Almost everyone who has at least some land is growing strawberries. But for many gardeners, it does not give good yields. That site is overgrown so that it is almost impossible to find small berries on it. That dry plants cover almost the entire territory. But it happens that there are berries, but very tasteless. How to care for strawberries so that it pleases a high harvest?
Spring Strawberry Care
Some gardeners for the winter shelter strawberry plantings from frost. In early spring, shelter is removed. Rake out all the excess. Then a layer of earth several centimeters thick is removed from the site. Usually this is last year's mulch. Together with it, various pests and fungi are destroyed. If this is difficult to do, then you need to dig a shallow area, trying not to damage the roots of the plants. Strawberry bushes are cleaned of dried leaves, dead plants are removed. If there are not many, then new ones can be planted instead. But you need to do this as early as possible so that the strawberries take root before the onset of heat.
Growing strawberries under the film
Some gardeners cover strawberry beds with plastic wrap. Some make it look like a greenhouse and hide the whole area under one film. Others prepare shelter from arcs for each row separately. The strawberries underneath develop and bloom much faster.
Plant nutrition
Straw is fed in early spring, immediately after the snow melts. The site is fertilized with nitroammophos, infusion of chicken manure or mullein, ash. It is important that the fertilizer contains a large amount of nitrogen, which the plant so weakened by the cold needs. The presence of this element in sufficient quantity makes it possible to grow berries large and sweet. You can pour strawberries in early spring with a solution of iodine (30 drops per bucket of water). A glass of ash, pre-filled with boiling water and filtered, is added there.
Between gardeners there is a debate about the timing of the introduction of organic fertilizers. Some make manure in the winter. Such top dressing of strawberries in the early spring in the snow is useful because manure will cross over by the time of vegetation and ripening of the fruit. Phosphorus, potassium, and other beneficial substances contained in humus will affect plants. Others are against it, since manure, falling on a strawberry outlet, can burn it. But if you make it in the fall or in a period when there is no snow, then you can place it between the bushes.
Feeding strawberries in early spring with chicken droppings will be more effective if you add it in the snow. It is very concentrated and with a direct hit can do more harm than good. But, introduced in the snow, it decomposes and loses its aggressive properties. This makes strawberry care easier in early spring.
Feeding young strawberries planted this year is not carried out. After all, it is planted in specially prepared soil, and it does not need extra loads during the rooting period. If you had to transplant older bushes, then they must be supported with fertilizers.
Strawberry top dressing in early spring with small doses of fertilizer is hampered by the fact that it is difficult to evenly distribute it over the site. To do this, the substance must be mixed with sand or dust. It will be distributed evenly, individual particles will not stick together.
Recently, more and more often used to fertilize plants, including strawberries, baker's yeast. More than half of their composition is protein. A lot of amino acids, mineral elements, trace elements. Strawberry top dressing in early spring with yeast stimulates the growth of the ground part and root, strengthens plants. There are many recipes for watering plants and for foliar feeding. The simplest: stir 200 grams of yeast in a small amount of warm water and bring to 10 liters.
Use them with bread and grass. To do this, pour a bucket of chopped grass into a large barrel (70 liters), half a kilo of dry bread and yeast. Infused for a couple of days, the composition is used to irrigate strawberries. Some gardeners, however, believe that the use of yeast gives a short-term effect, and then the soil will become stony.
Topping strawberries in early spring with urea (a tablespoon in a bucket of water), half a glass of ash with the addition of potassium permanganate and boric acid (two grams each) gives a good result. It not only fertilizes the soil, but also disinfects the roots.
You can buy ready-made fertilizer for strawberries, such as Kemira. It must be entered strictly following the instructions. Otherwise, instead of large juicy berries, you will get small and tasteless ones.
In May, strawberries bloom, because during this period they do not fertilize it.
Foliar application
The first foliar feeding of strawberries in early spring is carried out with the appearance of three leaves.
Strawberries do not tolerate chemical fertilizers very well. You can take urea (urea). But be sure to reduce the dose by half.
The second time, urea is treated before flowering. But keep in mind that the smell of the drug is unpleasant for bees. If it does not have time to weather, then the insects will pollinate the plants weakly. You can add some fungicide to urea.
Fertilizer overdose
Often gardeners apply more fertilizer to get a better crop. But it is not necessary to exceed the norms specified in the instructions for the drug. By the appearance of strawberries, you can determine that she was overfed. If the leaves of strawberries from green became dark brown, then the soil received too much fertilizer. If the leaves were covered with brown dots, then the bushes were sprayed with too concentrated a solution. To eliminate the consequences, the site is watered with clean water, plants are sheltered from sunlight.
Using insecticides, they often do not pay attention to the fact that their composition already includes fertilizers. Therefore, it is not worth adding them additionally.
Preparing the soil for planting
Every four years, strawberries are transferred to another place. The site is freed from various infections and fungi for six years. Only after this time it is possible to grow strawberries on it again.
Before planting strawberries carefully prepare the soil. The beds on which it will grow are covered with a layer of peat or humus, digged with the ground.
Soil care
The soil is loosened in the spring to a depth of five centimeters. This activates the roots of plants. If the site is not mulled, then you need to loosen the soil after every rain, watering, fertilizing. You can fill the area with moss or sawdust, preferably stale.
Mulching the plot will save you from applying herbicides and make plant care easier.
Pest and Disease Control
To prevent infection of berries with gray rot before flowering, the bushes are sprayed with copper chloride (a tablespoon of the drug in a bucket of water).
To combat powdery mildew, potassium permanganate (potassium permanganate) or a solution of sulfaride is used.
Bushes infected with a nematode are immediately visible on the bed. They have curved leaves, a thickened mustache, flowers are deformed. To get rid of this pest, use the drug "Nemabact". From folk remedies - planting on the site of marigolds. Their phytoncides prevent pests from multiplying.
Weevil - a small bug of red color with a long black nose. He lays eggs in a bud. As a result, it will not turn into a berry, since the worm that emerges from the egg gnaws the bud from the inside. They process strawberries from the weevil "Fitoverm". He hibernates under strawberry bushes. Therefore, removing the topsoil in the spring, you remove part of the weevils from the site.