How to feed strawberries in spring. Tips from seasoned gardeners on caring for strawberries in the spring
In the article we will tell you about caring for strawberries in the spring in the country so that you can enjoy them in the summer delicious berries. strawberry care in early spring- a crucial stage, because this culture is very capricious, and requires a high-quality attitude towards itself.
Old leaves and tendrils
Care for strawberries after winter begins with the cleaning of dried leaves. It can be harvested with a light rake or by hand. If necessary, dry leaves can be cut with scissors. The same must be done with the old antennae and inflorescences. Only at the same time try not to damage the main part of the plant, which has several small green leaves.
In the old leaf, pests often hide from frost. Therefore, all collected leaves must be burned outside the site or buried deep.
Cleaning the planting from old leaves and tendrils improves the illumination of the bushes, and reduces the possibility of pathogens and various pests.
Pests and diseases
Spring care for strawberries is hard to imagine without fighting diseases and pests. To do this, it is best to use ready-made chemicals sold in gardening stores. Some summer residents use Phytocid or Fitosporin for this purpose. But we advise you to ask the sellers of the gardening store for advice. After all, leading manufacturers annually produce new drugs that are safer and more effective than the previous ones. Accordingly, the information in the article will not be complete without the advice of a specialist in the store.
Also, to combat diseases and pests, you can use the help of drugs that have proven themselves well for decades. For example, you can spray plantings with Bordeaux liquid, which will effectively deal with fungal infections of leaves and fruits.
Strawberry care in spring top dressing
Spring is also the time when plants need to be nourished in order to have the strength to grow and produce a large harvest. So, strawberries need nitrogen fertilizers, which can be applied both in solid (by scattering method) and liquid state(watering the bushes).
In order to feed strawberries with nitrogen, you can dissolve a small amount of ammonium nitrate ( Matchbox) per 10 liters of water and water the plantings with the resulting solution.
Or sprinkle dry ammonium nitrate between the bushes. It is only advisable to do this before the rain, so that the fertilizer gets into the ground and does not evaporate. Or you can weed with a hoe where saltpeter was sprinkled.
In addition to ammonium nitrate, you can feed strawberries:
- Nitrophosphate,
- superphosphate,
- Ammophosphate.
Regular loosening helps air to penetrate more easily to the roots of the plant and nourishes them. In addition, this procedure prevents the formation of a dense crust that prevents moisture from getting to the roots.
In addition to inorganic fertilizers, organic fertilizers can also be used. For this purpose, rotted manure is well suited. It must be applied to the site where new strawberry bushes will be planted in the fall.
To do this, apply 500 kg of manure per hundred square meters garden plot. Then you dig up (plow) and leave for six months to rest. And in the fall you can plant strawberry bushes here.
Just remember that you need to apply too much fertilizer, including organic. After all, they can contribute to the development of rot and disease.
Also, some summer residents do not advise feeding bushes planted last fall. after all, already at planting, the necessary dose of fertilizers was laid.
April strawberry care
In the spring, it is permissible to carry out a three-time feeding of strawberry bushes:
- When the first leaves appeared
- Before flowering,
- when the fruits appeared.
The timing of feeding is different, depending on the region. But for temperate latitudes, the first feeding, as a rule, is carried out after the 20th of April.
Care for Victoria in the spring (as well as other varieties of strawberries) will not be complete if we forget about the summer residents' recipe, which makes it possible to saturate the bushes beneficial substances, proteins, minerals. This will require ordinary live baker's yeast. It is necessary to dilute 200 grams of yeast in half a liter of water, mix thoroughly. Let stand for half an hour. Then pour into a bucket of water and stir.
With the resulting solution, you can water each strawberry bush (pour under the roots).
Experts advise to apply not organic, but mineral fertilizers before flowering. For this, the above-mentioned nitrophosphate is suitable. The recipe for the solution is as follows: mix 2 tablespoons of nitrophosphate with 1 tablespoon of potassium and pour into a bucket of water. Stir thoroughly and pour the mixture over the plant. 500 ml for each bush.
