What’s eating my strawberries and how do I stop it? It’s only happening to the ripe ones. If I pick them a day before they’re fully ripe then they don’t get eaten.
They also look like some of them are rotting on the ground.
Any advice would be appreciated.
#asknostr #gardening #permies 
Fairies. Buy gnomes.
Our solution has always been to plant out more. Fighting this same battle establishing our new place.
Slugs are really common but that actually looks like it might be a rodent
I find it's usually slugs and snails.
Some dry mulch around the plants, like straw works well if you haven't done so already.
Could be woodlice, especially if you are mulching them with woodchip. Like you I have to pick them early because they get to them first. They ripen faster in a bag with some bananas as they give off a lot of ethylene gas as they age.
That rot should be helped with more calcium. Just leave some egg shells in vinegar for a few weeks dilute it 1 part per 1000 and spray it on..... As that takes a few weeks to prepare perhaps trying adding a couple of tablespoons of natural yogurt/ kefir /sauerkraut juice to your watering can next time you water. Lactobacillus usually counteracts a lot of rot issues.
Yes! I had some whey in the fridge leftover from the last time my wife made butter. I dosed it with some LB supplements I had laying around and sprayed everything, leaves, ground, unripe fruit. This mix fixed a lot of problems last year. I’m a new gardener and I forgot, thanks for the reminder.
Yes, I did add wood mulch, last fall. I will try your calcium suggestion as well.
Thanks
Pill bugs/roly-polys were eating mine.
If they are fine before it gets dark, but eaten the next day I go with snails or slugs overnight. You can try the beer in a lid trick to see if you catch any.
