What to do after harvesting strawberries. Victoria - post-harvest care

Autumn processing is a guarantee of a rich and high-quality harvest next season. Cut and clean old leaves, loosen and feed, cover plants for the winter - this is the basic care for strawberries. Autumn work with this crop begins after the fruiting phase.

Weeding and loosening

Rule of thumb for pruning: don't overdo it. For each bush, you need to cut off the leaf blade itself, keeping the protruding stems. Thus, the growing point remains intact, and the bushes soon begin to let out new leaves. All tendrils from berry bushes also need to be removed.

top dressing

Fertilizing is another important step in how to care for strawberries in the fall. The plant responds well to organic nutrients: bird (chicken) droppings, horse manure, mullein or humus. Gardeners also often contribute (it replaces top dressing well).

As for mineral fertilizers, you can use superphosphate or potassium salt.

Important!It is highly undesirable to apply chlorine-containing substances as a fertilizer, since the strawberry plant reacts poorly to chlorine.

First, humus, or mullein are laid out in small pieces in all the beds. Rains and planned waterings will gradually dilute fertilizers, evaporating useful substances from them and delivering them deep into the strawberry root system.

However, the bed method works much faster. For this purpose, fresh litter is dissolved in water in a ratio of 1:20 and thoroughly mixed. Then the resulting liquid is poured under the berry bushes. Consumption for 7-10 bushes is approximately 1 bucket of composition. In the case of using mineral dressings, they are scattered over the site, embedding them into the ground with a chopper. Immediately it is necessary to water. So that after moistening the soil a crust does not form on its surface, the site is mulched or with needles. In the future, it will be possible to loosen the soil and water the plants through the layer.

Soil renewal

If you have a small plot of land and you have to grow the same crop in the same place year after year, it is natural that the soil needs renewal (health). The causative agents of fungal diseases accumulate in the old earth, and the number of nutrients also decreases.

The whole secret of the renewal of the earth lies in the enhanced cultivation techniques. For example, you can form deep or raised beds by filling them with manure or compost. In such conditions, there is a partial replacement of the soil, microorganisms are intensively functioning, processing organic matter into new soil. In addition, berries are abundantly supplied with nutrients.
Plants can be protected from and thanks to a wellness treatment in autumn of the soil under strawberries. Do not forget also that the beds need to be mulched from time to time. The mulch will serve as a barrier to the penetration of infections on the aerial parts of strawberry plants.

Autumn transplant

For transplanting, take one- or two-year-old bushes, previously divided into parts. You can also use the shoots formed on the antennae. Transplantation is carried out, first of all, with the aim of rejuvenating the landing. For 3–4 years, berry bushes grow old, the number of flower stalks decreases, and the berries themselves become smaller.

It is carried out in the fall, since during this period the soil is more humid and warm, and the weather is cool. Start transplanting bushes in mid-August and finish in the first weeks of September. So you give the plant time to take root, take root and grow a good green mass.
Before winter, strawberries will leave strengthened and dressed in lush foliage. Most of the seedlings transplanted during this period easily endure winter, and

Feeding strawberries after fruiting is an even more responsible task than fertilizing plants in the spring. With the right choice of fertilizer, strawberry bushes become healthier after fruiting, accumulate a sufficient amount of nutrients and give high yields, a balanced and harmonious taste of berries.

Strawberries, after harvesting, enter a phase of calm, as if resting, gaining strength and starting to lay the buds of flowering for the next season. Care for her does not end even after the completion of fruiting. Priority attention should be paid to how to feed the strawberries.

After the last removal of the berries, strawberry foliage is pruned. This procedure is best done as early as possible. The fruiting of most varieties of strawberries ends early enough.

Plantings begin to quickly overgrow with weeds, and bacteria and pests settle on the leaves of plants. The bushes need to be thinned out, and the extra mustache removed. All leaves are not completely cut off: plants need strength to prepare for winter and lay fruit buds.