Also, do not forget that in gardening stores there is a sufficient amount of ready-made fertilizer to feed strawberries. Feel free to ask sellers for the best option.
Planting strawberries in spring
Our advice on how to properly care for strawberries in the spring will be incomplete if we do not briefly recall planting new bushes.
Most summer gardeners plant new bushes in the fall, but this is not forbidden to do after winter.
There are many ways to land, but the most common recommendations are:
- The distance between the rows is about 50-60 cm, and between the bushes - 15 centimeters. This option is well suited for laying bushes in autumn and spring.
Autumn strawberry care will be incomplete if the plant is not regularly watered. Only here you need to approach the issue reasonably, otherwise excessive moisture will lead to the spread of fungal diseases and rotting of the bushes. 2-3 times a week is optimal. Just keep a close eye on the condition of the plant.
Mulching
Mulching is another procedure that will positively affect the yield and health of the bushes. To do this, lay out sawdust or straw in the aisle. They will not allow a crust to form on the ground and will restrain the growth of weeds. Also, mulching allows you not to loosen the soil after rain or irrigation.
An interesting video on how to care for strawberries in spring:
Conclusion. In the article, we gave basic recommendations on how to properly care for strawberries in the fall, provided videos that will better reveal the topic and help you get a good harvest.
With the onset of spring, gardeners and gardeners have a large number of worries. One of them is the processing and feeding of strawberries. How to properly carry out such work and not forget to do anything, and will be discussed in this article.
1. How to properly remove old strawberry leaves in spring
Strawberries wake up quite early in the spring. Therefore, as soon as the snow melts and the soil dries out a little, it is advisable to remove all covering materials from the strawberry bushes (read about covering material in this article). Most often, under them there will already be green strawberry leaves that need light. If covering materials were not used, you can immediately begin to remove dried leaves from strawberry bushes. This should be done with a sharp pruner, trying not to damage the core and young leaves.
Also, all organic debris is removed from the strawberry beds. Thus, you will allow the soil to warm up much deeper, and this, in turn, activates the growth of the root system of strawberry bushes and, as a result, the harvest will be richer.
2. How to transplant strawberries in the spring
Recently, winters in central Russia are quite unpredictable. Snow may be absent for a long time, or it may rain instead, and then frost will hit. All this is very bad for planting strawberries and in the spring, many gardeners discover its dead bushes, as a result of which it becomes necessary to plant a new or transplant an old strawberry. These activities are best done in April before the temperature rises above 15°C. This is due to the fact that with the advent of warm weather, the above-ground part strawberry bushes enters into active growth and spends most of its energy on it. Therefore, the roots must have time to take root and adapt to new conditions.
Special attention when planting strawberries should be given to the core of the bush. It cannot be deepened into the soil, otherwise it may rot, but it is also not worth raising it much above ground level, this will lead to the drying of the plant. It is best to raise the bush a little when planting, because when the soil settles a little, the outlet will just catch up with its level.
In order for the bush to take root better after transplantation, it should be dug out with a clod of earth, in this case root system strawberries will be subject to minimal damage. Recently, it has become very popular to plant strawberries and strawberries in vertical beds. You can find out what are the pros and cons of this method.
Fig.1 vertical beds strawberries
3. We carry out spring processing of strawberries from pests and diseases
For a long winter period in the old strawberry foliage a fairly large number of pests and fungal diseases that love moisture and heat settle. Removing all organic debris from strawberry patch, you can get rid of most of this kind of pests. But on the remaining bushes there are quite a lot of larvae and harmful fungal diseases. In order to destroy them, one must preventive treatment copper-containing fungicides, the most popular of which are Bordeaux liquid and copper sulfate. The solution should be prepared according to the instructions.
Conduct treatment of strawberries from diseases and pests best in dry windless weather. This will allow you to achieve the most positive result.
In order for obsessive pests to disturb the beds throughout the season, as little as possible, you can plant certain flowers, which will help scare away or even destroy certain types of them. You can read about which flowers to plant in this article.
