How to grow strawberries?

Strawberries are one of the most popular garden plants. In order for it to bear fruit well and delight you with tasty and sweet berries, it is very important to properly care for it.

You can plant strawberry bushes on your site both in autumn and early spring. The main thing is to choose the right landing time. In autumn, you can do this work from the second half of August to the second half of September. If everything is done correctly, a good harvest can be harvested as early as next year.

Plants that were grown in containers can be planted on the beds even earlier. This is usually done in the middle of summer. In spring, strawberries are planted immediately after the cold weather leaves.

For strawberries to bear fruit well, they must be planted in an area with fertile soil. Experienced gardeners know that strawberries love loam and black soil. But it makes no sense to plant it on clay soil. There she will not take root.

Dislikes strawberries and too acidic soil. Therefore, before planting the bushes, the acidity must be lowered. For this, you can use both dolomite flour and ordinary wood ash.

If possible, it is best to plant strawberries where garlic, marigolds or herbs previously grew. If strawberries have already been grown on the site, the soil needs a little rest. It will be possible to plant strawberries there again only after 2-3 years.

There are several ways to plant bushes on your site.

This method of planting strawberries is quite laborious. All bushes are located at a distance of 50 to 60 centimeters from each other. Plants should not be intertwined with each other, so they should be inspected regularly. All unnecessary antennae must be removed in a timely manner. In this case, the plants will bear fruit well.

The bushes planted in this way must be constantly looked after. Gardeners will have to regularly loosen the soil and remove weeds. At the same time, strawberries will delight the owners of the site with a large harvest of large and tasty berries.

This method of disembarkation is more popular. Bushes are planted in rows. The distance between them should be within 20 centimeters. Row spacing is usually 30-40 centimeters.

By choosing this method of planting, you can also achieve a significant increase in the yield of the bush. To begin with, you need to form voluminous strawberry nests on the site. One plant is planted in each of them. Around it, at a distance of 5-7 centimeters, there are several more plants.

This method of planting bushes has its drawbacks. First of all, it should be noted that the owner of the site will need a large amount of planting material. In addition, it will be difficult for gardeners to access the bushes. This will make the condition of the plants more difficult to control. But if you pay enough attention to caring for the bushes, the harvest will be good, and the harvested berries will be ripe and tasty.

This planting method is considered the easiest. All the site owner needs to do is plant strawberries. Then it will grow by itself. A natural layer of mulch will form under the bushes. Therefore, they will be constantly well hydrated.

Gardeners who want to grow strawberries all year round prefer the Dutch bush planting method. Low-volume technology for growing berries in hydroponics allows you to get a very good harvest.

You can grow strawberries both in greenhouses and on a loggia or glazed balcony. The main thing is that the room is well lit and that the desired temperature can be maintained in it.

Owners of small plots can grow berries by weight. The bushes are usually found in bags, buckets, or even plastic bottles. The vertical method of growing the plant allows you to harvest strawberries at any time of the year.

After planting strawberries on the site, they need to be watered. In doing so, it is important to always maintain a balance. After all, if the roots of plants are waterlogged, they can begin to rot. In addition, the bushes can become infected with gray mold.

They usually start watering strawberries from the second half of April. Use warm water for irrigation. Water the plants abundantly. One square meter usually takes about 10 liters of water. Usually, the plant is watered no more than twice a week. If the summer is hot, this is done more often. If the season is rainy, watering should be stopped altogether.

Watering the strawberries is recommended in the morning. Water must be poured at the root. It should not fall on foliage or inflorescences.

Top dressing is usually applied to the soil directly at planting. Mature bushes need regular fertilization. The soil is fed three times a year. In early spring, nitroammofoska or mullein infusion diluted in water is used.

During the period of active formation of berries, plants are fed with products that contain potassium. Usually potash nitrate or wood ash is used for this. In autumn, plants are fed with urea. Immediately after this, the area is watered abundantly. If you regularly feed strawberries that grow in your garden or pots, you can get a very good harvest.

In one place, strawberries can grow up to 4 years old. After that, it ceases to fully bear fruit. There are fewer berries on the site, their taste changes to a more sour one. Having noticed such changes, you need to start transplanting the bushes.

This can be done in the spring or late summer. It is best to perform this procedure on a cloudy day. It is worth replanting only healthy and strong bushes at the age of 2-3 years. The transplant process is not very difficult. The selected plants only need to be dug up and planted in a new area. It should be fertile and well lit.

In order for the fruits to always have enough nutrients, and the garden looks beautiful and neat, wilting, yellow leaves or leaves affected by some kind of disease must be regularly removed. This should be done either in the evening or early in the morning.

