​Leaky birdbaths; the answer to slug free strawberries.

It is strawberry season and there is a battle between who gets to eat them first: me or the slugs. 

Slugs always seem to get to my strawberries before I do, which is why I thought I would thwart those slimy creatures with planting a few strawberry plants in an old leaky birdbath. It was better than chucking out the old thing. My only issue is that it needs to be a tad deeper as I have to water it more often than I care to. I am impressed that there already strawberries dangling over the rim. Easy pickings for us but not so much for those darn slugs.

Since I am the lucky owner of another leaking birdbath, I jumped at the offer of some hens and chicks (Sempervivum tectorum) plants from my kindly neighbour. I thought they would look rather nice perched atop a birdbath with their ‘chicks’ cascading over the edge. We’ll see how that works. They should do better than the strawberries as they are succulents, which don’t mind drying out if I fail to water them as often as I should. Hey, nobody is perfect and sometimes life just takes over.

In fall, these captured and suspended strawberries, as well as the hens & chicks, will have to come down to earth. I plan to unscrew the top of the birdbath and set them in the ground. They probably wouldn’t survive the winter without the thermal heat of the earth to keep them cozy.  
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In the meantime, I will see how this works, especially with the watering issue. After all, it is an experiment and just a bit of gardening fun.
Cheers,
Amanda

As you can see, the birdbath isn't very deep, but the strawberries don't seem to mind as long as I keep up the watering. Sure wish it would rain....

Dangling ripe, slug-free strawberries. They don't seem to make it into the kitchen though.

Hens & chicks like it hot and dry so logically, they should do better than the strawbs.