4. What to do with the soil in the beds of strawberries in the spring
After winter the soil around strawberry bushes compacted, forming a kind of crust, which, in turn, impedes the access of oxygen and inhibits the growth of the strawberry root system. Therefore, as soon as the soil dries out a little, it must be loosened, this is done to a depth of about 10 cm. This is done especially carefully directly at the rosette of the bush, because the strawberry root system is located close enough to the soil surface and any damage to it can lead to weakening and even the death of the bush.
Tips for gardeners: all bare roots must be sprinkled with a layer of soil during loosening. Particular attention should be paid to the growth point of bushes planted last year. It is possible that the strawberries could deepen. In this case, it must be lifted with a fork and the soil around it must be compacted to avoid the possibility of re-subsidence.
Fig. 2 Growth point of strawberry bushes
5. Spring fertilizing strawberries
start to spend fertilizing strawberries follows only after the vegetative system goes into active growth. You can apply both organic and mineral fertilizers, you can learn more about their properties. Mineral fertilizers can be used both in liquid and dry form. With the first loosening of strawberry beds, nitrogenous fertilizers are applied, do this based on the instructions on the package. In the future, before flowering, it is recommended to apply potash fertilizers, which will help to form ovaries. It is best to purchase complex fertilizers for feeding strawberries, so the likelihood of making a mistake with the dosage will be minimal.
From organic fertilizers V spring period chicken manure is very good. It is diluted with a small amount of water and infused for a week, then the resulting concentrate is diluted with water (1:10). Such fertilizer is applied directly under the bush at the rate of 200 grams per seedling.
Useful tips for summer residents: before flowering, to get a richer harvest, it is recommended to spray strawberry plantings with a solution of urea (20-25 grams per bucket of water).
Spring care lays the foundation for the future harvest. Regardless of the time of planting, strawberries need spring after winter awakening in special attention. The obligatory measures and intricacies of processing, as well as the advice of experienced gardeners, will be discussed in this article.
Many believe that strawberries are quite unpretentious and bear fruit under any conditions. This opinion is based on the fact that in the wild, strawberries survive without care and bait. However, home gardens are not natural environment culture habitats, and many varieties are hybrids, requiring certain growing conditions.
Some species are very capricious, the yield is reduced even with proper processing. And in order for the plant to bear fruit abundantly and for a long time, you need to make a lot of effort.
The following activities are considered the most important:
- irrigation (for the vegetative process);
- loosening (enrichment of the soil with oxygen, prevention of soil compaction);
- bait (in order to increase the yield and quality of berries);
- mulching (to protect the plant from drying out and frost);
- (to prolong the period of abundant fruiting).
Before planting, it is worth familiarizing yourself with the characteristics of the selected varieties. Every crop needs certain conditions, therefore it is better to plant strawberries of different types in separate beds. This will make care easier.
Processing strawberries after winter
Work on the beds must begin, as soon as the snow melted and the earth dried up not later than early May. For plants, this is not only an important, but also a vulnerable period, which is characterized by unstable weather, temperature fluctuations, frosts on the ground. Support is needed to create favorable conditions during the formation of flower buds that ripen into berries.
In order to speed up the melting of late snow, gardeners sprinkle ash or salt (in moderation) on the strawberry plantation.
Preparing the beds in the garden for the new season includes the following steps:
- cleaning from dry leaves, mulch lined in autumn to protect plants from frost;
- inspection of each bush in order to trim dry leaves, frozen shoots, extra tendrils;
- weed removal;
- loosening the soil;
- soil enrichment nutrients.
It is not worth leaving autumn mulch for the next season, since a complex of phytopathogens and pests often develops on garden soils rich in organic matter.
Clean beds should be inspected for finding a point of growth. After a long wintering and snow melting, the root system of some plants is exposed. If open tubers are found, they should be carefully sprinkled using a lightweight mixture of soil, sand and peat and proper care should be taken.
Seating old bushes and how to reanimate the crop if it had time to freeze
After inspecting the bed, you need to determine which plants can move away from minor freezing, and which should be removed. If the bush had time to freeze or freeze, noticeably weakened or has most of the branches burgundy, his better to remove. Sense will still be small.
