Strawberries are the queen of berries! It is long-awaited for every gardener. The vegetative period has 2 waves: in spring and summer after the first harvest.
For successful cultivation strawberries, you need to choose the right site, variety, seedlings, observe crop rotation, planting method and be prepared to fight pests and diseases.
Soil and place for growing strawberries. Strawberries grow best on chernozem, loamy and sandy soil, on dark gray forest soils on southwestern small slopes.
The yield will be worse on light gray, peaty, clay, sandy or soddy-podzolic soil, in a lowland. , it is necessary that the pH was 5 - 6.5. Level ground water should be at least 60 cm, and the soil in winter at a depth of 15-20 cm did not freeze to -8 ° C.
How to prepare a plot for planting strawberries
The Colorado potato beetle, strawberry nematode and others will not refuse such a delicacy as strawberries. Before planting, it is better to check the area for the presence of their larvae. After the snow melts and the soil dries up, collect all the remains of vegetation, burn it. If there are many larvae, then alkaloid lupine is planted, the larvae die from it, or the soil is treated with ammonia water (20 kg per 1 hundred square meters). It is possible to clear the area from cereal weeds in autumn with the composition of Roundup (2.5-3 liters per 1 ha). Plow the ground in October to a depth of 25-30 cm. In the spring they are harrowed and cultivated immediately before planting to a depth of 15 cm.
How to determine the quality of seedlings for planting strawberries
The best seedlings are considered to be those with a root collar in diameter of more than 6 mm, and root system fibrous, more than 7 cm in root processes. Seedlings should have 3-5 leaves, a whole apical bud and juicy roots white color 3-5 cm long.
Strawberry seedlings, obtained on the side or selected on the spot, need to be planted faster. If, for some reason, planting is delayed, then the seedlings can be stored for 2-3 days buried in moist, loose soil in a shady place or a cold room (basement, cellar), wrapping the roots in wet moss.
How to plant strawberries
Planting strawberry seedlings in early spring(as early as possible) or very early autumn. Autumn planting is carried out from August 10 to September 25, after moistening the soil well. Do not delay planting, as later spring or autumn planting significantly reduce yield. There is an opinion that you can plant strawberries in summer time, July-August, two-line method. Then in the spring you can grow early vegetables in the selected area. But in the south of Russia and Ukraine, there is little precipitation in the summer-autumn period, and the air and soil temperatures are so high that no shading and watering can give the desired effect. Planted plants quickly wither and die.
5 days before planting, the seedlings are kept in a cool place, immediately before planting, the roots are dipped in a clay mash for better survival in order to avoid drying out. Planted in moist, but not wet soil. During planting, the box with seedlings should be in the shade. If the root system is too long, then shorten it to 7-10 cm.
To protect against rapid drying of the soil and the formation of a crust, the wells of watered plants should be sprinkled with earth, and even better - with humus. After planting, the soil on the site is compacted, it should be loosened to give free access to water and air to the roots of plants. If the weather is dry, watering should be repeated as needed.
Clay mash recipe:
- Pour 1/2 bucket of orange clay with water to slightly cover the clay, leave to infuse.
- After a while it will be a creamy mass.
- If the lumps of clay have not completely dissolved in the water, then mix the mass several times so that the water can completely absorb all the lumps.
Ways to grow strawberries in the country
Growing strawberries in rows using the row method
With this placement, 600 to 670 seedlings are required per 100 m2.
Any time for planting strawberries can be chosen, except for winter. In the spring, strawberries are planted as early as possible, in early April, since if you plant them in May, the development will be much slower. If planted in July-August, it will be possible to harvest the next season. The last date for planting strawberries can be considered mid-September.
1 - two-line; 2 - single line; 3 - two-line on the ridges
For planting, cloudy and damp weather is chosen. You can plant with a single-line method, two-line or two-line in the beds. The most optimal is a two-line planting, where the distance between plants is 15-20 cm, between ribbons (rows) 60-70 cm, between lines 30 cm. With a single-line planting method, the following distances are observed: between plants 15-20 cm, between lines 60-70 see. Place the beds from north to south, plant 2 rows of strawberry seedlings along the edges.
