This Forum will close on Wednesday 27 March, 2024. Please refer to the announcement on the Discussions page for further detail.
Potatoes after strawberries?
Loz46
Posts: 103
in Fruit & veg
Hi everyone,
i am cleaning out my strawberry patch as it is massively overcrowded, mostly dead, and seems to have plenty of resident pests that aren't helping my eventual yield, come harvest time. I am transplanting runners to a new patch, and will clear out all remaining dead/surplus foliage.
I am wondering what to grow in its place; it is a raised bed in a sunny position. I am thinking potatoes, but am concerned that perhaps the pests in the soil, namely slugs, snails and woodlice, would have a good old munch at them, underground? I do intend on using nemaslug this year, and what with the strawberries gone, hopefully less pests will congregate.
Any thoughts? Many thanks!
0
Posts
Hello,
I would recommend completely digging over the area, adding some organic matter such as compost and manure to the bed. then leave it clear for a week or two, this will allow time for the slugs and snails to move away as there is nothing they desire there any more.
once they have left and the soil has had a chance to replenish with the added organic matter, the bed will be great to grow potatoes in.
I grow potatoes almost every year and have been doing for about 5 years, the only issue I have had concerning slugs or snails is when the potatoes are actually protruding the soil, and a simple way to prevent this is to check every couple of days, mainly after heavy rain. to see if there are any potatoes showing, and simply get a handful of soil and cover them over, this should protect them from slugs and snails!
Hope this helps,
-Jerry
Thank you very much for your reply, very kind of you.
I shall indeed do exactly as you say. I aim to collect some manure from my local riding stables this Sunday and will dig it in ASAP.
I've just bought a variety pack of potato tubers, so very pleased that I can use this space for them!
Lauren
As long as your strawberries were healthy you should be OK following Jerry's advice. However, both plants are susceptible to verticillium so it's usually recommended to leave a gap of at least a year or two when planting one where the other has grown before. Have a look at this page:
http://strawberryplants.org/2011/03/companion-planting-strawberries/
Thanks for the link, Bob! I've recently bought a caraway plant so now I know where to plant it. Borage seems like a worthy plant, too.