Leaves affected by pests or diseases are subject to mandatory removal. This significantly reduces the risk of fungal diseases of the healthy part of the bushes. Old leaves are also removed for the purpose of rejuvenation. Pruning leaves on an old plantation promotes plant renewal. It is not recommended to remove all the leaves every year: this leads to a weakening of the plants and a reduction in the number of flower buds.

Sick leaves must be cut off, and then spray the bushes with warm water with the addition of potassium permanganate. The color of the solution should be pale pink and should be sprayed evenly. Then the raw bushes are dusted with finely sifted wood ash or sprinkled with crushed charcoal. The treatment procedure is repeated after a few days.

Choice of fertilizer

When the strawberries are already harvested, the flower buds of the future crop are laid and the mustache is actively growing. Expending a lot of nutrients to build seed material (whiskers), plants need additional nutrition. The lack of nutrients during this period negatively affects the entire crop of the next year.

When choosing fertilizer for strawberries after fruiting and pruning, you should focus on complex preparations: nitrophoska, ammofoska or diammofoska.

They contain the main set of nutrients: phosphorus, nitrogen and potassium. The composition of these fertilizers also includes sulfur, magnesium and calcium, which are necessary for the full development of plants. The rate of application of complex fertilizers per 1 square meter of strawberry beds is about 30 grams.

The soil must be loosened before fertilizing. You should try not to loosen directly next to the bushes: it is easy to damage the strawberry root system close to the surface.

A universal potash-phosphorus fertilizer is furnace ash, which can be incorporated into the soil in dry form or in the form of a solution. To fully provide plants with mineral fertilizers, it is enough to add 1 kilogram of ash per square meter of strawberry beds between rows and under bushes, which will simultaneously serve as a protective agent against pests and diseases.

Strawberry bushes can be poured with ammonia and ash by preparing such a solution:

• water - 10 liters;
• ash - 1 glass;
• ammonia - 2 tablespoons.

A bed with strawberries before feeding must be watered abundantly. Potassium humate can be used instead of ash.

After picking berries, fertilizing with iodine and boric acid is effective for strawberries:

• water - 10 liters;
• whey - half a liter;
• ash - 1 glass;
• boric acid - 1 teaspoon;
• iodine - half a teaspoon.

To feed strawberries after fruiting, you can prepare a top dressing from yeast:

• warm water - 3 liters;
• sugar - 3 tablespoons;
• dry yeast - 1 pack (10-12 grams).

To feed strawberries, you can use organic fertilizers: manure, chicken manure or compost. Manure-based fertilizers in granular form are very convenient. Without digging into the soil, you can put them between the rows.

Thus, the manure will perform a dual function: mulch and fertilizer. During irrigation and precipitation, nutrients will gradually be washed out of the manure and transferred to the soil.

Strawberries can be fed after harvest and in this way: in a ratio of 1:8 dissolve the mullein in water, add 100-150 grams of wood ash and 40-50 grams of superphosphate. It is recommended to add at least 1 liter of solution under each bush.

Strawberries respond very well to chicken manure fertilizer. Plants should not be fertilized with pure chicken manure. One part of it must be diluted with 15-20 parts of water. For one strawberry bush, a liter of such a solution is required. Even so heavily diluted with water fertilizer requires caution in use.

Contact with the solution on strawberry leaves can lead to severe burns, so it is recommended to pour it exactly under the root.

It is believed that it is after fruiting that plants require a full range of fertilizers. And in the spring, before fruiting, the intake of nitrogen-containing fertilizers should be limited. Strawberries with a high amount of nitrogen in the soil grow strongly and increase the deciduous mass. A smaller amount of substances is given at the same time to the development of berries.

After applying all fertilizers, the soil must be mulched with peat, which will help maintain constant moisture. Paying special attention to watering is recommended by the well-known agrotechnician Ganichkina.