Spring time is characterized by the activation of vegetative growth, so planting a new seedling in the garden to revive the crop will not be difficult. Moreover, the percentage of survival with such a landing in the country in the summer is quite high.
Stages of work:
- dig old bush who managed to freeze under the root and remove the tuber from the soil;
- select a few old plants (not older than 3 years) for seedlings;
- cut the root into several parts so that each fragment has 3-4 leaves;
- process the roots a solution of potassium permanganate (slightly pink);
- prepare a hole, introduce humus mixed with peat or other nitrogen fertilizer into it;
- install seedlings in the pits and cover with earth, leveling the heart with the surface of the soil (when deepening, there is a high risk of decay).
Weeding berries in spring
After winter, the beds must be weeded and hilled. It is necessary to wield glanders carefully so as not to damage the roots.
Strawberries do not like to be disturbed unnecessarily, so you need to care and weed carefully, large weeds are better. pluck or cut near the ground surface secateurs. This will limit the invasion of the root system of the culture.
The berry is especially sensitive to processing during the flowering period, so all work on cleaning and processing the plant should be completed before this stage, doing them, peeling strawberries should be done step by step according to the instructions. Otherwise, the inflorescences that appear on the damaged bush may fade.
When weeding, it is recommended cut off the first mustache so that they do not pull on nutrients when flowering. In addition, the second release is characterized by a more powerful structure, which contributes to the rapid rooting of new shoots.
Spring dressing and how to process for a good harvest
For fertilizing strawberries are used different types fertilizers: organic, mineral, complex. Organic is considered the most affordable, get your own compost pit or container will not be difficult. When preparing a nutrient solution, adhere to the recommended proportions especially with bird droppings. Overdose can burn plants.
To stimulate the growth of seedlings, it is necessary to treat with nitrogen-containing fertilizers. Phosphorus is best introduced in the middle of summer, they will help strawberries get stronger and prepare for wintering. Complementary foods after winter are necessary for the active development of shoots, the formation of buds, in the place of which fruits are formed.
Most often they use urea, Bordeaux mixture, iodine, they need to be watered with flowering Victoria. Water or spray the plant according to the instructions.
In spring, not only plants awaken, but also insects, microorganisms located in the upper layers of the soil. Young seedlings, as well as mature bushes, need protection from diseases and pests. This can be achieved with the help of special preparations.
Modern means excellent in the prevention and treatment of various diseases, without inhibiting the development of the culture itself. The greatest danger to strawberries is a fungus, therefore the best prevention will control soil moisture.
Proper spraying from pests
The best treatment is timely prevention.
This principle guides gardeners when growing and protecting strawberries. Popular assistants in proper spraying are the following tools:
- "Zircon" - increases immunity to almost all diseases, does not contain chemistry;
- "Fitosporin", "Fito plus" - preparations for gray rot;
- "Phytocide" - eliminates fungal diseases;
- "Aktellik", "Aktofit" - help get rid of insects that carry infections and pests.
A tool with a wide spectrum of action deserves special attention. if they spray the plant:
- fights pests and ticks;
- protects against late blight, macrospariosis, etc.;
- stimulates plant growth;
- toxic in particular to larvae, eggs of insects.
The main advantage of the drug - absolute security for crops in the fight.
There are many gardeners folk recipes, which are sometimes not inferior in efficiency to store ones. One option is to connect blue vitriol and lime. Such a mixture copes well with fungus and pests. Not bad wins fungal diseases and potassium permanganate.
Important tips for processing and care
Apart from general rules strawberry care exist different nuances and secrets, the authors of which are experienced gardeners. Their advice helps to increase productivity, saturate the berry with juiciness and a unique taste.
- When choosing a place for planting strawberries, it is worth giving preference to the site where they were previously grown: onions, beets, carrots, garlic, celery, greens.
- Shoots develop well in light soils. It is recommended to add peat and sand to dense soil.
- It is not worth fertilizing the soil just before planting; it is better to do this in the fall during spring planting. After the introduction of nutrition in the spring, you need to let the soil settle for at least a month.
