How to care for strawberries: tips and features

Strawberries — beloved by many berry grown almost every summer cottage. To care for this popular garden plant is relatively unpretentious. However, the technology of cultivation of this plant has some of its features. About how to care for strawberries correctly, and will be discussed later in the article.

Production Technology

Care for strawberries at the dacha is usually:

• Removal of redundant moustache;
• Periodic tilling of the soil or mulching;
• Processed from pests and diseases.

In addition, to get a good crop of strawberries, you need, of course, the right to plant, as well as timely weeding, fertilizing and watering.

How to choose a location for the garden

Learn how to properly care for strawberries, all the details will be discussed below. For the beginning let's decide, what is the technology of planting that is popular with gardeners plants. Select for this crop in the garden it is best lit by the sun and ventilated area. In the shadow of big harvests strawberries will not give. In a valley with stagnant air plants, most likely, and it starts to hurt and wither. It is believed that it is best to plant strawberries in North-Eastern part of the garden, on a slight slope.

The Best predecessors for this crop are radishes, dill, peas and salad. In this neighborhood with potatoes, tomatoes and other Solanaceae strawberry not likes.

The Land for this plant experts advise to prepare in advance. Need a bed to dig over on a bayonet of a shovel not less than 15 days prior to planting. The soil should be improved by adding well-rotted bird or cow manure or compost.

Selecting planting materials

Propagated strawberries in suburban areas usually grown on the antennae of mother plants outlets. Planting material of this crop is better to get tested in the nursery. Subsequent to propagate strawberries on the plot you can be yourself. To grow her seedlings on his mustache will not be easy.

In the nursery it is best to buy strawberries with closed roots. That is, acquire seedlings of this crop, usually together with the pots. In this case, the plants in the next much faster and without loss take root in the garden.

When choosing planting material should also, of course, carefully examine the bushes. Each purchased for planting in the garden the plant should be at least 2-3 healthy leaves. Seedlings with flowers in this case not worth buying. The buds subsequently still have to break. Planting strawberries with flowers leads to a significant reduction in yields in future years.

When to plant

To Move the strawberry seedlings in the garden allowed both autumn and spring. Most often, this culture planted in open ground in late April or early may — before heat. In this case, the strawberry survives as well. However, this plant is planted in late August or early September. But when using such technology the first crop of strawberries, of course, will be available only next summer.

Basic methods of planting

How to plant strawberries? And care for this plant, and harvest will be easier with the right placement of bushes in the garden. Ways of planting strawberries, there are several:

• Free-standing bushes;
• Sockets;
• Carpet;
• Rows.

When using the nesting method of one Bush is planted in the centre and 6 around it have a hexagon at a distance of 8 cm from each other. This technique allows to obtain in a subsequent abundant harvest of strawberries. However, too large berries with this arrangement, the bushes don't usually grow.

The First of the list the method of planting allows you to grow very large fruit. However, the use of this technology will be relatively difficult to care for strawberries. How to plant this crop in a separate Bush? In this case, the plants just have on a bed in a checkerboard pattern at a distance of approximately 60 cm from each other.

Carpet technique involves planting strawberries in rows in small increments. When using this method the garden in the subsequent overgrown completely. It creates its own microclimate. Watering, weeding, and loosening such a bed have less. The disadvantage of this method of planting is that the berries in this case is pretty quickly shrinking.

Planting strawberries in rows facilitates care it. Weeding and watering plants when you use this technique in the subsequent will carry out much easier. Crops with rows of strawberries is also possible to collect quite large.

How to plant: some useful tips

Before transferring the seedlings of strawberries in open ground, it is desirable to place in a cool dark place for 1-2 days. When planting strawberries in the garden must necessarily follow that its root system is not wrapped.

At the bottom of the dug under the Bush fossa should put a small earthen mound. Next you need to installthe plant itself is vertically centered. The roots should be spread gently on the sides of the mound. Next, they need to be covered with soil and lightly compacted.

The Root collar of strawberries after planting should be located on the ground level. Cover it with soil impossible.

How to feed

So how to plant the strawberries, we found. Now let's see how to care for this culture. In order to obtain large yields, this plant is, of course, periodically, to feed. Fertilizer in the garden with this culture are usually applied three times per season. The first time the fed strawberries in the spring, when plants have not produced new leaves. At this time you must stimulate the growth of green mass of strawberries. Therefore in the spring as top dressing typically use nitrogen fertilizers. This can be, for example, infusion of chicken manure. Very nice in the spring to fertilize the strawberries and iodine.

The Second time the bushes are fed in the summer. At this time, especially useful for them to be potash. In the period of tying berries strawberries are usually fed with ashes. During flowering patch of this plant is also useful to spray a solution of boric acid or sulphate of zinc.

The Third feeding strawberries doing at the beginning of September. At this time, under bushes making potash and phosphate fertilizers. These compounds help plants to better prepare for the winter. Most often in autumn strawberries fertilize the purchase of mineral mixtures. This can be, for example, “Vertica”, “Autumn”, etc.

