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Proper care of strawberries will ensure maximum yield and improve product quality. By maintaining the correct agricultural technique, you can not only correct your own mistakes made when planting bushes, but also reveal the main advantages of a particular variety. If you take care of the plant incorrectly, then the harvest will be small, sour, and the benefits of the selected variety will be nullified.
Strawberry care from A to Z
How to care for strawberries so that they will delight you not only with a generous, but also with a delicious harvest? It is imperative to include the following in the list of work carried out:
- regular weeding and loosening of the soil;
- timely, constant, but not too abundant watering;
- application of dressings and fertilizers.
The plant does not tolerate overgrowing with weeds
There are no difficulties in performing these procedures, but you need to be patient and work out a certain system.
Strawberries are weeded about 8 times per season. The plant does not tolerate overgrowing with weeds and reacts to their appearance with a small and sour harvest. Together with the weeds, the strawberry whiskers are cut and thrown away, especially in the spring. This is necessary so that all the power of the plant is directed to flowering and the formation of ovaries.
Garden strawberries for cultivation prefers soil with good air, - and moisture permeability. Oxygen access to the roots must be ensured at all times. Before the plant blooms, the ground is loosened 3 times, and after harvesting, this procedure is carried out with a frequency of 1 time in 2 weeks. If it is rainy, damp weather outside, which contributes to the rapid compaction of the soil, then it should be loosened more often. In the second year, the bushes form adventitious roots, therefore it is advisable to huddle the plantings.
In order for strawberries to bear fruit abundantly, care in the spring is important. The advice of experienced gardeners says that one cannot be limited to spring work only. If the plant forms a large number of ovaries, they still need to grow and mature. Regular watering, which is especially needed in June, plays a huge role. It was at this time that not only berries but also antennae and foliage grow on the bushes at the same time. If possible, irrigation is carried out daily to a depth of about 30 cm. Water the strawberries in the aisles. When landing, a groove is left for these purposes. After fruiting is complete, the garden bed is watered once a week. In the fall, before the cold weather sets in, the plants are watered abundantly to a depth of half a meter. This will help prepare plantings for frost, it is easier for them to endure the winter cold. After that, it is advisable to lay a covering material so that in the future you will no longer worry about the plants.
In order for strawberries to bear fruit abundantly, care in the spring is important.
During the growing season and fruiting, strawberry bushes consume many nutrients and trace elements from the soil. If in the first year of life they have enough fertilizers introduced during planting, then, starting from the second, they will need to replenish stocks by making complex dressings. During the season, the plants are fed 2 times. In the spring, ash is brought in with a small amount of humus.
After the harvest is done, the bushes are fertilized with an aqueous solution of mullein or bird droppings. It is important not to overdo it, because with excessive consumption of organic matter, strawberry bushes will fatten. The berries will become small, but there will be an active build-up of green mass.
5 golden rules
Regular watering is important
It is difficult now to find summer residents on whose site strawberries are not grown. Planting and care have 5 golden rules, following which you can achieve excellent performance from this plant. These include:
- Timely removal of old leaves.
- Regular loosening of the soil.
- Top dressing.
- Regular watering.
- Mustache removal.
In addition to the above, it should be noted that some varieties need timely prevention of diseases, they must be periodically treated with special preparations.
Spring garden strawberry care
Strawberries, or as it is also called Victoria, requires particularly careful care in the spring. As soon as the snow melts and warmth is established (this period often falls on the month of May), the beds are cleared of dry foliage. At this time, it is customary to open the plants. It is necessary to remove the first weeds and loosen the soil well. All operations must be carried out very carefully so as not to injure the roots. Old bushes should be additionally hilled so that additional roots are formed more actively.
The aisles are covered with black film
How to properly care for strawberries in spring for a good harvest? The first step is to help the soil to warm up faster so that the process of growing green mass and flowering begins. For this purpose, the aisles are covered with black foil. It is impossible to cut off young foliage, because in this case flowering is delayed for at least a couple of weeks, and the berries become smaller. If the spring is dry and warm, then you need to immediately start watering the beds with strawberries. Weakened bushes can be lightly sprinkled with Zircon or Epin.