- When choosing an irrigation system, the choice is better to stop on drip irrigation or sprinkling.
- Young shoots need trace elements. A good food for them will be a mixture of potassium permanganate, boric acid, ammonium molybdate and water.
To spring work it was easier to carry out without missing important points, it is recommended to draw up an action plan for the processing of culture. The plant will surely reward the efforts and time spent with a generous harvest.
Strawberry ( garden strawberry) is a rather capricious culture. Therefore, it must be carefully looked after from early spring to late autumn. We will tell you what works and at what time you need to carry out.
They begin to care for the strawberry bed even before the snow completely melts (usually in March), and finish work with the onset of frost.
March
When the first warm days come and the snow partially melts from the beds, the strawberries are covered plastic wrap or agrofibre. This will allow you to get an early harvest of berries.
Covering material is placed on arcs so that an air gap remains between it and the plants. Please note: the greater the volume of air under the shelter, the more low temperature can withstand strawberry bushes.
As soon as the snow completely melts, the bed is cleaned: dried leaves and flower stalks are removed, and the remains of the mustache are cut off with scissors. In the places where the dead bushes grew, young rosettes are planted.
After the restoration of the beds, preventive treatment is carried out from diseases and pests. Plantings are sprayed with 1% Bordeaux liquid or any chorus-based preparation.
When the earth thaws, the soil is loosened on the strawberry bed. This will keep the moisture accumulated during the winter in it. At the same time, the bushes are slightly spud so that the root system grows faster.
April
If you plan to plant strawberries in the spring, do it as early as possible. In April, the weather is different: sometimes in the middle of spring there is still a dense layer of snow, and sometimes at this time the buds are already blooming with might and main. Therefore, when setting a suitable time for planting strawberries, they are more guided not by time, but by weather conditions.
Strawberry seedlings are planted in spring. It is important that by this time the soil has time to warm up to about 10 ° C
When the strawberries begin to grow, plantings are mulched with organic matter or a special mulching film. During the period of mass growth of foliage, a second preventive treatment against diseases is carried out.
If harmful insects appeared in April, the bushes are sprayed with chemical insecticides (Aktellik, Teldor, Envidor, Calypso, etc.). It has also performed well in recent years. complex drug Teovit Jet - contact fungicide and acaricide.
If garden strawberry bushes have been growing in one place for more than 3 years, they will need top dressing. At first growing season garden strawberries need nitrogen fertilizers, during flowering - in phosphorus, and after fruiting - in nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium.
May
Garden strawberries grown in tunnels are aired daily so that the plants do not overheat under the rays. spring sun. In the morning, one or both ends are slightly opened, and closed at night.
Strawberries grown in open field, at night they cover with spanbond, as returnable spring frosts(and sometimes even lowering the temperature to 1 ° C) can kill plants.
During the flowering of strawberries, strawberry weevils may appear on it. The bushes are sprayed with an infusion of garlic or other folk remedies for pest control.
May is often dry. For the proper development of plants and the formation of fruits, the strawberry bed is regularly watered. In the second half of May (depending on the region and weather), strawberries begin to bear fruit early varieties. The crop is harvested in a timely manner, then watering is done after picking ripe berries.
If at this time there are often heavy rains, the plants are protected from rot and powdery mildew. And also, if necessary, weed weeds.
In May, garden strawberries begin to actively produce mustaches, which take a large amount from the plant. nutrients. If you are growing strawberries for berries and not for propagation, then the tendrils should be removed regularly.
Properly adjusting the number of mustaches on the bushes, you can get and planting material, and a good harvest of berries
June
Continue harvesting. In the second half of the month, late varieties begin to bear fruit. So that the berries do not get dirty and do not rot, they lay black under the bushes. nonwoven fabric or sprinkle shavings. This helps protect strawberries from gray mold and weeds.
Also in June, strawberry sockets are rooted in separate cups or cassettes. Such plants will be ready for transplanting to a new place in 2-3 weeks.