Planting strawberries on small areas follows the cord. To do this, at two opposite ends of the plot, using a tape measure, you need to make marks for future rows-lines. In the marked places, put the pegs and pull the cord for every two opposite pegs. Using a stick measuring 25 cm near the cord, mark the places for planting plants in a row. On the same side of the cord, make holes with a bayonet, and on loose soil with ripper cats or hands. A liter of water is poured into the hole. When the water is absorbed into the soil, the roots of the seedlings are placed in the resulting mud and they are well covered with mud, the holes are covered with dry earth, which must then be pressed tightly. The holes should be of such depth that the roots of the plants do not bend when planting. Before planting, it is necessary to inspect each strawberry bush and remove plants with diseased leaves and roots. In seedlings intended for planting, the roots should be somewhat shortened, leaving them 5-7 cm long. This will contribute to a stronger development of lateral roots.
To protect strawberries from pests, dirt and decay, place a roofing material or lutrasil on the ground, making holes in it 25-30 cm wide from each other (cut the canvas crosswise with a knife and bend the corners into the soil).
Make a hole bayonet shovel and arrange the seedlings so that the heart is flush with the surface of the soil. If the heart (growth point) is deep, it will rot; if it is high, it will freeze from the cold in winter.
1 - correct;
2 - wrong (deep);
3 - incorrect (high)
Sprinkle the roots with earth and compact a little. Water at the rate of 0.5 liters per plant and so on for 7-10 days until it takes root. Be sure to mulch after watering. It is important that the roots, when planting, are located freely in the hole and the earth fits snugly against them. With such a planting, a plant pulled by a leaf does not pull out. If the roots are not tightly pressed against the ground, then the plant takes root more slowly and may die.
Do not leave covering material on the site for the next year, since ants will create colonies under it, which will be extremely difficult to fight - the plants will die.
In dry hot weather, plants are shaded with green branches or burlap, after watering they are mulched so that the soil does not take on a crust. In November, strawberries are covered if there is no snow cover yet.
Growing strawberries under cover (film tunnels)
Shelter allows plants to develop faster, ripen several weeks earlier than plants planted in open ground. Usually grown like this early varieties strawberries. The simplest shelters are film tunnels. Strawberries cover the 1st and 2nd year of fruiting. Install tunnels in late April-early May: install wire arcs placed at a distance of 1 meter from each other, up to half a meter high from the ground. Deepen the ends into the soil and fix the film on them. The film may sag on the side and top, so the arcs should be secured with twine. Film tunnels need to be ventilated from time to time, watered, mulched and harvested, which means that one side must be made deaf, sprinkled with earth or laid heavy objects on the edges of the film, on the other side, attach a rail to the film. At the end of the shelter, collect the film, tie it in a knot, tie it to pegs, which you then dig into the ground.
It is not difficult to take care of strawberries in film tunnels, place a thermometer in a shelter, if the temperature inside the structure rises above 25 ° C, then you need to ventilate it urgently. When on the street good weather and strawberries are flowering, the shelter is removed for the day. When the crop is harvested, the film is removed.
- In summer, water strawberries once a week early in the morning. warm water. Weed the beds periodically. Fertilize plants and watch out for pests on strawberries.
- In autumn, strawberries are covered with straw, spruce branches, corn stalks or fallen leaves (spunbond or lutrasil is also suitable). If there is no such covering material, then spud the bushes without sprinkling growth points. Immediately apply compost, peat or a mixture of them as fertilizers.
Growing strawberries in vertical beds
Cultivation takes place in a multi-tiered arrangement of containers. This method can be used both in open and closed ground in cases where the soil is infertile, heavy, with high level groundwater, near fences and various buildings. An undoubted advantage is the possibility of a large number of crops with a small planting area.
as containers for vertical cultivation strawberries use any design of cone-shaped and pyramidal shapes, 10 cm high. Containers should be arranged in such a way that there is a distance of at least 10 cm between plants, and the volume for each root system is at least 1.5 liters. Containers are filled with a mixture in equal proportions of peat, humus and sod land, you can use peat and sod land in a ratio of 2: 1 and a little sand.
Having prepared containers and freshly dug strawberry seedlings, planting begins from the lower tier. Such strawberries need regular watering with warm water (2-3 times a week, 200-300 g for each bush), fertilizing is carried out (combined with watering) and mustache removal.
