two strawberry beds growing well. However I find that when I
pick the strawberries a few have chunks taken out of them and many many
many of the green strawberries have been disconnected at the stalk and
simply are found lying on the floor. They are not eaten simply cut or
dropped from the plant. Watering is not a problem.
I do have greyt squirrels raiding my birdtable

Does anyone know for sure what is damaging my stawberries and cutting
them off?

thanks

Zero


Magpies or blackbirds maybe?


--
http://www.voucherfreebies.co.uk

mogga wrote:
Does anyone know for sure what is damaging my stawberries and cutting
them off?

Magpies or blackbirds maybe?

Or pigeons.

On Wed, 29 Jun 2011 17:51:45 +0000, ZeroZero
wrote:


I have two strawberry beds growing well. However I find that when I
pick the strawberries a few have chunks taken out of them and many many
many of the green strawberries have been disconnected at the stalk and
simply are found lying on the floor.

Have you any protection for them ? I think its birds.

This year must go down as one of the best years for growing almost any
fruit. My Strawberry bed, 12ft by 4ft, has produced so many that even
the neighbors are getting tired of eating them, freezer is full and
have run out of Jam jars.

I cover with a tent made out of fleece, to keep off the birds.

On 29/06/11 18:51, ZeroZero wrote:
I live in Herts UK.
I have two strawberry beds growing well. However I find that when I
pick the strawberries a few have chunks taken out of them and many many
many of the green strawberries have been disconnected at the stalk and
simply are found lying on the floor. They are not eaten simply cut or
dropped from the plant. Watering is not a problem.
I do have greyt squirrels raiding my birdtable

Does anyone know for sure what is damaging my stawberries and cutting
them off?

A friend reports watching grey squirrels picking green strawberries and
then discarding them when they realise they are not nuts.

--
Phil
Liverpool, UK

On Jun 29, 9:11*pm, mike crowe
wrote:
ZeroZero;928446 Wrote:

I live in Herts UK.
I have two strawberry beds growing well. However I find that when I
pick the strawberries a few have chunks taken out of them and many many
many of the green strawberries have been disconnected at the stalk and
simply are found lying on the floor. They are not eaten simply cut or
dropped from the plant. *Watering is not a problem.
I do have greyt squirrels raiding my birdtable

Does anyone know for sure what is damaging my stawberries and cutting
them off?

thanks

Zero

Woodlice :-((

.

--
mike crowe

Squirrels. Ours do that and they do eat some of the green ones.

Jonathan

wrote in message
...
On Jun 29, 9:11 pm, mike crowe
wrote:
ZeroZero;928446 Wrote:

I live in Herts UK.
I have two strawberry beds growing well. However I find that when I
pick the strawberries a few have chunks taken out of them and many many
many of the green strawberries have been disconnected at the stalk and
simply are found lying on the floor. They are not eaten simply cut or
dropped from the plant. Watering is not a problem.
I do have greyt squirrels raiding my birdtable

Does anyone know for sure what is damaging my stawberries and cutting
them off?

thanks

Zero

Woodlice :-((

.

--
mike crowe

Squirrels. Ours do that and they do eat some of the green ones.

Jonathan
.................................................. .........

We only have Red Squirrels and they are faaaaaaaaaaaaaar to polite to do
that sort of damage ;-))

Kindest regards

Mike


--

....................................

Don't take life too seriously, you'll never get out alive.

....................................

thanks for the replies, I am still finding little piles of ten or so, strawberries - moslty green. The animals (I am sure its animals I cant see a bird making this arrangement, are nipping off the berries right at the haulm (near the neck of the stwarberry) .
My guess after this advice is its mice or squirrels I think mice exhibit this 'collecting' behaviour?

On 2011-06-30 12:28:26 +0100, said:

mogga wrote:
Does anyone know for sure what is damaging my stawberries and cutting
them off?

Magpies or blackbirds maybe?

Or pigeons.

Rabbits eat mine.