To do this, regularly, not often, but very abundantly water the strawberry garden. 3-4 waterings are enough per month. After irrigation, loosen the soil and remove weeds. This must be done very carefully, trying not to damage the root system located very close to the surface.

Emerging whiskers should be trimmed, otherwise the nutrients for the next harvest season will be spent on the formation of additional rosettes, and not on the formation of buds and berries. If strawberry bushes are planned to be propagated, it is recommended to dig one of the whiskers with soil. From it, by spring, an independent plant will turn out.

In this way, you can increase the number of strawberry beds by replacing old bushes with new ones. To protect against severe frosts for the winter, bushes should be covered with non-woven covering material or spruce branches.

Top dressing of strawberries

Post-harvest care for strawberries is an important event that begins immediately after harvest. Straw or sawdust, in which pests and diseases could accumulate, is removed from strawberry beds covered with mulching material. Old leaves are mowed at a height of 5 centimeters, at the same time as the leaves, extra whiskers must be removed.

Be sure to remove diseased, weak and superfluous plants. Old foliage is pruned only on plantations older than 2 years; on one-year-olds, only diseased and dried leaves are removed.

All mowed foliage from strawberry beds must be removed. You can’t use it as mulch, but you can put it in compost heaps. To improve the air exchange of the roots, the soil must be well loosened, and each bush should be slightly spud, trying not to cover the heart with earth.

Types of fertilizing for strawberries

Strawberry bushes weakened after fruiting require restoration. Experienced gardeners recommend feeding strawberries 3 times. In August, immediately after pruning the leaves, to stimulate the growth of young foliage, it is necessary to give top dressing with nitrogen fertilizers.

After 2 weeks after the first feeding, strawberries are fertilized with organic matter with the addition of potassium and phosphorus to ensure the laying of flower buds. The third top dressing is performed with a solution of mullein in mid-September.

For strawberries, there are many options for top dressing, which can be divided into mineral and organic.

Mineral fertilizers:

1. Ammophoska - contains potassium, nitrogen, phosphorus, calcium, magnesium, sulfur. Fertilizer can be scattered on the bed in a dry form (20-30 grams per square meter), and then planted into the soil with a chopper or watered. Bushes can be watered with a watering can by dissolving a matchbox (20 grams) of fertilizer in 10 liters of water.
2. Nitroammophoska and nitrophoska - dissolve 1 tablespoon in 10 liters of water.
3. For strawberries, there are also special mineral fertilizers that contain all the necessary elements. Chlorine is contraindicated for her, therefore fertilizers containing it cannot be applied under strawberries.

Organic fertilizers for strawberries:

1. Mullein. Can be used dry for mulching between rows and as an infusion. To prepare the mixture, pour 1 part of mullein with 10 parts of water, insist for a day, after which you can apply the solution under the plants. For enrichment with trace elements, you can add 1 part of ash to this infusion.
2. Bird droppings. It is better not to apply dry under the bushes, as you can burn the roots and destroy the plantings. To prepare an infusion, pour 1 part of bird droppings into 10 parts of water and infuse for 2 days. Then, 1 liter of the resulting solution is diluted in 10 liters of water and used to water the plants.
3. Herbal infusion. Lay grass (cut from the lawn, nettles, weeds from weeding) up to half the volume of a barrel or other large container, add ash, fill it with water to the full volume and leave to ferment for 10 days in the sun. 200 grams of yeast can be added to the barrel to speed up the fermentation process and enrich the infusion with microorganisms. The resulting infusion is diluted with water in a ratio of 1: 1 and strawberry bushes are watered. Such an infusion not only serves as a fertilizer for plants, but also deoxidizes the soil.

It is also useful to add wood ash rich in potassium-phosphorus elements under strawberry beds. Scatter it on the bed in a dry form after trimming the leaves, then water the soil and loosen it.

When carrying out top dressing, it is important not to overfeed the strawberries, otherwise it may begin to fatten: to the detriment of laying flower buds, increase the green leafy mass.