Plants are protected from frost by:
- The containers are removed and placed on the ground, covered with agrofibre, leaves or peat.
- If frost intensifies, the “insulation” layer is also increased, plus covered with a layer of snow, trying to keep the temperature inside above 6 ° C.
Growing strawberries under agrofibre
Thus, berries can be obtained earlier, by about a week. When the snow melts, the strawberry bushes are covered with agrofiber, which allows you to create inside good temperature for the growth and development of plants, as well as protect against temporary frosts and winds. When weather conditions become stable, the material is removed.
You can get a crop 2 weeks earlier than usual, you can also use a tunnel under the agrofibre. Long wire frames 2 m long are set in an arc along the rows of strawberries at a distance of 1 m from each other, using a wire 4-6 mm thick. They are deepened into the ground to a depth of 25-30 cm, fastened from above and covered with agrofiber in April, burying the ends in the ground. If the weather is warm, slightly open the ends of the agrofiber for ventilation. If the weather is completely settled, then the material can be opened completely. Close with agrofibre immediately after the plants fade.
An efficient way to grow strawberries from seeds
This interesting way, which is not suitable for every strawberry variety and especially not for hybrid varieties.
Prepare a container or box at least 10 cm deep, fill it halfway with purchased seedling soil, water well. Spread the strawberry seeds and cover the box with glass. Attention: you do not need to cover the seeds with soil! Put the box in warm place, the soil will be moistened, and when the first shoots appear, move to the brightest place. Remove the glass from the box. When a few true leaves appear, pot-pick and fertilize every two weeks with a special strawberry fertilizer. As the seedlings grow up, they can be transplanted into open ground in the country. In order for growing strawberries from seeds to end with a good harvest, it is important to follow some more rules: plant seedlings shallowly, you can’t fill up the apical bud. Strawberries not planted deep enough can expose the roots when watered.
How to Harvest Strawberry Seeds: To grow strawberries from seed, use only the largest berries, which are harvested in July-August. Remove with a blade thin layer berries and rub on the fabric. Dry in the sun, clean the seeds and collect in paper bag. Store for planting at room temperature.
For growing strawberries from seeds, pay attention to such varieties as: Mutofavorit, Bogota, Lakomka, Sakhalinskaya and others. So that you can enjoy strawberries all the time, select varieties with different periods maturation.
How to water strawberries
- Strawberries are watered from a watering can. This method of watering is suitable for small beds with plantings.
- Watering strawberries from a hose is a minimum cost physical strength, but it takes a lot of time, the water is unevenly distributed, it is possible to damage the seedlings and you cannot pour it with warm water, as strawberries love.
- The presence of a well or well on the site also takes place.
- Drip irrigation from manufacturers of watering systems - food (water) is supplied directly to the root system. Suitable for growing strawberries in a bag or container way, as the system is installed in a pipe break. For ordinary beds, a system is suitable that is installed in side surface or at the end of a pipe. "Factory" drip irrigation It is also good because, together with water, plants can be fed with fertilizers (fertigation). Among the shortcomings are the cost and the inability to protect plants from frost.
- Sprinkling with sprinklers: circular, fan, swinging, rotary and other types. But here it is desirable to use warm water.
- By furrows: before planting, make furrows, water well and plant seedlings in the walls of the furrow, depending on how much row planting.
You can determine the level of soil moisture as follows: with a shovel, dig the soil to the depth of the roots and take soil samples, squeeze in your hand and determine by touch how moist the soil is.
strawberry care
Remove weeds and any pests you see, loosen the soil after watering or compacting. If in the year of planting the soil was supplied with organic matter and mineral fertilizers, then strawberries do not need additional feeding. If not, then in the spring, when digging, you need to add 15 g of ammonium nitrate, superphosphate and potassium salt, 30 g and 10 g, respectively, per 1 sq. M.
Winter care for strawberries
Chic snow cover will be an excellent means of protecting plants from frost. The layer should be from 10 to 20 cm. In the absence of snow and mulch in the form of straw at a temperature of -12-16 ° C, the plants may die.
