Many summer residents grow strawberries in their suburban areas. The popularity of this culture is explained, first of all, by the excellent palatability of fruits and high productivity. Planting and caring for strawberries, according to many gardeners, are relatively uncomplicated procedures.
When to start making beds
This plant is planted in open ground usually in late summer or early fall. The optimal time for transferring seedlings to a permanent place in central Russia is considered to be from about July 25 to September 5. But sometimes strawberries are planted in early spring. At this time, it is advisable to make seedlings in the beds from April 15 to May 5.
In the southern regions of Russia in the spring, strawberries begin to be planted in open ground already in early March. In autumn, this procedure is carried out starting from September and ending with the end of October.
How to get quality seedlings from seeds
Strawberries can be grown in suburban areas:
- from seeds;
- using sockets obtained from the mother plant.
Also, sometimes this culture is propagated by dividing one adult plant into several parts.
Those summer residents who want to grow on their site, for example, some new, not too common variety, use strawberry seeds to obtain seedlings. Planting and caring for growing plants in this case should be carried out in compliance with this technology:
planting material is laid out on a cotton pad and moistened with melt or rain water;
cover the seeds with a second moistened cotton pad;
stacking disks with planting material in plastic containers with lids perforated using a thick sewing needle;
put the container in a warm place (+22 ... + 25 ° ) for a couple of days;
seeds are planted in boxes filled with ordinary garden soil mixed with peat.
Before planting seeds sprouted in cotton pads, the soil in the box is thoroughly compacted. Then, shallow grooves are made on the surface of the earth at a distance of 5-6 cm and the seeds are laid out in them with a step of 2 cm. It is not necessary to fill in the soil with strawberry planting material. The seeds of this culture sprout well in the light.
Water the small strawberries with such a frequency that the ground under it is always slightly moist. The lid from the containers is removed from time to time to ventilate the plants.
How to get good sockets
It is possible to grow strawberries from seeds, but it is rather difficult due to the low germination of this planting material. Therefore, most often strawberries in suburban areas are still propagated using sockets. In order to grow such planting material yourself, you need:
in the fall, select the healthiest and best-bearing shrubs and mark them with ropes or sticks;
in the spring, dig out the selected bushes and plant them on a separate bed;
as they appear, remove the flowers that appear on them from the mother plants.
Deprived of the ability to bear fruit, the bushes selected for breeding will throw all their strength into the formation of a mustache. Rosettes around such plants usually begin to appear in the spring. Of these, the strongest and healthiest are subsequently chosen for use as seedlings.
Reproduction by dividing the bush
Using this technology, you can also grow healthy and well-bearing strawberries. However, this method of propagation is usually used only when there are not enough outlets as planting material. Also, this technique is often used when growing strawberries that do not give a mustache.
Propagate this culture by dividing the bush as follows:
choose the strongest plants having two or three tops with a rosette;
the selected bushes are carefully dug up, trying not to damage the roots;
divide strawberries by the number of outlets;
- plant the separated parts on beds in a permanent place, without deepening the growth points.
How to plant in a permanent place
An hour before the seedlings are transferred to the garden, sockets or parts of the divided bush are soaked in a growth biostimulator or simply in water. It is believed that good strawberry seedlings should have 3-4 healthy leaves. Everything else from the bushes will need to be removed.
It is recommended to plant strawberries in a sunny, well-ventilated place. The beds for this culture are prepared as follows:
Many summer residents are interested in how to properly place the bushes in such a way as to subsequently facilitate their cultivation and care. Planting strawberries in the countryside can be done in several ways:
Separate bushes. Using this technology, plants are placed on a bed in a checkerboard pattern at a distance of 40-65 cm from each other. This planting technique allows you to grow very large berries.
In rows. In this case, the plants are planted on the bed in even lines with a pitch of 15-20 cm. The distance between the rows is left at 35-40 cm. This planting method not only facilitates the care of strawberries in the future, but also provides a plentiful harvest.
Nests. This is another way, planting strawberries in the open ground and caring for it in the future is somewhat easier. By this technique, one bush is first planted in the garden. Then 6 more plants are placed around it with a hexagon at a distance of 5-8 cm from each other. Thus, several nests are formed with a step in a row of 25-30 cm.