To get the maximum yields of strawberries (garden strawberries), it must be properly looked after. Agricultural technology can correct many mistakes made during planting, as well as reveal all the advantages of the variety. With improper care, strawberries produce small sour berries, and varietal differences are reduced to nothing.

These strawberries have been properly cared for.

Introduction to strawberries

Strawberries are a perennial plant grown for their berries. The plantation gives high yields for no more than 4 years, then the berries become smaller, their taste becomes sour. Although the bushes, with proper care, can live for more than 20 years, but there will be few yields from them.

Horns

There are about 30 sockets (horns) in a bush. The older the bush, the more horns
it consists, their number depends on the care and variety. The growth of rosettes begins after the end of fruiting, every year they form higher and higher above the ground. Strong strawberry bushes have many horns, weak ones have few.

Peduncles appear from the tops of rosettes, respectively, the more magnificent the bush, the more abundant flowering and fruiting. At the bottom, the rosettes fuse into one small stem, on which adventitious roots form. Powerful bushes lay many peduncles, bloom for a longer time and the yield from them is higher.

Structural diagram of a strawberry bush

Mustache

The strongest whiskers of the plant are produced in the first year of cultivation, every year the whisker formation becomes weaker, while the whiskers become smaller. By the fourth year, strawberries usually no longer grow mustaches. If anyone is getting vegetative shoots from their 5-6 year old plantation, it is because it has been poorly cared for and there are bushes of different ages, and the mustache produces young rooted plants.

Vegetative shoots begin to form when the day length is more than 12 hours and the temperature is above 15 °C. The laying of flower buds in rooted whiskers occurs after 2-3 months (therefore, during the autumn planting of buds, very few buds are laid, they do not have time to mature and the yield for the next year is low).

Berries

Several factors influence the quality of strawberries.

1. Soil composition. Strawberries growing on poor soils have a less pronounced taste than when grown on fertile lands.
2. Weather. The more direct sun hits the bushes, the sweeter the berries. Strawberries growing under the crowns of trees, no matter how you take care of them, usually have sour berries.
3. Sort. Most European strawberry varieties are sweeter than domestic ones.

properties of berries.

• Picked unripe berries turn red during transportation and storage, but they will not be completely sweet.
• The taste characteristic of the berry variety is acquired only when fully ripe on the bush. To reveal the taste qualities, completely reddened berries are not removed for 2-3 days. Such berries are unsuitable for storage or transportation, but their taste is fully manifested.
• To obtain maximum yields, the berries are picked unripe, as this stimulates the growth of the remaining ovaries. As a result, strawberry yield increases.
• Unripe berries of any variety have the same sweet and sour taste.

On a personal plot, where good taste is more valued than an increase in yield of 300-500 g, it is better to let the strawberries fully ripen and taste their true taste. But in wet weather, the berries should not be fully ripe, since it is the ripe berries that are affected by rot and mold in the first place.

Advantages and disadvantages of culture

The main advantages of strawberries.

• Strawberries can produce good yields with very low amounts of fertilizer and simple care. The main thing is to fertilize the soil well before planting the crop.
• Annual harvests. Strawberries do not have a periodicity of fruiting, like some other berries (for example, raspberries).
• Quick first harvest.
• Very simple and easy reproduction. A bush for a season is able to give several dozen mustaches, from which the best ones are selected and rooted. During the summer, you can plant a bed of the most valuable variety.
• The unpretentiousness of plants. Strawberries can grow under the crowns of young trees, in flower beds, among weeds (but yields in such thickets are reduced).

Culture deficiencies.