For work, you need to use sharp scissors or a good pruner. You do not need to cut the sheets at the root. After trimming the leaves, you can carefully remove any excess mustache. At the end of the work, the area can be additionally watered.

You need to take care of strawberries constantly. All seasonal works carried out at different times of the year have their own characteristics.

You need to start caring for bushes growing in open ground immediately after the snow melts. You need to focus on the features of the local climate. So, in the Kuban, they start cleaning the beds in the first weeks of spring. In Siberia, they are already doing this in the second half of April.

The main task of the gardener at this stage is to free the beds from the remaining mulch. This material must be incinerated or taken out of the site. The same should be done with old leaves. Overwintered bushes need to be cleaned of darkened leaves, as well as mustaches. This procedure helps to significantly increase the yield of strawberries.

At the same time, you can plant or transplant strawberries. The beds also need to be treated with prophylactic drugs. This is done to protect the berries from all diseases and pests.

It is also necessary to take proper care of plants in summer. At this time, the site is regularly watered, cleared of weeds and inspected for pests or diseased bushes. This agricultural technique allows you to keep the beds in good condition.

After harvesting, the site must be cleaned of debris, as well as pruning the bushes. The soil must be loosened and treated with potassium permanganate. After that, high-quality fertilizers should be applied to the soil.

Next, it is worth starting to shelter the strawberries. In cold regions, not only young seedlings are sheltered, but also adult plants. Well-covered strawberries recover faster after winter and bloom more abundantly in summer. For shelter, you can use dry foliage, straw or perforated film. It is especially necessary to cover "Victoria" and other capricious varieties.

Not only people who sell sweet berries want to grow strawberries on their site, but also ordinary lovers of these delicious fruits.

You can plant strawberries in the country not only in a greenhouse, but also in a regular garage. For cultivation, it is worth picking up remontant strawberry varieties. You can place seedlings in containers, wheels, pots or bags. It is important to use good quality soil for growing strawberries indoors. It should be fertile and well fertilized.

Indoor strawberries will have to be cared for constantly. Plants need to be fertilized regularly and protected from pests. And also it is necessary to ensure that the room is ventilated.

There are several ways to breed strawberry bushes.

• Sockets. Propagating strawberries with a mustache is the most common way to increase the number of plants on the site. In this way, biennial or annual bushes can be propagated. For this, you need to choose plants with large berries. Large rosettes must be separated from the bush. They must be planted in seedling pots, and then carefully pinned. This should be done in the spring. After 2-3 months, several green leaves will appear on the plant. After that, the seedling can already be transplanted to a permanent site.

• By dividing the bushes. This method is suitable for propagating remontant strawberries. Strong and well-fruiting bushes are also worth choosing for dividing. In the fall or spring, they are dug up and then carefully divided. Each bush should have a rosette, as well as developed roots. The excavated plants can be immediately planted in a new area.

It is very important that the plants remain strong and healthy at all times. After all, a sick bush does not bear fruit, and eventually dies altogether. Light green strawberry leaves are most commonly affected by diseases such as gray mold, spotting, powdery mildew, root rot, and rust. To protect plants, they must be treated with high-quality preventive drugs. It is recommended to remove infected bushes from the beds, because one plant can infect the entire area.

It is worth remembering that various pests often settle on strawberry bushes. Most often, green beds are attacked by strawberry nematodes, ticks or leaf beetles. In addition, snails often hide under the foliage. Timely spraying the area with insecticides helps to protect bushes and fruits from all these pests. This procedure should be carried out in the evening or early in the morning. Garlic, marigolds or onions planted next to the beds also help scare off small pests.

The site must also be protected from birds, because they often peck ripe berries. The easiest way to protect your beds from them is to create an impromptu greenhouse. If there is enough space on the site, plastic or metal arcs must be fixed above the strawberries. From above, you can fix a film or mesh. You can cover a garden bed of any size in this way.

The following tips will help to improve the yield of strawberries, as well as make the bushes healthier.

1. Before planting strawberries, it is recommended to treat the area with wireworm or May beetle larvae with ammonia. In the spring, the beds should be additionally dug up.
2. You need to water the strawberries constantly, without long breaks. An exception should be made only in case of prolonged rains.
3. If possible, the strawberry varieties that are grown on the site are recommended to be replaced. This will have a positive effect on the condition of the soil.
4. When inspecting the site, it is necessary to regularly remove weed strawberries from it.
5. To protect against rodents, it is recommended to spread poison or place small traps near bushes covered with straw.

Knowing these simple rules and secrets, even a novice gardener will be able to grow large and tasty strawberries on their site.