Development of strawberries in later years
Second year after planting
In the spring, when you see young shoots of strawberries among the foliage, remove the shelter, remove the yellowed and dried leaves (burn them), as they could overwinter different kinds pathogens and pests. Do not touch last year's green foliage, it will nourish the plant and protect the buds from spring frosts.
Let the soil dry out so that you can loosen the aisles well. Then just water and loosen. When the ovary is formed, lay out sawdust, straw or peat, such a mulch will serve to retain moisture and protect it from rotting and bending to the ground during the fruiting period.
That's it, now we are harvesting and waiting for the strawberries to begin to “throw out” their mustaches. Inspect the beds every week, running the whiskers into the rows of strawberries to compact them. In one season, an adult strawberry bush should have 3-5 young shoots. With greater thickening next year, the yield will fall, the berries will become smaller, and diseases will develop more. Remove the weakest whiskers, they will drink juice from the plant, which can be directed to the development of stronger ones. Before winter, cover strawberry bushes with spruce branches, straw or other covering material.
Third and fourth year after planting strawberries
Here, the care will be the same, it consists in the regular removal of all mustaches (the bushes no longer need to be compacted), if necessary, remove the foliage at the end of the season and regularly spud adventitious roots(near the soil surface).
Strawberries are one of the most popular berry crops grown in summer cottages. Every year gardeners look forward to the start of the season. Strawberries have two growing seasons. The first collection takes place in the spring, and the second in the summer. In order to get a rich harvest, you need to choose the right site, purchase good seedlings, choose the best methods for planting strawberries and care for them throughout the entire period.
Plot for sowing
Chernozem, loamy or sandy loamy soil is the soil on which strawberries will feel great and give a rich harvest.
The gardener will receive a low yield if he plants a berry on light gray, peaty, clay or sod-podzolic soil.
In addition, strawberries should not be grown in the lowlands. The garden plot should have soil with an acidity of 5-6 pH. Also, soil in which the groundwater level is at least 60 cm is ideal for strawberries. Attention should be paid to the depth of freezing: at 8ºC frost, soil freezing should be less than 20 cm.
Back to index
Methods for planting strawberries on the site
In order to plant strawberries in the garden, there are several methods:
- string method;
- film tunnel method;
- method of vertical beds;
The arrangement of beds and planting strawberries do not require special tools, but you will have to prepare something. Required inventory:
- seedling;
- shovel;
- rake;
- cord;
- wooden pegs;
- roulette;
- bayonet;
- ruberoid;
- polyethylene film and wire arcs;
- agrofibre;
- peat;
- compost.
Back to index
Planting strawberries by the line method: features and nuances
For planting strawberries with a row method per 100 m², up to 670 pieces should be purchased. seedlings. The berry can be planted at any time of the year, except for winter. But there are the most favorable moments for planting strawberries. For example, in early April, strawberries will grow better than in May, and when planted in the last month of summer, the gardener will harvest the crop for the next season. The most extreme is the middle of September.
Cloudy weather is best for planting. You can plant one-line or two-line method. The most common method is two-line. In this case, the distance between the seedlings of seedlings should be about 20 cm, and the distance between the lines should be up to 30 cm. With the single-line method, the distance between plants remains the same as in the two-line method (20 cm), and the distance between the lines changes to 70 cm. beds are best to choose the direction from north to south.
For ease of landing on the site, you can pull the cord. That is, on each side of the site, future beds should be marked with a tape measure. Drive the pegs into the marked places and pull the cord. Take a wooden stick about 25 cm long and mark along the cord the places where the seedlings will be planted.
Next, holes should be made either by hand or with a bayonet. The depth of the hole should be sufficient so that the roots of the plant do not bend when planting. Pour 1 liter of water into each well. The roots of the seedlings are placed in the resulting slurry and carefully covered with mud, and then covered with dry soil. The soil around the plant is well compacted. Before planting, each plant should be carefully examined and diseased plants with rotten roots and leaves should be excluded.
If strawberries have too long roots, they should be shortened. The average length will be approximately 7 cm. By cutting the roots, the gardener will enable the plant to further develop the root system.
