Delicious fragrant strawberries (garden strawberries) are one of the first to keep pace with their summer cottage, and we look forward to it. But to try to get a good harvest, you need a lot. After all, these are not trees or bushes, here you have to bend your back, crawl along the ground. How to get a good harvest, while maintaining your health? Let's think that the main thing in this business is how to eat berries, but not to overwork.
How to care for strawberries
Strawberry is a perennial plant. Its leaves are systematically updated. The root system is located in the upper layers of the soil (up to 25 cm). The berry is very sensitive to high soil moisture, which should never be allowed.
In order to care less for strawberries, it is necessary to plant it correctly. Various soils are suitable for this: chernozem, loamy and loamy sand, seasoned with organic and mineral fertilizers. The protection of plantations from the winds is very important, ensuring safe overwintering and good development of plants.
Dry and too wet areas are unsuitable for planting strawberries. Groundwater occurrence is allowed no higher than a meter from the soil surface.
The relief should be flat. At low beds, strawberries are severely affected by frost. Possible landing on small slopes. In areas with insufficient natural moisture, plantations should be laid on irrigated areas.
Strawberries are very fond of well-rotted manure. The use of green manure with the introduction of full mineral fertilizers instead of manure gives the same effect, it is cheaper and does not clog the soil with weeds. As siderates use vetch, peas or oats.
It is better to buy strawberry seedlings from trusted manufacturers.
The best predecessors for strawberries: radishes, lettuce, dill, peas, beans, onions, garlic, carrots. It is worthwhile to refrain from planting berries in places where perennial herbs, buckwheat, potatoes, tomatoes, peppers, and eggplant were previously grown. The areas where raspberries used to grow are completely and especially unsuitable.
Plant survival and thorough care in the first year after planting determine the productivity of strawberries for several years in advance.
In most southern regions, it is better to plant strawberries in the spring, in the first decade of the beginning of field work (up to May 5-10). Late summer landing also makes sense. Moreover, in non-chernozemic and northwestern regions strawberries are planted in the fall (August 25 - September 10), in the south in the first half of October, in the northern regions from July 20 to August 15 (but more often in the spring).
Experienced gardeners adhere to the following rules for planting strawberries:
- Under digging make mineral fertilizers - all the main elements. Be sure to use organics - humus, compost.
- Before landing, irrigation is useful, but immediately after landing it should not be done, since hearts can drag on this to the ground.
- When planting strawberry seedlings, they are disinfected using the thermal method: for 10-15 minutes they are immersed in water heated to + 40-48 ° C.
- When planting bushes, the heart should be at the level of the soil surface. With a shallow landing, the roots are exposed. The soil is pressed to the roots so that it is difficult to pull it out of the ground.
- After a few days, the plants are watered again.
Strawberry bushes after planting need watering a few days after planting
At first, the soil between the rows is treated with any cultivator or hoe. Between the bushes in rows until the bushes grow, the soil is loosened and weeded only by hand. The plantation should be kept loose and weed-free throughout the summer. In July, fertilizing with ammonium nitrate is carried out, combining it with watering. In the second half of summer, strawberries are watered several times. The condition of the bushes in the first year determines the yield of plantings for all subsequent years.
Irrigation is necessary in areas of insufficient moisture (North Caucasus, Central Black Earth Regions, Middle and Upper Volga Region, Urals). Watering is particularly effective during the ripening phase of the crop. Soil moisture at this time should not be lower than 80% of the field moisture capacity. In autumn and before flowering, soil moisture can drop to 60-65%.
Berries in hot weather are harvested every other day, in cold weather - after 3-4. For direct consumption, strawberries are harvested in a state of full ripeness, for transportation - not quite ripe, with a pink and white tip and a barrel. The berries are picked, keeping the cup and the stalk up to 1 cm long. Do not pick them after dew or rain.
A correctly picked strawberry has a cup and a stalk
Collect strawberries in boxes 8-10 cm high, with a capacity of up to 4 kg. In the buckets we are familiar with, the berries will crumple strongly.