How to care for strawberries in summer
Summer is not only strawberry harvest time. During this period, plants need good care. The beds should remain moist all the time, so they need to be irrigated once every 3-4 days, in case of drought - every other day. These events are especially important in months such as June and July.
So that excess moisture does not evaporate in the heat, it is advisable to mulch the soil using straw, needles or sawdust for this. In addition to retaining moisture, this way you can delay the growth of weeds and prevent ripening fruits from getting dirty. Sometimes gardeners use an old newspaper for this purpose.
It is advisable to mulch the soil
If the first signs of any disease or pest exposure are noticed (for example, a weevil is seen), then urgent measures should be taken. In the summer, it is also advisable to carry out summer dressing so that before winter begins, the plants have time to gain vitality.
Processing strawberries in autumn
After fruiting, strawberry foliage takes on an unpresentable appearance, therefore gardeners prefer to mow it. This processing has its own characteristics. You cannot completely remove the green mass, because the roots need starch to prepare for winter. Any agronomist knows that this substance is obtained just from the leaves.
In the fall, strawberries require re-feeding to compensate for the loss of nutrients. A mustache formed in the second half of summer cannot be rooted. It significantly weakens the bushes, reduces yield and impairs the taste of the future harvest. In fruiting plants, absolutely all formed whiskers are cut off, except for those that are deliberately left for breeding the variety.
European strawberry varieties are less hardy, therefore they require special preparation before the winter period. It is imperative to carry out moisture-charging irrigation to protect the roots from freezing and to conduct heat to them from the bottom. Also, to protect against severe cold weather, it is advisable to spread dry straw and fallen leaves on the rhizomes under the bushes.
From severe cold weather, it is advisable to spread dry straw on the rhizomes under the bushes
Features of care in spring in May
Strawberry care in the spring in the Urals, in the Moscow region and in Siberia has its own characteristics. The climate of these regions is more severe than in the south of the country, therefore, in winter, it is necessary to especially carefully organize insulation. In the spring, plants wake up a little later, and therefore their flowering is delayed. For cultivation in these regions, mainly varieties with early and medium ripening periods are chosen in order to have time to harvest in a short summer.
As in other regions, in the spring you need to open the strawberries, remove winter insulation, clean them of dry leaves, then apply fertilizers (urea is suitable for this). The further process of leaving is not much different from other climatic conditions.
Answers to common questions
If strawberries are frozen
In the winter cold, strawberries can not only freeze slightly, but also freeze. If the plant has released at least one real leaf in the spring, then it can still be saved and left. This requires more attention, watering and fertilization. It is possible that in the current season, frozen strawberries will not be able to bear fruit, but until next year the gardener has every chance of bringing them back to life.
Need more attention for watering and fertilizing
How strawberries are pollinated in a greenhouse
For the cultivation of strawberries, both open ground and a greenhouse can be used. And in fact, and in another case, the plants must be pollinated. When growing strawberries in a greenhouse at home, a fan or brushes are used to pollinate them. The ventilator transfers pollen evenly between flowers, which brings positive results. If the planting area is small, then you can pollinate the inflorescences by hand, using a brush or brush. In this case, the tool should be selected with a soft nap. The procedure is repeated for several days.
Care in the first year after planting
In the first year after planting in the garden, strawberries do not require fertilization, but they need regular watering. The soil in the beds should not be allowed to dry out. Do not expect that first-year bushes will give a bountiful harvest. As a rule, they show their strength in the second or third year of life.
Strawberries need regular watering.
Strawberry Care Secrets
In order to get a rich harvest of tasty berries, it is necessary to provide strawberries with regular and stable irrigation, timely fertilization. The beds should be located in a well-lit area, protected from drafts. For the winter, the roots of plants should be insulated and protected from freezing.
Everyone who has their own summer cottage or garden plot tries to plant strawberries there. Even a novice gardener can grow tasty and healthy berries. You just need to comply with the conditions of agricultural technology and adhere to simple care techniques, treat plants from pests and diseases in time.
