How to plant strawberries in the fall in open ground: terms and rules for planting seedlings

Every gardener in late summer and autumn tries to make more plantings necessary in order to save time for other crops in the spring. Strawberries are also no exception, since their autumn planting makes it possible to get the first harvest of berries already next season.

Next, you will learn when and how to properly plant strawberries with seedlings in late summer (in August) and in autumn (in September).

The optimal timing for planting strawberries in summer and autumn

Any gardener who decides to start planting sweet berries wonders when to plant strawberries in the fall, in what month. It is best to plant it, starting in late summer - the second half of August and ending with the first month of autumn - in September... It is during this period that the seedlings will be less exposed to pests and diseases, which will allow them to get stronger and develop a strong root system before wintering.

Important! The most recent date planting strawberry seedlings in the fall should be at least 20-30 days before the upcoming frost, so you should rely on your observations from previous seasons and follow the weather forecast, while taking into account the characteristics of the region.

Also, when choosing the time to plant strawberries in the fall, it is recommended to rely on the temperature regime. The optimal conditions are when the daytime temperature is +10, and the nighttime temperature is not lower than +5 degrees.

Video: features and secrets of planting strawberries in the fall.

Pros and cons of late summer and fall planting

Planting strawberries in summer and autumn has a number of advantages, so most gardeners plant seedlings during this period. The fact is that by the end of August there is an opportunity to slowly plan your site, outline a work plan, moreover, the plants have already recovered after fruiting, bushes and young seedlings have grown.

Main advantages:

1. Large selection of seedlings, since by this time many nurseries are selling a large number of seedlings, which allows you to choose a variety taking into account the climate of your region.
2. Autumn planting gives the opportunity to harvest the first harvest in the new season, since strawberry bushes form a strong root by spring, which allows them to bloom and bear fruit fully.
3. Save time, since holding a garden event in the fall allows you to reduce the time for it in the spring. And this, in turn, makes it possible to pay more attention and energy to other types of work.
4. Enough time to plan the site for planting and its high-quality preparation, because in the spring every day counts.
5. Rapid adaptation of seedlings, since the soil is warmed up enough for this season, so the culture, when planting, almost does not feel stress and its rooting is accelerated.
6. Minimal care, as there is a lot of rain during this time, which prevents the seedling from drying out and helps to develop a strong root system. In addition, a previously prepared landing site frees you from additional care in the future.

disadvantages

In addition to the advantages, planting strawberries in the fall also has disadvantages that should be considered before starting the procedure. This will provide an opportunity to assess correctly the situation and your capabilities.

1. It is necessary to pre-prepare and process the soil before planting... Such a garden event requires special attention, because all the necessary nutrients should already be in the ground, and the seedling must have normal nutrition for the development of a strong root system.
2. Freezing risk, since it is often impossible to predict exactly when the cold weather will set, therefore, a sharp drop in temperature with late planting negatively affects the culture, which does not allow the bushes to root normally.

Compared to the advantages of the disadvantages of planting at the end of summer and autumn, it is an order of magnitude smaller, so it becomes clear why gardeners often prefer this particular period.

Important! About, when and how to plant strawberries in spring, read in this material.

Video: when is it better to plant strawberries - in autumn or spring

Planting dates for strawberries in different regions

It is necessary to properly plant the plant in the fall, focusing on the specifics of your place of residence, because in each region of the country the timing of the event is slightly different.

In the middle lane (Moscow region)

The timing of planting strawberries in the fall in the middle lane (in the Moscow region) is quite wide - from August to September. This will allow the seedlings to develop a full root system and prepare for the cold season.

In Siberia and the Urals

The recommended dates for planting strawberries in Siberia and the Urals are from the beginning to the end of August, since cold weather sets in early in these regions and therefore it is better to plant seedlings in advance so that the plants can get stronger before winter.

Video: how to plant strawberries in autumn (relevant for all regions)

How to choose seedlings and prepare a bed for planting strawberries

Before planting strawberries in a permanent place, you should study their preferences, conditions and rules for planting in the fall. This will significantly shorten the adaptation period of the seedlings and provide the desired result.