How to water

Many gardeners are interested in of course, how to care for strawberries in the spring. Of course, this time of year the plants be sure to water. Moisten the garden, under the strawberry gardeners usually begin from the end of April. From that time until the beginning of August this culture is supposed to be watered at least 3 times a month. The root system of this plant, as many know, superficial. Consequently, without regular watering to thrive the strawberry bushes will not.

Starting from August and until the end of September the strawberries are watered twice a month. In October a bed with this culture, it is desirable to moisten once more.

In the Spring strawberries are allowed to be watered by the sprinkling method. Since the blossom beds with this culture moistened only at the root. The water in this period can wash away the pollen from the pistils, which will lead to lower yields.

During the fruiting pour the strawberry is better on the grooves. This will prevent rotting of berries. After the bushes aplodontia, again you can go back to watering by sprinkling method. At this time, this way the plants does not hurt.

How to grow strawberries and to care for her: mulching

This procedure allows to obtain high yields and thus make the care of strawberries easier. Mulch the beds with this culture, usually in two weeks after planting. As the covering material used fallen pine needles or sawdust.

You can Also mulch the beds with strawberries and in the landing phase. In this case, prepared under cultivation of land previously covered with roofing work carried out in this cross-shaped incisions. Further put, in fact, the very strawberry.

Watering plants, mulch, therefore, in the usual way. The water from the hose is easily in cross-cuts, and dry plants do not stay.

How to care for strawberries: remove the mustache

This operation during the season should do. Otherwise the strawberries will lose varietal quality and will significantly reduce yields. Starts to release moustache this culture in the spring. At this time it appears not too much. However, pruning in that case, if the site's owners do not plan to propagate strawberries, to perform in the spring still stands.

The removal of the mustache is one of the answers to the question of how to care for strawberries in the spring. But to remove these growths in the future will have at least two times: in summer, after fruiting, and autumn. To crop a mustache relies only in dry and warm days. It is best to remove them in the morning or evening. Use it should be just a good sharp pair of secateurs. Otherwise, subsequent the bushes, from which you removed the mustache, can be ill.

While cropping in no case do not pull the whiskers. Otherwise you can easily pull the plant out of the ground. The roots of the strawberry, as already mentioned, superficial.

How to propagate: useful tips

How to care for strawberries in the fall, spring and summer, of course. But how to propagate this culture? The first time strawberry seedlings gardeners are usually acquired in the nursery or taken from friends of gardeners. But in the subsequent planting material of this crop is easy to grow your own.

The easiest way to get seedlings for the new garden, of course, a mustache. This files most often propagated strawberries vacationers as follows:

• During fruiting strawberry mark with sticks or rags the strongest and most fruitful bushes.
• Next year in the spring with them not to remove a moustache;
• Trimmed part of my moustache only after they appear in one socket;
• After the young bushes will grow 2-4 leaves, they are carefully dug up and transferred to a new place.

A Well-fruiting strawberries in one place, unfortunately only for the first few years. After this it is necessary to move to a new location. Specific intervals depend on the garden varieties of strawberries. Usually this culture is transferred to a new place in 5-8 years after planting. At the same time use a standard technology of reproduction outlets with a mustache.

Diseases and pests

So, how to care for strawberries, the reader, I hope, clear. Their cultivation is relatively simple. However, the yield of this plant can be reduced greatly because of the different kinds of pests and diseases. Most often, a strawberry is affected:

• White and gray mold;
• White and brown spot;
• Fitoftoroza rot.

When gray and white rot on the berries there is a RAID of the corresponding color. These two diseases can destroy a season 2/3 of the strawberry crop. With white and brown mottling in plants are the worst affected leaves. They appear lesions, after which they die.

Fitoftoroza rot can destroy a strawberry crop as a whole. Symptoms of this disease are dark purple spots on the berries and otkrivanje green mass of plants. Over time the infected fruits of strawberries are mummified.

Struggling with the diseases of this crop gardeners usually use Bordeaux mixture. Such a tool is the answer to the question of how best to care for strawberries in preventing infections. Plants sprayed with Bordeaux liquid, usually in early spring, before flowering and after harvest.

The Most dangerous pests of strawberries are:

• Strawberry mite;
• Mattila-strawberry weevil.

The Symptoms of the presence on the landings of the tick is primarily twisting and stunting of leaves of strawberry. To fight this pest is usually a solution of mustard, cooked in a ratio of 100 g of dry powder per 10 liters of water.

Mattila-strawberry weevil affects the buds of strawberries. This grey beetle with a length of 2-3 cm are able to inflict significant damage to bushes. Fighting the weevil by treating the plants with a solution of baking soda prepared in the ratio of 2 tablespoons per 10 liters of water.

What to do in the winter

How to care for strawberries right in the spring, summer and fall, we, thus, found. But what you need to do on the landings of this plant in the cold season?

In most cases in Russia today are grown hardy varieties of strawberries. So no work in the cold season vacationers on plantations of this crop usually perform not necessary. The only answer to the question of how to care for strawberries in the winter, it is easy insulation. In that case, if the cottager will from time to time to throw on the beds with strawberries a little bit of snow, plants in the cold will not freeze slightly.