• The defeat of gray rot. Most modern varieties are quite resistant to this disease, but with improper care, you can lose up to a third of the crop. Domestic varieties are more resistant to the disease than European ones.
• Insufficient self-fertility of strawberries. For a good setting of berries, several different varieties are grown on the plot.
• Winter hardiness is the ability not only to endure negative temperatures, but also winter thaws without being damaged. In domestic varieties, it is quite high, the loss of bushes in the spring is insignificant. In European varieties of strawberries, winter hardiness is lower, plants freeze slightly, and in severe winters they freeze completely. But some imported varieties grow successfully in our conditions; bushes cover for the winter, which somewhat reduces the loss of plants.
• Short fruiting period. The berry gives maximum yields for 3-4 years, then it must be completely renewed.

All the shortcomings of the berry can be overcome, the main thing is not to leave strawberries without proper care.

Features of growing and caring for strawberries

The main components of proper care are:

1. weeding;
2. loosening;
3. water regime;
4. top dressing.

Caring for strawberries is simple, but requires patience and consistency.

Weeding strawberry beds

Planting strawberries should always be free from weeds. This culture does not like competitors and, in case of overgrowing of the plot, produces small sour berries. Weeding is carried out as weeds grow, 6-8 times per season.

Along with the removal of weeds, the mustache is also cut off, especially in spring. If they are removed in time, then the plants will switch to flowering, otherwise all the strength of the bushes will go into mustache formation and there will be no berries.

loosening

Strawberries love loose, well-permeable soil. The roots should always have free access to air. Before flowering, the soil is loosened 3 times, and after picking berries - once every 2 weeks. If the weather is rainy and the earth is quickly compacted, then loosening is carried out more often. The soil is cultivated to a depth of 3-4 cm.

Starting from the second year, strawberry bushes are spudded, as adventitious roots appear on the stem. Hilling stimulates root formation, the growth of horns, the bushes become more magnificent, which gives an increase in yield.

How to water strawberries

The most demanding strawberries for moisture in June, when berries, mustaches and leaves grow at the same time. If the weather is dry, then the plot is watered every 2-3 days to a depth of 30 cm, and if possible, then every day.

Watering is best done between the rows, for which a furrow is made in the middle of the beds during planting, which will collect water when the snow melts and during irrigation. Plants are not watered under the root, since the root system of strawberries is sprawling and the bulk of the roots are located on the periphery of the aerial part of the plant.

After harvesting, the plants begin the second peak of root formation and foliage growth. At this time, the plot is watered 1-2 times a week. If there is no rain, then watering is carried out daily. Before flowering and after it, the bushes can be watered by sprinkling, strawberries are very fond of high humidity.

Before flowering, strawberry plantations can be watered with "rain".

During flowering and fruiting, only row-spacings are watered, the water temperature should not be lower than 15 ° C. The rest of the time, the plants tolerate watering with cold water well.

In autumn, water-charging pre-winter watering is done. The earth is shed to a depth of 30-50 cm. Moist soil better protects strawberries from frost, so it is necessary that the plot goes wet under the snow.

During flowering and growth of ovaries in case of rainy weather, strawberries suffer from waterlogging. Signs of this are the appearance of large brown spots on the leaves and ovaries (without spoiling them). Especially often, waterlogging of a strawberry plantation occurs on dense clay soils. The roots cannot provide normal nutrition to the aerial parts and the bushes begin to shed the largest berries.

When signs of oxygen starvation appear, deep loosening (5-7 cm) is carried out. If the berry plant experiences constant waterlogging, then the beds are raised to 15-20 cm. When there are no ovaries on strawberries, it does not suffer from waterlogging, but, on the contrary, gives lush foliage and powerful mustaches.

Feeding strawberries with folk remedies (ash, chicken droppings)

Strawberries with berries take out quite a lot of nutrients from the soil, these are not only the main nutrients (NPK), but also trace elements that need to be replenished. The lack of nutrition begins to appear in the second year of cultivation, in the first year the plants have enough fertilizer applied before planting.

Lack of nutrition never manifests itself in any one element, therefore complex fertilizers containing trace elements are always applied to the plot. It is better to feed strawberries with organic fertilizers, as they act more gently and for a long time.