Video: strawberry transplant to a new place
Spring Strawberry Care
After the plants come out from under the snow, it is necessary to clean the plantations from dry and diseased leaves, followed by their burning. Of course, it is necessary to do this manually, but this is one of the obligatory procedures. In this case, pathogens of certain diseases, as well as a spider mite, are partially destroyed. With a high number of ticks at the beginning of the growth of young leaves, Chlorophos or other similar drugs are sprayed.
After winter, weakened strawberry bushes need careful care.
Damaged parts of plants are burned. You can also post them. But such compost should be stored for at least 3 years. They remove mulch from the beds and scatter it around the site, then dig it up with soil and fertilizers. Before the growth of leaves begins, strawberries can be prophylactically sprayed with a 3% Bordeaux mixture against spotting. However, this should not be done once again: the accumulation of copper salts in the soil is not good.
Sometimes when the snow melts, the strawberry bushes remain under the un melted thin ice crust. This often leads to heating, so such a crust must be mechanically destroyed.
When the inflorescences are advanced and the buds are separated, they are sprayed against raspberry-strawberry weevil, spotting, gray rot, powdery mildew with a mixture of Chlorophos and colloidal sulfur. Since you will still buy drugs in a specialized store, you should trust the instructions for use, which must be attached to them. But first think: is it so necessary? After all, we want the benefits of berries, not harm!
In the phase of bud isolation, strawberries can be fed with complex mineral fertilizer. In the flowering period, in the case of a strong development of gray rot and white spotting, copper chloride can be used. To protect the berries from rot damage, lay straw litter.
If severe frosts are expected, plantings can be covered with non-woven material such as spunbond.
Many use fallen needles of conifers to mulch the beds. Before flowering, they cover the entire soil between the bushes with a layer of 3-6 cm. Weeds do not sprout through the needles, after rains and watering the soil does not condense, the need for watering and loosening is significantly reduced.
Mulching strawberry beds with coniferous branches protects against weeds and pests
It is necessary to collect strawberries on the beds of strawberries manually. In other years, this is the most unpleasant and painstaking procedure, but you can’t leave them: you will be left without a tasty harvest!
Caring for the bushes after fruiting
At the end of the harvest, the straw litter is collected and removed from the plantation. After picking berries, you can spray the plantation with Tsineb or Phthalan against spotting and powdery mildew. When mass reproduction of arachnoid and strawberry mites, Keltan is added to the composition.
With a strong infection with spider mites and strawberry mites, mowing and removal of leaves from the plantation is recommended - this also increases the effectiveness of subsequent chemical treatments. If you are not a fan of using chemistry, be sure to do this, especially for older plants. In the case of spotting and powdery mildew, one month after harvesting, another spray is carried out with colloidal sulfur.
Mowing strawberry bushes is carried out no later than July, since it takes about 6 weeks to completely regrow the new green mass. Leaves are cut with scissors, a sickle or a scythe not less than 1-2 cm from the beginning of the growth of horns. After making ammonium nitrate and watered 1-2 times.
Leaf removal after harvesting:
- enhances the growth of the root system;
- stops the growth of mustache;
- creates favorable conditions for increasing the effectiveness of pesticides in the fight against diseases and pests;
- is an effective weed control measure;
- boosts crop.
Important! Delay with mowing leaves only brings harm and weakens plants.
All whiskers should be removed immediately as they appear, leaving only on the uterine bushes. The cut leaves are carefully collected and laid in compost, and if they are infected with a particular infection, they are buried to a depth of at least 30-40 cm.
Straw pruning is carried out before July, so that new foliage can grow
After harvesting, you can spray strawberries, if there is a high incidence of plants. Usually at this time they use Fufanon, Topaz or copper sulfate.
At the end of summer, weed weeds are planted on the plantations, the soil is loosened, humus is put on the beds.
You should not be late with the listed works - post-harvest care is very important to get a good harvest next year.
In early August, they continue the same work and prepare sites for new landings. Strawberry seedlings are planted in the first half of August so that the bushes are well rooted before the start of frost.
With poor development of plants during the season, it is not too late to feed them. This can be done with a weak solution of mullein or chicken droppings. Liquid fertilizers are applied to the grooves made at a distance of 15-20 cm from the bushes. A bucket of nutrient fluid is consumed for 3-4 linear meters (one part of organics for 10-12 parts of water).