Not all gardeners know a little trick. In order for ripe berries to remain whole and clean, so that pests and excessive moisture do not spoil them, on the ground experienced gardeners lay roofing material. Crosswise cuts are made on the canvas with a knife. Holes on the canvas should be made at a distance from each other equal to 30 cm. The corners of the roofing material are bent inward and a plant is planted in the hole formed. A hole is dug with a small shovel and the plant is positioned so that its heart is flush with the soil surface. By placing the heart quite high above the soil, the gardener can freeze the plant in winter time, and planting too deep can cause rot.
It is very important that the roots of the strawberries in the hole are loose, and the earth fits snugly against the plant. In order to check whether the earth is firmly packed, simply pull on the sheet. If the roots are poorly compacted, then the plant will take root for a long time or may even die.
After planting, the earth must be tamped and watered each plant with water. Strawberries should be watered for 10 days until they take root. During dry weather in the heat, plants should be covered with green branches or burlap. In addition, do not forget about mulching. By loosening the soil, the gardener enables the roots to receive more air and water. When frost sets in, when the snow has not yet fallen, strawberries must be covered.
Back to index
Film tunnels
This planting method allows you to plant strawberry seedlings a few weeks earlier and thus get ripe berries much faster than when grown on open field. For this, early strawberry varieties that can be covered with foil are suitable.
Installation of tunnels. Tunnel work starts in April or May. On the site at a distance of 1 m, wire arcs are installed between each other. The height of the arches should be approximately 0.5 m from the ground. A film is mounted on the arcs and fixed with twine. This is done so that the film does not sag between the arcs. One side of the film is sprinkled with earth and bricks are laid. And on the other hand, a rail is attached. This design will allow you to freely raise one end of the tunnel and take care of the plants: water, ventilate, mulch and, of course, harvest.
Care for strawberries under the film is simple. A thermometer is placed inside the greenhouse, and if the temperature rises above 25ºC, then the greenhouse is ventilated. During good weather or flowering, the film can be lifted from time to time. And during the harvest, it can be completely removed.
For watering strawberries take warm water. It is better to water early in the morning. For good growth and the development of the plant, it is necessary to periodically do weeding and introduce top dressing. You also need to watch out for harmful insects that can damage the berries.
To protect strawberries from frost, shelters are used, which are made from straw, spruce branches or fallen leaves. If there is no such material, strawberry bushes should be spudded without sprinkling growth points, and carefully fertilized with peat or compost.
Back to index
vertical beds
Strawberries with this planting method grow on a multi-tiered container. Planting strawberries in this way is most effective if the soil is infertile, heavy or with a high level of groundwater. Also, this method is used if strawberries are planted next to buildings or fences. The advantage of the method is a rather large yield with a relatively small planting area.
Containers for vertical cultivation can be any structures of conical and pyramidal shapes. When choosing containers, it should be borne in mind that the distance between plants should be about 10 cm, and the volume should be at least 1.5 liters. Each container must be filled with a mixture of peat, humus and soddy soil in a ratio of 1:1:1. In addition, you can use peat and sod land in a ratio of 2: 1, adding a little sand to the mixture.
After the containers and seedlings are prepared, they start planting strawberries, starting from the lowest tier. Strawberries should be watered every other day, at the rate of 300 ml warm water under each bush. At the same time, they fertilize and remove the mustache.
In the cold season, the containers are removed and placed on the ground. For shelter use agrofiber, leaves or peat. At severe frosts the shelter layer is made larger and covered with snow on top. Thus, inside the container, the temperature will be kept within 6ºC of heat.
Strawberries are one of the healthiest garden plants. yield ripe berries stable for several years. With proper care and right choice plot plant gives good harvest. What kind of berries to choose for planting? When to plant strawberries? You will find answers to all these questions here.
Choosing the Right Variety
There are many different varieties of strawberries. However, only a few have giant berries. Large fruits have varieties such as Octava, Rozanka, Elvira-80, Marmion and others.
Growing strawberries in the ground or in pots
This plant is quite applicable for both options. But most often grown strawberries in open ground. Plants grown directly in the ground remain there for several years. Therefore you must choose right place you want to use pretty for a long time for growing strawberries. Also, the site should be near a water source, as strawberries require frequent watering. It can also be grown in pots and containers. This is aesthetically pleasing and useful, because strawberries are a storehouse of vitamins. Specialized containers are several pockets for placing plants. If there are restrictions on the area of \u200b\u200byour garden, you can plant strawberries in such containers, pots, or in car tires.
