Nevermind. Everyone must be outside gardening! I found something I think I can do!

Here is a link that might be useful: Mel's Cube

Semi,

Fake anything, whether it is owls or snakes or whatever, only works for a couple of days before the birds figure out that the fake animals don't move and aren't a threat to them. I have two terrific scarecrows that a very dear friend of ours made for my garden (a most wonderful and unexpected gift), but many songbirds sit on the scarecrows and use them as a perch. However, the hawks (who are quite a problem and often try to get our chickens and guineas) seem to think the scarecrows are real, so they are effective in that regard.

With strawberries, the first thing to understand is that every critter in your neighborhood that is an omnivore or herbivore will try to eat them, and this includes not only the birds, but mice, rabbits, voles, insects, turtles, etc. So, netting is perhaps your best bet. It needs to be raised up a little so it does not lie directly on the plants and fruit, or the birds will sit on the netting and peck at the fruit through the holes in the mesh. It also needs to be secured at the ground level to keep out small animals.

You also could use a Remay-type floating row cover. I don't know if any place in Ardmore sells them, but think TSC or Orschlein's or Bluebonnet Feed might be the best place to look. (I haven't seen them at Lowe's.) These row covers are very lightweight and keep everything off the plants except for insects that can navigate their way up through the soil, like sowbugs and pillbugs. If you can't find floating row covers, the "sheer" curtains sold in stores are a reasonable substitute.

Things that move tend to scare off birds more than things that are stable. There is a commercial product called bird flash tape that is iridescent and supposedly scares off birds as it blows in the wind. I haven't tried it, but have used surveyor's tape (you can get a roll for just a couple of bucks at Lowe's) for the same purpose.

Strawberries are one of those crops that gardeners love to grow (especially new gardeners). However, they are VERY labor-intensive and are very hard to grow organically because keeping them "safe" from both pests and diseases requires a LOT of chemicals (esp. commercially). Some people have a lot of success with them. Others don't. I think Plantermunn is quite accomplished at growing strawberries, so perhaps he'll see this post and give you some tips.

You also can go to the Noble Foundation website and read about their work with strawberry plasticulture. If I ever were to grow strawberries again, that's the route I would go because it seems very efficient and probably has a high rate of success.

I don't grow strawberries myself because I think they require too much work/cost in return for the amount of berries you harvest from a small patch. (I did grow them in Texas, but I had a smaller garden and landscape to maintain.) But, that's just me. I have a huge garden area to maintain, so I can't give high-maintenance plants like strawberries the attention they really need.

Good luck,

Dawn

Here is a link that might be useful: Bird Scare Flash Tape

I have always ordered my floating row covers, so I was surprised to find that Wal-mart had them this year. They were in the garden shop in a flat plastic bag hanging on a rack. They were not huge, but at least they had them.

I have had trouble with birds getting trapped in bird netting so I am not found of that.

My dad always used to use aluminum pie pans to scare the animals and birds away. He would just poke a hole in the pan and tie it with a string to the tomato cages.

This year I painted a pile of stones red and placed them in with the strawberry before they ripened. The birds learn that these are no good and don't come looking. It is working so far.

I bought some of that bird netting at Lowe's it was only $5+ and the anchors were $3. Maybe not worth it for the pint of berries I might eventually get!

Being new to gardening, I was a little too ambitious with planting strawberries, blackberries, blueberries and raspberries. The raspberry plant leaves are looking all curled up. The blueberries and blackberries are doing okay (that means not dying). I will be overjoyed if I ever get a single berry!

My veggies are doing fine (actually growing!). Maybe I should stick to those.

Again, I appreciate everyone's help. I try googling the info I need first, but I like to hear it in simple terms from y'all. And Dawn can even tell me what aisle at Lowe's, and what color the bag is!

Semi,

Good luck with the netting. Be sure to check it once or twice a day to make sure birds, turtles, frogs, lizards and other little wild things aren't tangled up and trapped in it.

As for knowing what aisle at Lowe's and what color bag.....I am laughing! That's funny, but a bit of exaggeration. And, I am no good at all at knowing what is at the nurseries in Ardmore.....but Merry Heart is! She visits them often.

We usually go to Lowe's because DH can get what he needs there for whatever project he is working on, and I can go to the nursery section and entertain myself while he's looking for nails or lumber or whatever. So, we're both happy and no one is bored. LOL

There is nothing wrong with being ambitious with planting fruit, if you don't mind losing a few plants along the way. I have found that blackberries are the easiest to grow and provide a great crop reliably, as long as you prune them properly. Scott has convinced me to give blueberries a try next year. (That way, I can build their bed this winter and have it ready for them when the plants pop up in the stores.)

Strawberries are one I've tried and discarded.....too much work for too little return in our climate. Raspberries? All my life I've heard "they don't grow wel here", both in Texas and Oklahoma, and I think that is pretty much the case. I suppose some people in the more eastern parts of Oklahoma who have great soil (more acidic than ours) and wonderful rainfall (much more than we get here in south-central OK) MIGHT have some success with raspberries, but everyone I know who has tried them has trouble with the July and August heat just burning up the plants.

Other fruits that can grow well in Oklahoma include many of the tree fruits, especially peaches, plums, apricots, pears and cherries, and also some of the more unusual ones like figs and jujubes.

One of these days I am going to plant figs and jujubes!

Dawn

A couple of years ago, I was in Lowes and a man I didn't know said, "You are here more than I am, and I work here".
I'm afraid my Lowes trips have decreased this year since I don't have a building project going on -- YET, but it soulds like you gals are picking up my share.