• How to Protect Strawberry Berries from Gray Rot

    From mummycullen@mummycullen@gmail-dot-com.no-spam.invalid (MummyChunk) to alt.home.repair on Wed Mar 18 14:45:19 2026
    From Newsgroup: alt.home.repair

    -N+AGray rot particularly thrives in humid summers. The spores of this fungus are found in the soil, so the main task is to prevent the berries from coming into contact with the ground. If the fruits are isolated from the soil, the risk of disease will be significantly reduced.
    -N+AA good option is to grow strawberries on black mulch. Also, during fruiting, you can place boards under the flower stalks, tie them to the trellis, carefully tie up the bushes with twine, or set up small supports.
    -N+AFor prevention, it's useful to water the soil and the bushes themselves with a solution of "Fitosporin" once a week.
    -N+AAfter the end of fruiting, treat the plantings with "Bordeaux mixture" (approximately 1 teaspoon per 0.5 liters of water).
    -N+AAnother effective remedy is the preparation "Zircon". It strengthens the plant's immunity and helps it resist fungal, bacterial, and even viral diseases.
    -N+ADuring harvesting, be sure to remove berries affected by gray rot. Place them in a separate container and bury them far from the strawberry bed to a depth of a shovel blade.
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  • From redacted@devnull@redacted.dnc to alt.home.repair on Thu Mar 19 06:39:49 2026
    From Newsgroup: alt.home.repair

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    On 3/18/26 14:45, MummyChunk wrote:
    -N+AGray rot particularly thrives in humid summers. The spores of this fungus are found in the soil, so the main task is to prevent the berries
    from coming into contact with the ground. If the fruits are isolated from the soil, the risk of disease will be significantly reduced.
    -N+AA good option is to grow strawberries on black mulch. Also, during fruiting, you can place boards under the flower stalks, tie them to the
    trellis, carefully tie up the bushes with twine, or set up small supports. -N+AFor prevention, it's useful to water the soil and the bushes themselves with a solution of "Fitosporin" once a week.
    -N+AAfter the end of fruiting, treat the plantings with "Bordeaux mixture" (approximately 1 teaspoon per 0.5 liters of water).
    -N+AAnother effective remedy is the preparation "Zircon". It strengthens the plant's immunity and helps it resist fungal, bacterial, and even
    viral diseases.
    -N+ADuring harvesting, be sure to remove berries affected by gray rot. Place them in a separate container and bury them far from the strawberry
    bed to a depth of a shovel blade.


    Weeds are immune to all these pests and diseases. Why is a strawberry plant so fragile?

    Did BigFarma breed them so we would need to buy lots of chemicals to keep them alive?


    Eat weeds instead.

    https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/49713/dandelion-salad/

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    <div class="moz-cite-prefix">On 3/18/26 14:45, MummyChunk wrote:<br>
    </div>
    <blockquote type="cite"
    cite="mid:KNicnV95HpjWiCb0nZ2dnZfqn_GdnZ2d@giganews.com">-N+AGray
    rot particularly thrives in humid summers. The spores of this
    fungus are found in the soil, so the main task is to prevent the
    berries from coming into contact with the ground. If the fruits
    are isolated from the soil, the risk of disease will be
    significantly reduced.
    <br>
    -N+AA good option is to grow strawberries on black mulch. Also,
    during fruiting, you can place boards under the flower stalks, tie
    them to the trellis, carefully tie up the bushes with twine, or
    set up small supports.
    <br>
    -N+AFor prevention, it's useful to water the soil and the bushes
    themselves with a solution of "Fitosporin" once a week.
    <br>
    -N+AAfter the end of fruiting, treat the plantings with "Bordeaux
    mixture" (approximately 1 teaspoon per 0.5 liters of water).
    <br>
    -N+AAnother effective remedy is the preparation "Zircon". It
    strengthens the plant's immunity and helps it resist fungal,
    bacterial, and even viral diseases.
    <br>
    -N+ADuring harvesting, be sure to remove berries affected by gray
    rot. Place them in a separate container and bury them far from the
    strawberry bed to a depth of a shovel blade.
    <br>
    </blockquote>
    <p><br>
    </p>
    <p>Weeds are immune to all these pests and diseases. Why is a
    strawberry plant so fragile?</p>
    <p>Did BigFarma breed them so we would need to buy lots of chemicals
    to keep them alive?</p>
    <p><br>
    </p>
    <p>Eat weeds instead.</p>
    <p><a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/49713/dandelion-salad/">https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/49713/dandelion-salad/</a></p>
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  • From Retirednoguilt@HapilyRetired@fakeaddress.com to alt.home.repair on Thu Mar 19 09:13:01 2026
    From Newsgroup: alt.home.repair