Site selection
Before landing, you must choose a place, considering the following rules:
The plant needs a place that receives six or more hours of sunlight per day.
The site must be near water.
Do not plant strawberries in areas where tomatoes or peppers have grown. These crops can carry verticillium wilt, a disease that can kill the berry plant.
When to plant strawberries? Soil preparation
Before planting, it is necessary to prepare the soil of the garden by adding a large amount of well-seasoned manure, peat and compost. Strawberries grow well in slightly acidic soil, so applying all of this will ensure the plant nutrients and improve soil structure.
Some gardeners cover the area before planting with a dark cloth or oilcloth, having previously made cutouts for strawberries. This provides several benefits:
The fabric suppresses the growth of weeds, as grass seeds do not receive light.
The soil under the fabric remains warm.
Reduces moisture loss, which helps the growth and development of bushes.
When to plant strawberries?
Usually, gardeners plant and transplant strawberries in late July - early August, when the crop is already harvested, and the young rosettes have grown. Over time, strawberries will grow and your strawberry rows will become too tight for the plant. The yield of berries may decrease, so it is better to divide the bushes in early spring (before flowering), if you did not have time to do this in the fall.
Gardener's advice
The lunar calendar when planting strawberries will help you choose a favorable date. It is better to plant or transplant plants on a cloudy day or in the evening when there is no active sun. Simply dig up young strawberry rosettes and place them in their new locations. Watering transplanted plants should be plentiful to help them establish themselves in a new place.
Fertilizer
Growing high-yielding strawberries requires a monthly application of a balanced fertilizer. The annual addition of compost also has a beneficial effect.
Watering
Plants like well-drained, moist soil. Make sure your plants are getting enough water. Watering should be done in the evening or early in the morning.
winter care
In areas with harsh winters, it is best to use mulch to prevent strawberries from freezing. Pine mulch or straw works well, as they are light enough to not weigh down the plants. In the spring, after the soil dries out, gently rake all the mulch off the site.
Delicious garden berry
Growing strawberries is an affordable and enjoyable way to produce fresh, sweet berries in your own garden. Now you know when to plant strawberries and how to care for them. By undertaking these simple steps, you can enjoy fresh delicious berry for a long time.
Strawberry!!! You can talk about it endlessly. Strawberries are most often mistakenly called large-fruited garden strawberries. Real strawberries are rarely grown in gardens. It differs from strawberry in a number of biological features. But since it so happened, in the future we will talk about strawberries, meaning that after all it is large-fruited strawberries. Everyone loves strawberries, they are very tasty and healthy. There is probably no other such berry in the garden that could compete with it. Obviously, therefore, each owner personal plot dreams of the splendor of strawberry beds in his garden, abundantly strewn with berries. It seems to a novice gardener that growing strawberries is a complex process and it is too early for him to do it. But it only seems at first glance. By mastering the basic principles, any gardener can get great results. We start with planting material ... It is also worth mentioning that summer residents, in addition to growing fruits in the garden, are often interested in breeding bees. If you can’t breed bees on your own and have your own honey, you can always purchase it from a trusted seller.
Strawberries are bred either by seeds or mustaches. You can purchase ready-made seedlings with a closed root system, grown in plastic containers. Such seedlings can be planted throughout the season, it takes root perfectly. Seedlings obtained from seeds are a healthier planting material, because. diseases in strawberries are not transmitted through seeds, and layering obtained from mustaches can be infected from the mother bush. Instructions for growing seedlings from seeds can be found on the packaging.
Strawberries are considered one of the most delicious and at the same time easy to grow berries. The fruits consist of tender, juicy pulp with a delicious aroma and taste.
Strawberries are very nutritious, contain valuable chemical substances: organic acids, dyes, tannins, calcium salts, iron metals, a lot of sugar, phosphorus, vitamins A, B, C.
Strawberry is a perennial plant that occupies a niche between shrub and herbaceous forms. It has three types of shoots: shortened stems, mustaches, peduncles. It is easy to grow it on any site, observing only a few rules. We will talk about how to properly grow strawberries in this article.
How to grow strawberries on the site?