In the first year of cultivation, if the soil has been properly prepared, fertilizers are not applied. In the second and subsequent years, the berry is fed 2 times per season. In the spring, ash is brought to the surface of the soil around the bushes, and then the earth is loosened shallowly. On infertile soils in May, along with ash, humates, humus or

Do not apply ashes along with manure, as a chemical reaction occurs, as a result of which a large amount of nitrogen is released, which can damage the plants.

To prepare an herbal infusion, the herb is placed in a plastic barrel, filled with water and left to ferment for 10-15 days. At the end of fermentation, 1 liter of infusion is diluted in 10 liters of water and the bushes are watered at the rate of 1 liter per plant.

After harvesting, strawberries begin the second wave of regrowth of roots and leaves, and at this time they need nitrogen. Feed with a solution of mullein or bird droppings (1 l / 10 l of water). Bird droppings are preferred for strawberries and are now sold in garden stores. This is the most concentrated fertilizer in terms of nutrients.

In the case of excessive use of organic matter, overfeeding and fattening of strawberry bushes may occur. With proper fertilization, the size of leaves and berries increases, and yields increase.

Excess nitrogen is manifested in the appearance of large leaves and crushing of berries, the yield of plants is significantly reduced. Overfeeding occurs due to the frequent use of grass fertilizer or non-compliance with the application of other organic fertilizers.

To prevent the fattening of plants with organic matter (except for manure and compost), ash is introduced, which does not contain nitrogen and creates a predominance of potassium and phosphorus in the soil. Plants overfed with nitrogen do not tolerate winter well and are more affected by diseases and pests.

Underfeeding for strawberries (and not only for her) is better than overfeeding, since in this case the situation is easier to correct.

Is it necessary to feed strawberries with yeast, iodine, boric acid and ammonia

Top dressing with folk remedies (yeast, iodine, boric acid, ammonia) is highly undesirable for the culture.

Firstly, it is a mono-fertilizer that does not provide plants with the entire set of microelements.

Secondly, the bushes can be easily overfed, (especially with ammonia), which will cause significant damage to the plantation.

Thirdly, iodine, boric acid and ammonia are volatile solutions that evaporate quickly, they must be immediately washed into the lower layers of the soil, which is impossible with a large plot area.

Fourth, yeast is an excellent protein food for animals, but does not contain any plant nutrients.

Strawberry plantation fertilizer should be systemic, fully provide the plants with the necessary elements, and no experiments with feeding are allowed.

Care of a strawberry plantation

Regular care is the basis of a high yield. Strawberries with proper agricultural technology in the first year can produce up to 300 g of large berries from a bush. On the garden plot, you need to have four plots (beds) of strawberries: the first, second, third and fourth years of fruiting.

How to care for strawberry seedlings

When planting seedlings, no fertilizers are applied. The soil must be fertilized in advance. A freshly planted mustache is shaded from the sun, otherwise the seedlings will wither, since the roots cannot yet make up for the loss of water, which is lost when it evaporates from the leaves. Wilting is not very dangerous for seedlings; when the evening coolness sets in, they will straighten out.

For shading, the mustache is covered with newspapers, a white cloth, or some grass is thrown over them. After 2-3 days, the shelter is removed, by this time the plants have already taken root and can independently extract water from the soil. In the first days, the planted mustache is well watered. In the future, the ground under the young bushes should always be wet. In the case of a warm and dry autumn, strawberries are watered once a week.

It is important to prevent weeds from overgrowing strawberries. If this is not done in the year of planting, then in the future the fight against them will become much more complicated. Weeds will grow through the bushes and it will not be possible to remove them without damaging the crop.

Young strong whiskers after rooting themselves begin to give whiskers, which must be removed, as they weaken the plant and interfere with its preparation for winter.

