Behind the Fence

Wednesday, October 2, 2013

To Straw or Not to Straw


 
Today I trimmed the “ugliess” from the strawberry tower, filled in the washed-away areas in the soil with compost, sprinkled slug bait and planted the runners.








Now I must decide, do I cover the tower with straw as usual or do I wrap it in a frost blanket.



The straw works well but is a real mess to remove in the spring. Would the blanket work just as well?  I would love your opinion, please comment.

 

2 comments:

  1. Oh that is beautiful - and you keep it going through the cold winter by covering it? I would think the straw would be adding some nutrients as it broke down, but then again I am no expert on cold weather.

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    1. Thanks. The straw doesn't decompose much over the winter so I don't know that it provides much nutrients. Basically the straw helps prevent freezing and thawing, which causes the plants to pop out of the soil. I think the blanket would serve the same purpose without the mess.

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