Where to plant strawberries? Choose a place
Planting strawberries is best done on flat irrigated areas, protected from the wind, where there are no perennial weeds. You can plant bushes between gooseberries or currants. In the garden with big trees It is better not to plant strawberries, in the shade it will not bear fruit well, moreover, when spraying trees, dangerous pesticides can get on it.
Strawberries are unpretentious, can grow on any soil, but still, largest harvest it gives on light soils rich in humus. Poor fruiting on saline soils, limestone, with a close occurrence of groundwater.
The most high yield strawberries are observed in the first year, which is why, when harvesting several crops, strawberries must be alternated with other crops. It is better to do this every 3 or 4 years.
It is very important to prepare the soil well before planting. The richer it is in nutrients, the more powerful the root system will be, therefore, the fruiting will be more productive.
To successfully grow strawberries, the soil must be prepared a month before planting. Dig up to a depth of 30 cm. For planting in the spring, the soil is prepared in the fall. For 1 sq.m. up to 8 kg of compost, about 100 g of superphosphate, 30 g of potassium salt are added. Loosen and level the soil.
How to plant strawberries correctly?
Planting strawberries can be done from spring to autumn, but the best time for planting bushes - the end of summer, the beginning of autumn. The bushes must have time to take root, get stronger in order to endure the winter.
When choosing planting material, give preference to plants with a well-formed rosette, with 3-4 leaves, in the center of the growth bud should be undamaged, dense, green. Roots up to 6 cm long should not be overdried, have a good lobe.
There are several ways to plant strawberries. Simple strawberries are best planted in rows. On the prepared plantation, rows should be marked at a distance of 50 cm from each other. In each row, prepare shallow pits, between which there should be from 20 to 30 cm, fill them with water.
Two tendrils can be planted in one hole. Before planting, cut the roots to 4 cm so that they do not bend in the ground. Sprinkle bushes with earth, press. Further, a little secret, as if pulling each bush up a little by the leaves, this must be done so that the heart (rosette) is cleared of the soil and does not rot in the future.
After planting, it is important to properly water the strawberries. You need to water around the bush and make sure that water does not get into the center. Before stable rooting of seedlings, strawberries need to be watered both in the morning and in the evening.
Some gardeners use black film when growing strawberries. Under it, the soil warms up well, mustaches do not take root, there are no weeds, and the soil remains loose and moist. At the same time, the berries are always clean and dry.
Continuing the theme of planting strawberries, we want to offer you an instructional video on how to plant strawberries correctly.
Propagation of strawberries
Continuing the topic of how to grow strawberries, it is important to reveal the issue of its reproduction. Strawberries propagate in several ways: by dividing bushes, by seeds, or by seedlings from mustaches.
- To get the latest high-yielding varieties, for growing remontant strawberries without whiskers, seeds are used.
- Varieties that do not have mustache growth are propagated by seedlings obtained by dividing the bush. The bush is dug out of the ground, divided into bunches with roots, which are then planted.
The main method of reproduction, the fastest and most reliable, is mustache seedlings. Ready rooted shoots are dug up, separated from the mother plant, the roots are cut to 6-7 cm, extra leaves, leaving 3-4 leaves.
Seedlings should have a well-developed bud (core), an overgrown root system. The dug seedlings are dipped into an earthen mash for a while so that the roots do not dry out. It is better to plant it on the same day.
How to care for strawberries?
Soil for strawberries and fertilizer
In early spring, it is necessary to clean the strawberry plantation with a rake. All dry leaves, dead mustaches, dried bushes are raked out, they are carriers of pests and diseases.
After that, the soil should be well fertilized with mineral fertilizers, humus should be applied and loosened well. Throughout the growing season, the soil should not contain weeds, be always loosened and well, but moderately watered. When the ovaries begin to form, the soil must be moist, the yield will depend on this.
For 1 sq.m. up to 30 liters of water are consumed, after each harvest, refreshing watering is carried out - up to 10 liters per 1 sq. m.
Mulching strawberries
When ovaries begin to form, it is recommended to stop loosening the soil and mulch. best material for this - rye or wheat straw. So that the weed seeds and grains in it do not sprout, the material must be prepared in advance: shake the straw, moisten with water and leave in the sun, the seeds will germinate.
After the straw dries well, you can use it as a mulch. For the same purposes, hay is suitable, cut before the formation of seeds in the grass.