Preparing strawberry beds for winter

European varieties require special care when preparing the plot for winter, since they are less winter-hardy. In autumn, if the weather is dry, water-charging irrigation is carried out. Water well protects the rhizomes from freezing, conducting heat from below to the roots of plants.

It is better to warm strawberries for the winter.

For a better wintering, strawberries are insulated by laying fallen leaves and needles under the bushes and between the rows. They cover only bare ground, the plants themselves do not need to be covered, since they leave before winter with leaves, which in themselves are a heater.

The main thing in winter is to prevent freezing of the roots. If there is no insulation, then in the aisles and under the bushes they pour the earth with a layer of 3-4 cm.

Spring strawberry care

In the spring, after the snow melts, dry leaves are cut off from the bushes, the heater is removed from the bed (if it was used), weeded from the first weeds and loosened. Old bushes, which have a small lignified stem with adventitious roots, are additionally spud so that they are more powerful. Large plants have better flowering and higher yields.

Loosening is carried out to a depth of 2-3 cm, since the roots of strawberries are shallow. With this treatment, the earth warms up faster and the plants start to grow.

The main task in spring is to ensure that the soil warms up quickly so that the plants quickly grow foliage and begin flowering. With an early start of the growing season, flowering will occur in more moist soil. For the fastest warming up of the earth, you can put a black film between the rows.

Some gardeners, on the contrary, do not remove the insulation for a long time, fearing frost damage to strawberries. But, firstly, she is not afraid of frosts in the spring, and secondly, strawberries bear fruit from mid-June to mid-July (depending on the variety), and in May she needs time to prepare for flowering. The better it is prepared, the larger the berries will be.

Dry leaves should be removed in the spring so that the earth warms up faster.

Old dry leaves, along with last year's mustache, are removed, but young foliage does not need to be cut. Pruning green leaves in spring delays flowering by 2 weeks (until new ones grow), the plant spends a lot of energy on growing foliage, because of this, the berries become smaller.

In a dry warm spring, when the earth dries up quickly, watering is carried out. After the growth of young leaves, do spring top dressing.
If the plants are weakened after winter, grow poorly, they are sprayed with the Zircon or Epin growth stimulator.

What should be the care of strawberries after harvest

After fruiting, the spring leaves look yellow and spotty and are removed along with regrown mustaches and weeds. It is impossible to mow all the foliage, because the roots growing at this time require starch, which comes just from the leaves, if they are removed, this will slow down the preparation of strawberries for winter.

After harvesting, a second top dressing is necessarily carried out to replenish the batteries taken out with the berries.

In the second half of summer, mustaches begin to grow more actively in strawberries. In no case should they be allowed to take root. They compact plantings and weaken the bushes, which leads to a decrease in yield and taste of berries.

If the bushes are intended for fruiting, then all emerging mustaches are cut off from them. The plot is inspected every 4-5 days, since the whiskers appear until October, and the spears of the shoots that have just appeared are removed.

Strawberries have a balance between mustache formation and fruiting: if the plants are not allowed to form mustaches, then it enhances fruiting and vice versa, if they are not cut off, the yield is greatly reduced.

The plantation should always be clean of weeds, fertilized, the bushes should be trimmed with mustaches.

In the autumn, water-charging irrigation is carried out, if necessary, a heater is laid out between the rows.

Plantation care in the last year of cultivation

With spring top dressing, you can give a little more nitrogen, the bushes will not have time to get fat, and the yield will not decrease from this. With dry soil, watering is carried out. Immediately after fruiting, the bed is dug up. This year, early cabbage can be planted on it, which will have time to ripen before the onset of cold weather (for this, increased doses of nitrogen were given).

Mulching strawberries

When caring for a plantation, mulching materials are used to protect berries from dirt and decay, warm bushes in winter, and protect soil from premature heating in a thaw. and prevents the formation of soil crust after rains or watering.

Using mulch when growing strawberries is the best way to keep the plot clean and makes it much easier to care for. To prevent undesirable effects during its use, mulch is applied subject to certain conditions.

