Eliminating growth problems with plastic

There are good reasons for growing strawberries on plastic-covered beds.

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Using plastic sheeting when growing strawberries eliminates a number of problems that are otherwise time consuming and costly to correct. One of the difficulties in growing strawberries is the control of weeds. The strawberry plants send out runners and also spread out. This means their growth is thick and dense, and weeds are not easy to extract without damaging the plants, nor are they easy to see.

Sally March, of the farm Sophiadale, Seven Oaks, KwaZulu-Natal, has had excellent results with her strawberries using plastic. Her yields have been good, the equivalent of about 40t of the fruit to the hectare.

Some time ago, March saw an article in Farmer's Weekly describing how to burn holes in plastic sheeting and then put plants into the ground through the holes. This is now exactly what she does, but before even laying the plastic sheeting on the beds, she prepares her ground. After turning the soil, kraal manure is spread on the top, and then both the manure and the soil are sterilised T by fumigating with methyl bromide. March prefers to use methyl bromide because the fumigation takes only 48 hours before the soil is safe to use. She sterilises her soil against weeds and eelworm, after spreading the kraal manure rather than before to ensure no weeds will be introduced in it.