Strawberry Fertilizer with Manure Increases Productivity
Effective and foliar feeding strawberries. For example, treatment with a 0.3% urea solution during this period promotes the laying of flower buds. On poor soils, you can spray the bushes with a weak solution of trace elements (0.2% potassium permanganate, boric acid and ammonium molybdate each).
On a note. If strawberries have been growing in your bed for more than 4-5 years, it makes no sense to maintain it in this place: fruiting will fade away, and problems will accumulate. It is better to destroy the old plantation, and plant a new one. Therefore, we must rather prepare the beds for new plantings. The sooner you can plant strawberries, the better. It will take root more reliably and faster, it will develop new leaves faster, and therefore the first harvest of the new year can be expected already quite tangible. It is advisable to have time to finish planting at least before the beginning of September.
With good watering, trimmed strawberry bushes quickly cover with healthy leaves.
Strawberries planted at the end of summer have time to root well at the end of the season, new leaves begin to grow on it. True, for this we need to work hard:
- water regularly;
- loosen the soil;
- destroy weeds.
Autumn activities
In autumn, a plantation on chernozem is dug to a depth of 30-40 cm, and on smaller podzolic soils: 20-30 cm. The soil under the bushes and in the aisles is mulched with peat, humus or semi-overripe manure with a layer of about 5 cm, to facilitate wintering conditions for plants. At the same time, the bushes that have risen during the growth spud a bit to cover the bare roots.
Digging beds in autumn helps strawberries to winter
You should constantly remove the now unnecessary mustache. A mustache depletes the plant. The sooner you remove them, the better.
Weeds growing in September-October between rows should not be weeded: they will serve as protection and contribute to the accumulation of snow.
In the late autumn, shortly before the onset of steady frost, they dig up the earth in the aisles or simply deeply loosen it. Then the plantation is covered with humus, and just before the onset of winter, they hold snow retention measures. Good mulching of aisles will help to avoid freezing of the roots.
If it is dry autumn, then in October, winter watering is carried out.
If you can afford to buy everything you need for your summer cottage, then you can use modern non-woven materials - spunbond, lutrasil, agrospan or agrotex. They reliably protect strawberries from severe frosts. True, such materials must necessarily be pulled over arcs (metal, plastic or others).
Home-made protective constructions made of spunbond reliably protect strawberries from frost
Strawberries need, of course, and autumn nutrition. And for this you can use, for example, bird droppings or mullein, as well as dung. Any of these fertilizers need to fill the bucket by about a third and pour water to the top. The contents should wander for two days in the sun, after which it can be brought into the beds.
Wood ash can be used both in dry form and during irrigation, that is, previously diluted with water. Per 1 m2 Up to 150 g of this valuable fertilizer can be used: it perfectly replaces potassium and phosphoric salts. Top dressing is best done after good watering or past rain.
Preparing the plantation for winter
It should be remembered that strawberries are the least winter-hardy berries grown in summer cottages. Lowering the temperature of the soil to -10 ° C leads to significant damage to the roots. At -15 ° C, leaves are severely damaged, and often die completely. Strawberries from freezing well saves snow. A layer 5 cm high protects plants at -15 ° C, and 20 cm up to -20 ° C.
In snowless winters, strawberries are protected by adding mulch to the bushes (a layer of at least 10 cm), covered with spruce or pine trees when the temperature drops to -5-7 ° C. You do not need to cover the berry with less severe frosts - this can cause the bushes to melt.
It is important to prepare the plants in the winter with good care, especially in the second half of summer, and in the conditions of dry autumn - by conducting winter watering (October). To protect plants from the wind, if there are no forest belts or wings, you can arrange shields. They are put before the snow falls. Snow cover even in 10-15 cm protects plants from frost to -15-18 ° C. To protect plants from severe frosts (minus 30-35 ° C), snow cover should be 30-40 cm.
Shields for snow retention are made of stakes 100-120 cm high and 150 cm long crossbeams. Then brushwood is braided between them so that the gaps make up about 75% of the shield area. If there is no brushwood, then non-woven materials can be used.
