I have, as Harlequin cat is so urgently attempting to communicate here, a strawberry problem. You can see my strawberry pots in the background there. My yields last year had been pretty much negligible, so I did a semi-refresh this year; new plants, half and half new compost and old.
That was when I started seeing the vine weevils. There followed the usual process of sifting and murder, but insects being what they are, I think it's safe to say now that my containers are now, well, weevilly. Strawbs are vulnerable to the weevil, and sure enough, this year again (they nibble the roots) despite my best efforts, the harvest was negligible.
I also had to fight the slugs for every berry, but I digress.
So now, apparently I could try garden soil in my pots or wash the roots and chuck out all the compost, but one of the reasons I have so many containers full of compost is that I have very little soil in my garden, and washing my strawbs feels a bit bonkers. Alternatively I could try and get them devoured from within by nematodes, but both ugh, really? and I also have waterplanters and apparently if nematodes get into those the results can be a bit um yeah.
There are chemicals, but we're using none of that because I have beautiful beetles of many kinds in my garden. There's a suggestion that heavy watering might help.
I'm back to washing the strawberries, aren't I?
That was when I started seeing the vine weevils. There followed the usual process of sifting and murder, but insects being what they are, I think it's safe to say now that my containers are now, well, weevilly. Strawbs are vulnerable to the weevil, and sure enough, this year again (they nibble the roots) despite my best efforts, the harvest was negligible.
I also had to fight the slugs for every berry, but I digress.
So now, apparently I could try garden soil in my pots or wash the roots and chuck out all the compost, but one of the reasons I have so many containers full of compost is that I have very little soil in my garden, and washing my strawbs feels a bit bonkers. Alternatively I could try and get them devoured from within by nematodes, but both ugh, really? and I also have waterplanters and apparently if nematodes get into those the results can be a bit um yeah.
There are chemicals, but we're using none of that because I have beautiful beetles of many kinds in my garden. There's a suggestion that heavy watering might help.
I'm back to washing the strawberries, aren't I?
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