Video: ways to plant strawberries in autumn

The correct choice of planting material

In order to end up with well-formed bushes, it is required to initially select strong healthy seedlings for autumn planting.

During this period, the choice of seedlings is large, therefore it is recommended to carefully select young seedlings:

• Each bush should have a root collar diameter of at least 6-7 mm, which indicates the correct development of the plant during the growing period.
• The root system should be well formed and have a fibrous shape with a root length of at least 6 cm.
• A young seedling should have at least three mature leaves with a full growth point in the middle of the bush.

Important! The purchased seedlings are recommended to be planted immediately or they should be buried in the shade in moist soil, otherwise the root system may die from drying out.

Seat selection

When planting strawberries, the choice of location and preparation of the garden are important. The culture prefers to grow in sunny areas, away from the shade of trees, otherwise the lack of light will negatively affect the quality and quantity of the crop.

Crop rotation

An important role is played by previous crops that previously grew on the site. It is important to know after which it is possible and best to plant a crop, and after which it is highly discouraged.

After what crops can strawberries be planted in autumn? It is recommended to plant the plant after:

• carrots;
• beets;
• radish (you just have time to collect it);
• greens (for example, parsley, celery).

Advice! Very often strawberries are planted in summer. after garlic or onions.

But after which you can not plant strawberries:

• potatoes;
• cabbage (except cauliflower);
• cucumbers;
• eggplant;
• tomatoes;
• pepper.

This is due to the fact that these plants are affected by the same pests and fungal diseases, so larvae or spores of pathogens may remain in the ground, which will be transferred to the crop.

Soil preparation

Advice! Preparation of the soil should be started one month before the estimated date of the event.

How to prepare the soil for planting? Preparation includes digging up the area with a shovel bayonet and carefully removing the roots of perennial weeds. Then the area should be leveled with a rake so that there are no depressions and elevations. This procedure will enable the earth to settle by the time the berries are planted.

Video: preparing the soil for planting strawberries in the fall.

Strawberry is an unpretentious crop, but a fertile substrate is required for its normal growth and development. Therefore, it is recommended to plant it in black soil, sandy loam and loamy soil.

Less suitable for growing strawberries - sandy, peaty or clayey area, since such a soil composition significantly reduces the yield of berries. It is also not recommended to plant in a swampy area.

The optimal acidity level is considered to be 5-6.5 pH, otherwise the soil should be limed in advance. When choosing a site, it is necessary to take into account the depth of groundwater, since their close location will lead to the soaking of the roots and further death.

Fertilization

Any gardener knows how important soil preparation is before planting.But not every one of them knows how to fertilize the substrate before holding the event.

Before planting the berries, it is recommended to apply the following fertilizers to the soil for each square meter of the plot:

• organic matter - half a bucket-bucket of rotted manure (humus) or compost;
• potassium fertilizer - 20-30 grams of potassium sulfate (or 100-200 grams wood ash),
• phosphorus fertilizer - 30-40 g superphosphate (or bone meal).

Important! When planting strawberries in autumn, it is not recommended to apply nitrogen fertilizers, as they stimulate active growth, which negatively affects the preparation of plants for winter and may cause them to freeze.

Immediately before feeding the strawberries during the summer-autumn planting, the ground must be additionally loosened with a rake, which will subsequently provide oxygen access to the roots.

Planting depth of seedlings

Planting holes should not be made too deep. Their depth should be commensurate with the strawberry roots so that they fit freely in the planting pit and do not bend at the same time.

Important! It should be planted so that the root collar is flat on the soil surface, avoiding deepening the growth point.

The main ways of breeding strawberries

There are several ways to obtain planting material for summer and autumn planting of strawberries:

• mustache;
• dividing the bush (relevant for musty varieties);
• from seed (more relevant for spring planting);
• purchase of ready-made seedlings.

More details about breeding methods and transplanting garden strawberries read in a separate article.

Direct planting of a strawberry bush in open ground

It is recommended to plant strawberry bushes outdoors in autumn in cloudy weather or in the evening.