Strawberry shelter for the winter saves plant roots from death
With proper winter care and reliable shelter for the winter, in accordance with the local climate, strawberries will delight next year with a tasty and large harvest.
Video: strawberry shelter for the winter
Features of growing ampel strawberries
Ampel strawberries - a type of ordinary garden strawberries, characterized by some properties. If we talk about the outside, then these are, first of all, decorative flowers of unusual pink color. The main difference is that ampel strawberries bear fruit at the same time both on the main plant and on the numerous rosettes - the mustache, extending from them.In addition, it is able to produce crops virtually throughout the year, if you create suitable conditions for it.
Like ordinary strawberries, ampelles have different varieties and hybrids. On average, they are all able to produce slightly larger and more beautiful berries than most ordinary varieties, but only with very careful care. It is sometimes called "curly", but this is not entirely correct. The ampelous strawberry itself is not able to behave like a vine, but the fact is that it is most often grown in the form of a vertical culture, that is, a mustache with rosettes is tied to any support.
Ampel strawberry varieties do not require a lot of light, so you can grow them indoors - on the balcony, terrace or in the apartment. Very often, ampel strawberries are bred at home (well, how else to get a crop in winter ?!), where there is very little space. Therefore, the bushes are planted in various pots or vases, just like house flowers. At the same time, the side rosettes seem to fall down from the mother plant, creating a picture of leaves, flowers and berries.
Ampel strawberries are successfully grown at home
In order for the bush to develop well, the dimensions of the tank should be at least 30 cm. A thin layer of drainage must be placed on its bottom. It can be pebbles, broken bricks, other inert materials. Nutrient soil is laid only on top of the drainage. Planting is no different from planting ordinary strawberries, but it is immediately abundantly watered.
The benefits of growing strawberries vertically are obvious. First of all, the conditions for caring for plants are improving. At least you don’t have to constantly crawl around the garden! Damage to berries is reduced by gray rot, which is a result of constant ventilation of plants and lack of contact with the ground. Well, among other things, it just looks beautiful!
Vertical ampel strawberry bushes are sometimes used as decoration.
The substrate for such strawberries is recommended as follows: peat, turf land in a ratio of 2: 1 and a little river sand.
The rest of the measures differ little from caring for the usual varieties. Although the features of the conduct of home culture, of course, there are.
Freshly planted seedlings need frequent watering. This is done at first 2 times a day in small portions. After reliable engraftment - about 1 time in 2-3 days. The first appearing peduncles are pruned to grow bushes stronger.
Mustache on each copy leave up to 5 pieces. Top dressing is carried out mainly with mineral fertilizers.
Propagation of ampelous strawberries is no different from ordinary varieties. Mustache planting is possible both in spring and throughout the summer.
In general, it can be said that ampel strawberries are a relatively unpretentious variety, and any summer resident is quite able to grow it. However, it is worth remembering that it reacts very poorly to heat and direct sunlight, therefore it often requires additional protection.
Important! If ampelous strawberries are grown in an apartment, they need to be pollinated independently.
The specifics of strawberry care in the regions
The difference in climatic conditions in different regions of our country, of course, does not make it possible to say that strawberry care can be carried out according to a single method. After all, there are areas where this berry does have to be grown in a greenhouse! But the basic conditions for success are obvious:
- heat;
- watering;
- fertilizers.
Strawberry Care in Siberia
Siberia is a harsh region. Weather conditions require taking seriously not only the care of strawberries during the growing season, but, most importantly, their proper preparation for the winter, and protection from frost. In this climate, only strong plants will tolerate a frosty winter. Increased attention should be paid to:
- selection of varieties;
- choosing the location of the ridges.
It is advisable to plant strawberry seedlings of local varieties. Southern varieties are not able to exist well in open ground, they will have to be grown only in greenhouses, which requires additional investment of funds and effort. It is better not to be limited to one option, but to take several varieties with different ripening dates. Often planting species are planted, from which you can collect 2-3 crops per season.
Omskaya early strawberry variety bred specifically for Siberia
Choose the sunniest place for the beds: a flat area or the southern slope. A single-line narrow-band way of placing strawberries is recommended here. All mustaches with sockets located 10 cm from the row are kept for rooting, forming strips about 20 cm wide.