July
After the end of fruiting, all old, diseased and damaged leaves are removed from the bushes. The bed is well watered, the soil around the bushes is loosened and all excess whiskers are removed from them.
In July, a strawberry mite can settle on strawberry bushes. Leaves are cut from damaged plants and burned. Then the entire bed is sprayed with water (about 60 ° C) or a hot solution of potassium permanganate.
If other insect pests appear on the plants, strawberry bushes are sprayed with chemical or biological insecticides. You can also resort to folk safe means. In addition, during this period, strawberries are often affected by spotting, powdery mildew, gray mold. 1% Bordeaux liquid with the addition of colloidal sulfur (100 g of the drug per 10 liters of water) helps to cope with diseases.
August
At the end of summer, on a strawberry bed, the soil is deeply loosened and complex fertilizer is applied: 1 tsp. under each bush. Until the end of the month, they finish planting the mustache, the bushes are regularly watered.
In the second half of summer - early autumn, care should be taken to timely water the strawberry garden.
September
This month, flower buds are formed, from which berries will appear next year. Therefore, in September it is important not to forget to water the plants.
October
In October, favorable conditions are created for plants that will help them winter well. To do this, the beds are watered, the soil is loosened, weeds are removed. Strawberry bushes spud with peat, humus or compost.
November
When upper layer soil (to a depth of 5-7 cm) will freeze, the beds are mulched. This will prevent the plants from being pushed out of the ground. To hold the snow, brushwood, Jerusalem artichoke leaves, raspberry or corn stalks are placed on top. In this form, strawberries hibernate.
Thanks to the correct and timely work on the care of strawberries, you will be able to grow healthy plant and harvest a good harvest of sweet berries. Follow these guidelines and you'll be fine!
At the beginning of the season, there is a lot of work at the dacha. But in this hot season, one should not forget about the strawberry plantation, as in the spring you need to be especially careful so that later there is a good harvest. In many countries of the world, strawberries are cultivated in closed ground, and for Russia it is more common to grow and care for this berry on open area, on street beds. The new season of work on strawberries begins immediately after the snow melts. In conditions Middle lane, and Siberia, in Altai this time falls on April.
A set of spring events
After the snow melts, spring worries care for planting strawberries.
From the beginning of the season to the flowering of strawberries, you need to carry out a whole range of activities.
On the frozen ground
- Removal.
- Powder of bare roots.
- Pouring hot water, spraying with 3% Bordeaux liquid (first treatment).
- Scattering of urea.
At the beginning of the growing season:
Healthy strawberry bush during this period
When popping buds:
- Watering.
- Top dressing.
- and diseases.
You will have to make a lot of efforts so as not to be left without a harvest.
On the frozen ground
When the main snow melts, the top layer of soil is usually covered with an ice crust for some time. In the frozen ground, the plants are still sleeping. During this period, the garden must be walked carefully so as not to compact the soil.
Removing winter shelter
If strawberries have been covered since autumn (spruce branches, branches, agrofibre, etc.), it must be opened and an initial inspection of the plantings should be carried out.
First of all, we remove the shelter and see how our strawberries endured the winter cold.
Sometimes the plants seem to be dead, but do not rush to conclusions - they may still wake up. When the death of the bushes (freezing, dampening, damage to the heart by mice) is obvious, you need to plan.
At this time, strawberry plantation is ventilated comes alive under the rays of the spring sun. If you plan to install greenhouses to speed up the growing season, this is best done in a few days. Immediately a transparent shelter is installed only over the most tender varieties.
Powder of bare roots
We add earth where necessary and at the same time we introduce mineral top dressing.
Sometimes during wintering, strawberry bushes stick out of the ground, while the roots are exposed.
As soon as such a phenomenon is detected, it is necessary to immediately sprinkle tender roots (soil, humus). In case of strong bulging, living plants have to be replanted in place.
First treatment for diseases and pests
On the advice of experienced gardeners, immediately after the snow melts, strawberry bushes can be doused with hot water from a watering can.
