How to care for strawberries so that there are many large berries: growing rules and secrets
Probably, you are tired of picking small berries from year to year, and you decided to learn how to grow a really serious strawberry crop, which you can surprise your neighbors with and eat enough?
Well, here are the basic tips and secrets for caring for garden strawberries that will help you get a bountiful harvest of large and sweet berries.
Content
How to care for strawberries: what to do to get a good harvest
Plant a good variety correctly
Of course, first of all, you should purchase high-quality seedlings and properly plant them in open ground.
Advice! The following materials on the website about spring and autumn planting of strawberry seedlings.
You can also independently grow full-fledged strawberry seedlings from seeds (But small-fruited!).
However, first you need choose a suitable variety.
Among the most large-fruited and the most productive are the following varieties of garden strawberries:
- Gigantella Maxi;
- Vima Zanta;
- Chamora Turusi.
Water and feed in a timely manner
Strawberries have very superficial root system, which means that it needs regular watering (as the topsoil dries up), otherwise the roots will dry out.
It is especially important to provide moisture to strawberries during buddingwhen all forces plants are directed on the formation of ovaries. Obviously, without proper watering, if the weather is hot and dry, strawberries will suffer and you simply cannot count on large and sweet berries to grow.
How often to water the strawberries?
- In the summer heat - 2 times a week.
- If the weather is moderate - once a week (every weekend).
Advice! Mulching is the best solution if you want the strawberries to be always hydrated (at least not evaporating as quickly).
In general, most summer residents feeds strawberries with exclusively organic fertilizers, for example, the same solution of chicken manure, mullein, and also pours rotted manure (humus) and compost under the bushes. Sometimes fertilized wood ash.
However, it will be helpful for you to know that:
- Phosphorus - is considered the most important element of strawberry nutrition, which is responsible not only for the formation of the root system of the plant, but also has a serious impact on the formation of fruits, their quantity and quality (large fruit and sweetness).
For fast-digesting phosphorus feeding of strawberries, you can use potassium monophosphate solution or prepare a superphosphate extract.
- Boron - is responsible for the setting of berries and the sugar content in them.
For example, you can use boric acid.
Advice! The site already has detailed articles about when and how to feed a garden dugout in spring and summer after fruiting (autumn).
Required mulch
Mulching allows you to create more favorable microclimate, which will positively affect the yield of strawberries. Namely thanks to the mulch:
- moisture is retained better (the heart does not dry out);
- bark does not form on the ground, which means you do not need to loosen;
- weeds do not grow (no weeding is required);
- the bushes are warmer in winter (especially the heart).
The berries don't get dirty on the mulch!
How you can mulch strawberry bushes:
- humus and compost;
It will also be wonderful fertilizer of prolonged (long) action.
- hay and straw;
- freshly cut grass;
- coniferous litter;
- sawdust.
When to mulch strawberries?
- In the spring (if you noticed that the bushes have strongly crawled out of the ground) and in the fall (before wintering).
Advice! The site already has a detailed article about how and what to mulch strawberries.
Note! If you do not mulch strawberries, then you must weed regularly beds weeds and gently loosen.
Regularly rejuvenate (renew) the bushes
As you know, strawberries grow well and bear fruit in one place (without transplanting), as a rule, within 3 years. Further, the yield begins to decrease noticeably (the berries are corny).
The fact is that over time, the bushes grow old, grow (they have an increase in the number of horns), it becomes cramped for them, the feeding area ceases to suffice, and they seem to rise. Namely, the buds begin to protrude from the ground - the points of growth of the bush (that very "heart"). As a result, in winter, during frosts and drying winds, the "heart" freezes, and in summer, in hot and dry weather, it dries up (suffers from a lack of moisture).
Therefore, it is important not only mulch strawberries, but also regularly update landingsat least doing planting and / or replanting strawberry bushes Once every 4 years. Better yet, do it annually, gradually propagating in the summer with a mustache.
By the way! In addition, strawberries can grow from seed.
Protect against strawberry mites and weevils
Let's say that you will properly water, feed, be sure to mulch and regularly update old strawberry bushes, replacing them with new ones, but your crop can simply be spoiled by pests.
As you know, strawberries have 2 main pests:
In this case, it is very important to conduct timely treatment with special insecticidal acaricidal agents (drugs against pests).
- So, after the formation of new young leaves you can already start fight ticks... For this, chemical acaricides (anti-tick agents) such as Vertimek, Fufanon-Nova, Masai, Aktellik are suitable.
If you are later, when it is already warmer (+15), find ticks on strawberries, then you can apply biologics: Fitoverm (Aktofit or Kleschevit), Bitoxibacillin.
- Then when the process starts budding, i.e. just before flowering ("the buds have moved forward, but not separated"), you need to spray the strawberry bushes from weevils... For this, in general, Actellik, Alatar, Fufanon-Nova, and also Inta-Vir and Iskra... A truly folk remedy against weevil and gray rot is an wood ashto sprinkle on the buds and soil under the bushes.
Advice! The site already has detailed material about when and how to process strawberry bushes from pests and diseases.
Yes, we almost forgot, because strawberries can affect fungal diseases: is the same gray rot, powdery mildew, white and brown spotting.
Trim
Another agrotechnical technique for caring for strawberries.
Strawberries are usually cut in summer after fruiting (such pruning is also called autumn pruning, although it is carried out in August) and / or in spring.
Note! Pruning is not the most important part of strawberry care, its impact on yield is not as significant as the exact implementation of the above rules.
Well, now you know what rules for the care and cultivation of strawberries you need to follow in order to get high yields of large and sweet berries every year.
By the way! You can also read the general materials about the main events in the spring andautumn care, as well as preparing strawberries for winter.