In Siberia, strawberries are most often planted in the spring so that the bushes develop well by winter.
If there is a threat of frost, they cover the plantations with plastic wrap, spanbond or spruce branches. In snowy areas at the end of October, with the establishment of stable frosts, strawberries are covered with straw, reeds, potato tops with a layer of 8-10 cm. The warming material should be dry and lay loose. On top of it lay the branches of trees obtained from trimming the garden, which trap snow and prevent the blowing of insulation material. In the spring, after thawing the soil, the shelter is immediately removed.
How to grow strawberries in the suburbs
Many summer residents of Moscow Region do not plant strawberries because of the poor harvest and the need to invest a lot of energy in caring for it. Indeed, many factors affect the yield of this berry: both the right varieties and, most importantly, the correct growing technology. Although, of course, strawberry care in the Moscow Region is practically no different from that in most regions of our country, and the climate in the entire middle lane is quite even and quite favorable. All the main stages have already been considered above, namely:
- obligatory mustache cropping;
- weeding;
- timely watering;
- top dressing.
In the suburbs it is best to plant strawberries in the second half of summer. Before the onset of cold weather, seedlings will take root well and lay flower buds. The landing deadline is mid-September.
Elsanta strawberries suitable for growing in the suburbs
In central Russia, during the fruiting period, strawberries are watered 2-3 times, in the post-harvest period 1-2 times, and in dry weather they are moistened before flowering. Necessarily, in arid weather, in late autumn, winter watering is carried out (October).
In the suburbs, strawberries begin to ripen in mid-June, and in some years even later. Harvesting of late varieties in the first ten days of August ends. All autumn work on preparing the plantation for winter is completed by mid-September.
The suburbs of Moscow are not always happy with the required snow cover, therefore, plantings are necessarily sprinkled with mulching materials. In winter, you have to control the amount of snow and sometimes pour it from empty seats onto strawberries.
Strawberry care in the Kuban
Currently, the Kuban region includes the Stavropol and Krasnodar Territories, the Rostov Region, Adygea and Karachay-Cherkessia. The climate in all these areas is relatively uniform, although it differs slightly from how close the sea is. But in general, there are no barriers to planting strawberries and getting good yields.
Strawberry varieties Lord successfully grows in the Kuban
They plant strawberries in the Kuban usually in March or from mid-August to the end of September. Plants resume their growth after winter already at the beginning of March, because by this time quite warm weather is already being established. With the onset of such weather, rapid growth of leaves begins, in 2-4 weeks stalks appear. In May, the first berries are already harvested.
After harvesting for a long time, almost to frost, the growth of leaves and mustaches continues. In winter, strawberries go into a state of relative dormancy.
Growing strawberries in the Krasnodar Territory
The natural conditions of the Black Sea zone of the Krasnodar Territory are somewhat different from the rest of the Kuban. Due to the sufficient amount of heat and moisture, there are almost no problems with growing strawberries. The Black Sea coast is called the zone of humid subtropics.
In a warm, humid climate, strawberries grow almost all year round. As a result of this, if after passing the first wave of the crop to ensure good watering, the strawberries bloom again and in August gives another crop.
On the coast, you can get high yields of berries almost without additional watering. Strawberries grow here on any soil, but it is better to choose light ones. A sufficient amount of rainfall allows you to grow strawberries in the aisles of young trees. Agricultural cultivation is the most common.
The late Zenga-Zengana strawberry variety is suitable for cultivation in the Krasnodar Territory
In the conditions of the subtropics, the period for autumn berry planting is very long - in favorable weather it can be carried out until the onset of winter. The best survival rate is given by strawberry bushes planted in mid-October. Good results and spring planting.
Based on climatic features, varieties adapted to hot conditions should be selected. Growing strawberries on the same plot with different ripening dates helps to increase the harvest period. To prepare for the winter, no additional work is required here - ordinary weeding and loosening.
Strawberries are a delicious berry, loved by both children and adults. However, it requires constant care, and unlike shrubs, it is not at all easy. There is not much wisdom in this matter, but a lot of work has to be done. But, if you overcome laziness, you can get a lot of pleasure after eating in June fragrant berries from your own garden!