On the market, especially for mulching, you can buy Agril black covering material.
Soil mulching allows you to grow large and sweet strawberries: retain moisture, prevent the growth of weeds, help ripened berries not to rot, better color, stay dry, facilitate their collection.
If strawberries are watered by rain, mulching is carried out to a thickness of up to 7 cm in a continuous layer. When irrigating along the grooves, mulching is carried out only under the bushes, leaving aisles for irrigation.
After fruiting ends, all the straw, and with it dry shoots, leaves, are raked and burned. At the same time, all pests and foci of diseases are destroyed.
Further watering and fertilizing strawberries
After fruiting is completed, the plant begins to grow new roots, whiskers, leaves. At this time, you need to feed the bushes with organic and mineral fertilizers, water and loosen the soil. This will ensure the normal growth of new shoots. For 1 sq.m. up to 3 kg of humus, up to 30 g of superphosphates, up to 15 g of saltpeter, 20 g of potassium salt are added.
In summer, the soil should be maintained in a loose, moderately moist, weed-free state. This will allow future color buds to form correctly.
However, it should be noted that excessive nutrition can affect the excessive growth of the vegetative mass, this can lead to stretching, thickening of plants, and the formation of gray rot. So irrigation and fertilization during this period should be optimal.
Frost - how to save strawberries?
During the flowering of strawberries in the middle regions of Russia, frosts are often observed. How to protect the future harvest from them? To combat frost, smoke piles are made around the area with strawberries, they should not burn much, but emit a lot of smoke.
How to make a smoke pile? A stake is driven into the ground, around which a dry combustible material(needles, straw, brushwood, shavings). On top of it - straw manure, tops, raw leaves. All this is covered with an earthen layer up to 6 cm.
If the soil temperature drops to zero, a stake is removed from the pile, and a torch is inserted in its place. Smoke should continue for two hours after sunrise.
Strawberry flowers can be protected by sprinkling, it starts before the temperature drops, and continues after sunrise until all the ice is gone from the plants.
Is it possible to grow strawberries all year round?
Is it possible to grow strawberries not only in spring and summer, but also in winter, autumn, that is all year round? This question interests many amateur gardeners. Yes, you can grow strawberries throughout the year, not only in greenhouses, but even in an apartment. For this, special remontant varieties of strawberries were bred.
Such strawberries do not like multiple transplants, so for it you need to immediately choose a convenient container for growing. In it, it will grow and winter. Most unpretentious variety remontant strawberry is called "Elizabeth II".
Each individual plant will need 3 liters of soil. If strawberries will be planted in a pot or jar, choose a larger container. In boxes and containers, bushes should grow at a distance of up to 20 cm from each other. A popular method of growing is in bags, in this case more than five crops per year can be harvested.
The main condition for growing a remontant variety is good lighting, lamps are used for this daylight. It is also necessary to provide a comfortable temperature and ventilation. A balcony or a heated greenhouse is best.
How to grow strawberry seeds?
Strawberry seeds can be grown and planted both in the garden and in pots.
It is not difficult to do this if you follow the following rules:
- To collect seeds, you need to select a strawberry variety that has not been grafted, otherwise it will not be possible to achieve the desired results. Often the seeds of grafted varieties do not even germinate.
- Opt for a ripe dark red berry with soft flesh.
- Strawberries must be placed in a bowl of water, covered with a lid and left for the fermentation process for 4 days.
- Using a fine sieve, wipe the softened fruit through it and separate the seeds with a spoon. This must be done with care so as not to damage the seeds.
- Rinse the seeds directly in a sieve under running water.
- Carefully select the seeds and place them on a linen towel. Leave to dry for five days.
- After the seeds dry well, separate them with a thin needle from each other, place them in a paper bag. Store in a cool place.
- Do not forget to sign the bag: strawberry variety, date when the seeds were collected.
How to grow strawberries - video
We offer you a video about proper cultivation strawberries.
pruning strawberries
Spring strawberry care
Secrets of efficient strawberry cultivation for a good harvest
1. Strawberry planting material
2. Sowing strawberries
3. Planting strawberries in the ground
4. Care for strawberries
5. Strawberry ripening
6. Preparing strawberries for winter