    On 3/18/2026 2:45 PM, MummyChunk wrote:
    -N+AGray rot particularly thrives in humid summers. The spores of this fungus are found in the soil, so the main task is to prevent the berries from coming into contact with the ground. If the fruits are isolated from the soil, the risk of disease will be significantly reduced.
    -N+AA good option is to grow strawberries on black mulch. Also, during fruiting, you can place boards under the flower stalks, tie them to the trellis, carefully tie up the bushes with twine, or set up small supports.
    -N+AFor prevention, it's useful to water the soil and the bushes themselves with a solution of "Fitosporin" once a week.
    -N+AAfter the end of fruiting, treat the plantings with "Bordeaux mixture" (approximately 1 teaspoon per 0.5 liters of water).
    -N+AAnother effective remedy is the preparation "Zircon". It strengthens the plant's immunity and helps it resist fungal, bacterial, and even viral diseases.
    -N+ADuring harvesting, be sure to remove berries affected by gray rot. Place them in a separate container and bury them far from the strawberry bed to a depth of a shovel blade.

    What's your recommendation for how to minimize the formation of rot in
    the plastic box of strawberries after I bring them home?
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  • From Cindy Hamilton@chamilton5280@invalid.com to alt.home.repair on Thu Mar 19 13:34:40 2026
    From Newsgroup: alt.home.repair

    On 2026-03-19, Retirednoguilt <HapilyRetired@fakeaddress.com> wrote:

    What's your recommendation for how to minimize the formation of rot in
    the plastic box of strawberries after I bring them home?

    Google AI says:

    The best way to store fresh strawberries is to keep them dry, unwashed,
    and stored in an airtight container lined with paper towels in the refrigerator. For maximum freshness, sort out bruised berries, leave the
    stems on, and place them in a single layer to avoid crushing.

    Once we buy strawberries, it only takes us a few days to use a quart.
    To facilitate consumption, we remove the stems, and either:

    * My husband's method: soak them in tapwater acidulated with bottled
    lemon juice
    * My method: squirt a little bottled lemon juice over them, agitate
    gently, then rinse with tap water

    Then we remove excess water and put them in a storage box with a
    double layer of paper towel on the bottom.

    I find the lemon juice is unnoticeable.
    --
    Cindy Hamilton
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  • From Ed P@esp@snet.n to alt.home.repair on Thu Mar 19 09:46:52 2026
    From Newsgroup: alt.home.repair

    On 3/19/2026 9:13 AM, Retirednoguilt wrote:


    What's your recommendation for how to minimize the formation of rot in
    the plastic box of strawberries after I bring them home?

    Eat them.

    I live near a big strawberry growing area but seldom buy them. Picked
    too soon, they are far from full flavor ripeness. Many are still white
    at the top.

    You can get them to change to better color, but they will not ripen and
    get better flavor. Last good berries I had was from the farmer's
    market in CT, picked ripe and full of flavor by one of the ladies there.
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  • From Retirednoguilt@HapilyRetired@fakeaddress.com to alt.home.repair on Thu Mar 19 10:42:22 2026
    From Newsgroup: alt.home.repair

    On 3/19/2026 9:34 AM, Cindy Hamilton wrote:
    On 2026-03-19, Retirednoguilt <HapilyRetired@fakeaddress.com> wrote:

    What's your recommendation for how to minimize the formation of rot in
    the plastic box of strawberries after I bring them home?

    Google AI says:

    The best way to store fresh strawberries is to keep them dry, unwashed,
    and stored in an airtight container lined with paper towels in the refrigerator. For maximum freshness, sort out bruised berries, leave the stems on, and place them in a single layer to avoid crushing.

    Once we buy strawberries, it only takes us a few days to use a quart.
    To facilitate consumption, we remove the stems, and either:

    * My husband's method: soak them in tapwater acidulated with bottled
    lemon juice
    * My method: squirt a little bottled lemon juice over them, agitate
    gently, then rinse with tap water

    Then we remove excess water and put them in a storage box with a
    double layer of paper towel on the bottom.

    I find the lemon juice is unnoticeable.

    Thanks Cindy. I'll try it. I've always left them in the perforated
    plastic box they come in, in the fridge but often the ones on the bottom
    start rotting within about 2 days. Right now our Aldi has a sale; a 1
    lb box for $1.29. They look fully ripe with no green or white areas on
    the berries and have a strong sweet strawberry odor.
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