It is believed that this leads to the death of such dangerous pests, as well as . Overwintering spores of pathogenic fungi also partially die. Strawberry is a delicate plant, therefore the water temperature should be strictly +65 degrees - no more and no less.
spraying
In dry weather, pour the Bordeaux mixture into a sprayer and treat strawberry plantings from diseases.
In the same early dates"blue" spraying of the entire garden from diseases is carried out. Plants and soil are treated with continuous irrigation, fine spray (not with a broom). For this, Bordeaux mixture is used at a concentration of 3%. If heat has quickly come and the plants have already begun to grow young leaves, the concentration is reduced to 1% (so as not to burn). Bordeaux liquid is a copper-containing chemical; it is considered not too poisonous, but supporters of ecological living agriculture do not use this drug.
Treatment with Bordeaux liquid can be replaced by the so-called "eradicating" spraying with urea.
The solution is prepared in the proportion: 600 grams of urea (carbamide) per bucket of water (sometimes another 50 grams of copper sulfate is added). The concentrate is sprayed on the surface of the beds and strawberry plants, trying not to touch the center of the bush with a growth point.
The most common mistake – early processing garden insecticides against pests. At this time dangerous insects still asleep, they are invulnerable.
Urea spread
During the period of spring rains and the melting of the last snow, you can carry out a simple and quick feeding of a strawberry plantation.
Surface application of urea in early spring.
Dry granules of soluble nitrogen mineral fertilizers - urea or saltpeter (on acidic soils use calcium nitrate). The dosage is taken from the calculation: a tablespoon of granules for one or two square meters landings. Nitrogen is essential for strawberries to promote growth.
At the beginning of the growing season
With the advent of heat, the plants finally wake up. Now their goal is to build up a fresh and powerful leaf apparatus, to successfully form buds.
Removing dry leaves, raking mulch
Last year's foliage should be removed.
The soil on the beds has already thawed and dried out a little. Now you need to remove from the strawberry plantation withered leaves, leaving only green and strong, without spots . Sometimes you have to strongly bare the bushes - to the very hearts. It's not scary, new leaves will grow, but dry and sick ones won't work anyway.
However, if pests and diseases were noticed in the previous season, the surface of the ridges must be cleaned to the ground. The removed organic residues are burned or laid in deep long-term compost.
Bushes must be cleared of frozen leaves.
Loosening, weeding, ash spreading, replanting on bald spots
Loosen the soil around the strawberries to loosen the earth crust and increase oxygen access to the roots.
At the same time, dry wood ash is introduced (at the rate of a handful for each bush). In the aisles, they loosen deeper - with a shovel, fork or flat cutter. Small rakes are used near the plants, without harm to the surface roots. If there are weeds on the plantation, they are weeded out, carefully choosing the roots.
Small bald spots are visible in the garden, there was a strawberry that did not survive the winter well. These bushes have been removed.
Now, or a little later, young plants are planted instead of "dropped out" bushes .
Watering (if dry)
As a rule, spring moisture from melting snow strawberries is enough for the initial growth.
If there are no spring rains and the earth begins to dry out, strawberries should be watered with a nutritious infusion.
Here you need to navigate the state of the soil, do not lose sight of this moment. If the weather is warm, dry, and the beds are high or located on the southern slope, the soil dries up quickly. Then abundant watering is required - not often and little by little, but once and thoroughly. The surface of the earth must be wetted to a depth of 30–40 cm.
top dressing
Now strawberries need a complex of various nutrients to build up nourishing roots and foliage.
Opponents of "chemistry" prefer to feed strawberries with organic infusions at this time.
At the same time, the initial stage of bud formation passes (until they are visible). The best option- provide plants with a complete set of liquid nutrition: nitrogen, potassium, phosphorus, trace elements, humates. It is given as root dressing.
- Opponents of any "chemistry" water strawberries diluted infusion of rotten mullein or bird droppings . Slurry is diluted with water in a ratio of 1:10, litter - 1:20. They spend a liter of solution on two bushes (you need to pour it from the side under the root). If there is no such organic matter, it is replaced with store-bought organomineral fertilizers (Gumi-Omi, Biovita, Giant, Fertika-OMU, etc.), diluting them according to the attached instructions.