To do this, make grooves 15 cm deep along a pre-stretched cord or rope so that they are even.

Important! In order to avoid diseases and pests, the roots of the seedlings are placed for 1 hour in a solution of Aktara insecticide and Previkur fungicide at the same time. This will provide the bushes with protection and guarantee the safety of the seedlings.

Before the procedure, the furrows should be spilled abundantly with water and the moisture should be completely absorbed.

The distance between the bushes of strawberries placed in a row should be 20 cm apart. The distance between the rows should be about 50 cm.

Sprinkle the seedlings with earth without covering the root collar and leaving it on the surface. After the event, you need to water the beds again abundantly.

Planting scheme for strawberries in the open field:

Features of planting strawberry bushes on agrofibre

Nowadays, the method of planting strawberries on black agrofibre (also called spunbond), which is an environmentally friendly fabric that has air and water permeability, has become relevant. Planting a plant on agrofibre (that is, on a covering material) can significantly reduce the cost of caring for the crop and significantly increase the yield of berries. The main thing is to know all the subtleties.

Planting strawberries on agrofibre should be based on the following step-by-step instructions:

• The best option is to prepare planting ridges according to the size of the material (1.6 m by 3.2 m), if joints are necessary, the ends must be superimposed on each other by 20 cm.
• It is also necessary to prepare wire and boards for fastening the fabric to the ground around the entire perimeter.

• For proper planting on agrofiber, it is necessary to loosen the area in advance and level the surface.
• Having put agrofibre, you need to attach it with wire staples along the edge, and put boards at the joints.
• Over the entire area of ​​the material, mark with chalk marks where the seedlings will be placed, at the rate of 35 cm between them.

Advice! It is optimal to plant strawberry seedlings on black covering material in a checkerboard pattern, which allows the bushes to eventually not interfere with each other.

• Use a knife to cross-cut the holes and dig holes.
• Before the procedure, abundantly moisten each depression and plant the seedlings in them, while sprinkling the corners of the material with earth.
• After the end of the garden event, each seedling must be additionally watered.

Care for strawberries after autumn planting

Actually, all further care comes down to the timely watering of the plant, since it needs a lot of moisture. So after the procedure, it is recommended that every 3-4 days to carry out abundant watering of young seedlings.

There is no need for additional feeding after planting in the summer-autumn period, all the nutrients were introduced during the preparation of the site for planting a fragrant berry.

By the way! More details about autumn feeding strawberries after fruiting read in this material, a In spring and summer in this article.

Video: caring for strawberries after planting in the fall

Common mistakes when growing and planting strawberries

In order for the culture to grow normally and delight with its delicious berries, it must be properly planted in late summer or autumn. Sometimes even experienced gardeners make serious mistakes when planting strawberries. This negatively affects the further growth of plants and can lead to their death.

The most common mistakes when planting strawberries are:

1. Excessive deepening of the seedling growth point into the ground, which threatens to stop growth and further death. The root collar should be placed strictly on the soil surface.
2. Strawberry roots too long do not give the opportunity to completely spread them in the hole, as a result of which they bend and do not provide the plant with normal nutrition. Before planting, the roots should be shortened to 7 cm.
3. No mulching, which leads to overheating of the roots in summer and excessive evaporation of moisture from the ground, as a result, the root system of the seedlings dries up, and they begin to hurt. All About Mulching Strawberries in Fall and Spring in this article.
4. Planting young bushes with lots of leaves leads to depletion of the root system and can cause the death of seedlings. It is necessary to leave no more than 3 leaves, which is enough for nutrition and further excellent growth.
5. Small berries and lack of a friendly harvest... Every 3 years, strawberries are needed transplant to a new place and at the same time renew the bushes (propagate in one of the vegetative ways, otherwise you can not wait for a full harvest.

Video: planting strawberries correctly in autumn without mistakes

Observing all the conditions and rules of summer and autumn planting of strawberries, you can significantly save energy and achieve the maximum berry harvest next year. But if you ignore the necessary requirements, you can waste your time without getting the desired result.