How to care for young plants
Plants that have just been transferred to the garden will, of course, require the most careful care. Planting strawberries in spring or autumn - in fact, the procedure itself is simple. However, errors in growing plants in the future can lead to a significant decrease in yield.
In the event that strawberries were planted in the beds in the spring, all tendrils and flowers that appear on young bushes in the first year will need to be ruthlessly removed. The main task in this period is not getting a crop, but the good rooting of plants.
When planting strawberries in autumn, care for it should begin with mulching. In the spring, with this operation, you can wait until the bushes take root. But even at this time, it is advisable to immediately cover the beds with strawberries with mulch. Best of all, the soil under this crop will be covered with fallen needles. But if you wish, you can also use straw, dried grass, sawdust or foliage.
Two weeks after planting, young plants will also need to be fed. In this case, as a fertilizer, you can use the infusion of chicken manure or grass.
Strawberry care in the spring, starting from the second year
The next season, after planting with a new strawberry garden, it will already be possible to get the first crop. In the spring, the gardener growing this crop will need:
Strawberries are usually fed in the spring with this mixture:
You can also use strawberry or chicken droppings to fertilize strawberries at this time.
Summer work: how to water
In the warmer months, this culture, of course, also requires the most careful care. Planting garden strawberries in the open ground, since the plant is unpretentious, allows you to get good yields. But of course, in the future it will be possible to collect many berries from the bushes only if they are watered on time.
It is recommended to start moistening the beds under the strawberries in mid-April. Finish watering this crop in late summer or early fall. Until the end of July, beds with this plant are usually moistened three times a month. From the beginning of August, watering is reduced to 2 times in 30 days. It is believed that it is best to moisten the soil under the strawberries in the early morning. It is also allowed to perform this procedure in the evening.
At each irrigation per 1 m 2 of the strawberry planting area, approximately 25 liters of water should fall. It is supposed to complete the humidification of the beds with this crop when the soil is saturated with moisture inward by about 25 cm.
Than fertilize
Planting and caring for strawberries are relatively simple operations. But without timely top dressing, as well as without watering, a good harvest from this crop will, of course, be impossible. During the season, strawberries are usually fertilized three times. The first top dressing, as already mentioned, is carried out in the spring. For the second time, fertilizers are added to the garden at the end of June, after the end of fruiting of the plants. This time using this mixture:
About 0.5 liters of such a solution is poured under each plant in the summer. In autumn, strawberries are fed around mid-September. In this case, use the following mixture:
Mullein - 1 part;
water - 10 parts;
ash - about 0.5 tbsp.
Winter preparations
Summer residents today grow mostly frost-resistant strawberry varieties. Therefore, in central Russia for the winter, this plant is most often not covered. In order for the strawberries to survive the cold well, the bed is usually just abundantly covered with mulch. Also in winter, you can throw snow from time to time at the landing site of this culture.
Planting and maintaining strawberries in a greenhouse
Cultivate strawberries domestic summer residents most often in the open ground. But if you want to get early harvests, of course, you can plant seedlings of this crop in the greenhouse. In this case, the summer resident will need to carefully approach the selection of strawberry varieties. Planting and caring for this crop in closed ground are made using approximately the same technology as in open ground.
The most suitable strawberry varieties for cultivation in a greenhouse in Russia are:
"Queen Elizabeth 2". Domestic summer residents consider this repairing variety to be the best in terms of productivity in the former CIS today.
"Albion". This variety was bred in America and earned its popularity among Russian gardeners primarily for the excellent taste of the fruit.
Many domestic gardeners grow in their areas in greenhouses, and Brighton is also remontane strawberry. Planting and care of this species can be carried out according to standard technology. Harvesters from this variety of summer residents get usually very large. In addition, the berries themselves of such strawberries grow large and have excellent taste.
You can choose other good varieties for growing in a greenhouse, of course. Planting and caring for strawberries indoors will give good results, for example, when growing hybrids "Charlotte", "prima donna F1", "diamond", etc.
Most often, strawberries in a greenhouse are cultivated in the usual way - on a previously prepared garden bed. But sometimes other techniques are used to grow this crop indoors. For example, very good results in a greenhouse are obtained by the technology of cultivating this plant in pots installed in several tiers. Using this method of planting and caring for strawberries saves space and at the same time obtain very high yields.