- Organic fertilizers replace or supplement with mineral complexes (there are many options for sale). If urea, superphosphate, potassium sulfate are taken separately, then they are placed in a dessert spoon in a bucket of water. Microelements and humates are added (according to the instructions on the packages).
- foliar top dressing at this stage it is not very efficient, since the young leaves have not yet increased the vegetative mass. It is still not warm enough for watering with yeast and microbiological preparations (such as Baikal or Radiance).
Disease treatment
Spraying strawberries in early spring with complex preparations.
At stable positive temperatures, a dangerous microflora awakens - bacteria and fungi.
Fitosporin-M is an organic remedy for the prevention of fungal diseases of strawberries.
IN initial stage regrowth of strawberry leaves, always in warm weather, opponents of "chemistry" carry out the first spraying of a strawberry plantation with a solution Alirina or Phytosporin .
You need to understand that the effectiveness of these microbiological agents is not too great, especially on heavily infested plantations.
chemicals
A visible result is the use of special fungicides.
The drug "Agrolekar" helps well with various strawberry spots.
Folk remedies
Amateur gardeners sometimes take strawberries for spring spraying:
- blue vitriol (50 grams per 10 liters of water),
- potassium permanganate (pink solution),
- pharmacy alcohol tincture iodine (1 drop per liter of water).
In fact, these are also chemicals, and most agricultural scientists do not recommend such experiments, considering them dangerous or pointless.
Mulch Update
You can add a little rotten compost to the strawberry bushes, and then you need to mulch the beds (with straw, needles, rotted sawdust or other mulching materials) with a layer 4–5 cm .
Installation of greenhouses for early harvest (optional)
Many gardeners cover in spring strawberry beds film or white covering material.
In the greenhouse, temperature drops are less and strawberries grow more actively and faster.
- It is advisable to throw the shelter not directly on the bushes, but on the arcs or frame, leaving a small air layer. This speeds up the growing season and allows you to get a crop ahead of the time set by nature.
- In film greenhouses leave holes, otherwise the plants will burn in the heat.
- When buds open (if frosts are not expected) the shelter is removed so that insects can pollinate the flowers.
When pushing buds
An important period in the life of a strawberry plantation is the growth of the first buds. They are attacked by weevils and fruit rot spores. Pests are active, therefore vulnerable, and this best time to fight them. Bushes at this time experience an increased need for moisture and nutrition. Now fertilizers are especially needed to increase the yield.
At the stage of tying flower buds, strawberries need a lot of moisture.
top dressing
Excess nitrogen is no longer needed. Best Option – complex mineral fertilizer with little nitrogen. After fertilizing watering, it is useful to carry out foliar top dressing trace elements; especially strawberries love zinc, boron, molybdenum.
Opponents of "mineral water" can feed strawberries wood ash, divorced herbal infusion or slurry made from mature compost.
Protection from pests and diseases
Traps for slugs are set in advance, without waiting for the mass appearance of pests.
The beginning of the emergence of strawberry buds is a signal for chemical spraying against the strawberry weevil, if this pest was observed in previous years. Small black bugs with a proboscis gnaw the legs of the buds. They damage, as a rule, the very first and largest buds, attacking early maturing varieties. Late-ripening suffer less. Destroy these harmful insects allows spraying with insecticides ( Inta-Vir, Inta-CM, Fufanon, Alatar, Iskra M, Iskra Double effect ). It is carried out strictly BEFORE flowering.
If last season the plantation had a lot of spotty leaves, and the berries were covered with gray rot, treatment for diseases is necessary. Spraying is carried out with fungicides such as Bordeaux liquid (at a concentration of 1%) or Propi Plus(analogues: Chistoflor, Agrolekar, Forecast ). Alternative folk remedies- iodine (10 drops per bucket of water) or potassium permanganate (pink solution). biological drug - Alirin.
conclusions
It is difficult to say which of the agricultural practices are the most important. We need a system, and this is the secret good harvests strawberries.
Video about caring for strawberries in early spring