Sawdust, straw, dry moss, fallen leaves, needles are used as mulching materials. Their disadvantage is the binding of soil nitrogen, which causes nitrogen starvation of plants. Therefore, mulch is applied in the fall as a heater between the rows, by spring the process of decay of fiber (of which it consists) will be completed and nitrogen binding will not occur.

In the spring, the insulation is removed to better warm the soil, then it is returned as a mulch, and a fresh portion of the material is added to it. When making mulching materials in the spring, they must be impregnated with a solution of humates, mullein or bird droppings.

To do this, they are either soaked in a barrel with a fertilizer solution (sawdust), or watered with these fertilizers very abundantly so that the mulch is completely saturated with the solution. Then the binding of soil nitrogen will not occur, and the plants will not experience nitrogen starvation.

Mulching strawberries with sawdust. Sawdust strongly acidifies the soil, watering them with urea as a nitrogen fertilizer increases acidification. This effect gives excellent results on leached chernozems. On acidic soils, this should not be allowed. To prevent acidification of the soil, sawdust is first soaked in a barrel with humates or chicken manure, after which they become an excellent mulching material. Scattered on the beds with a layer of 6-10 cm. Sawdust is stronger than hay and straw inhibits the growth of weeds.

Straw as mulch.

Mulching with grass and straw. Hay and straw consist of almost the same fiber and bind soil nitrogen very strongly. They are brought in in the fall. When used as hay or straw as a mulch, manure crumbs are added with them in the spring or watering with nitrogen fertilizers (humates, mullein, herbal infusion) is carried out over the freshly laid mulch. In this case, nitrogen fixation does not occur and the yield does not fall. They are laid out in row-spacing with a layer of 5-7 cm.

Leaf mulch. The foliage of deciduous trees is desirable to be introduced in the fall, laying out a layer of 15-20 cm between the rows. In winter, it will be a heater. During spring use, freshly spread leaves are irrigated with humates, mullein, or herbal infusion.

Mulching strawberries with needles. Pine and spruce bark and needles protect plants well from diseases, as they contain phytoncides. The material is taken only under healthy trees, scattered between rows and under bushes with a layer of 7-10 cm. Since this material strongly acidifies the soil, it is applied with manure crumbs.

Peat as mulch they do not use it on strawberries, since it has a number of significant drawbacks:

• strongly acidifies the soil;
• has a very high moisture capacity, which is why it is almost impossible to soak it with a nitrogen solution;
• in wet weather, it gets wet and interferes with the normal breathing of the roots;
• in winter it can become covered with an ice crust, which leads to the damping of plants.

Proper use of mulch not only helps to simplify the care of the plantation, but it itself is a good fertilizer.

Protecting berries from dirt

The berries lying on the ground are polluted by the ground, moreover, they are more affected by gray rot. So that the berries do not come into contact with the soil, you can make various supports for the bushes: from wire, plastic bottles, planks, films, special rings on legs are sold in stores. But all this is suitable for a small plot.

On a large plantation, plucked lower peripheral leaves are placed under green berries. If the bush is healthy, red berries may lie on the ground for some time without being damaged.

When growing strawberries, it is not necessary to maintain a plantation with a more productive fruiting period. The berry picker should move around the site in frequent rotation.

Other useful articles about growing strawberries:

1. What pests can threaten your plantation and how to deal with them effectively.
Are you going to try strawberries? Then this is the very first article you need to read.
2. . In order for strawberries to grow large, they will have to be carefully looked after.

Pruning strawberries after fruiting and harvesting is one of the mandatory activities, the implementation of which provides not only an impressive (30 to 40%) increase in the yield of this crop next year, but also improves the appearance and taste of the berries.

Competent and high-quality processing of plantings guarantees the production of especially large, juicy and sweet fruits.

Pruning garden strawberries helps:

1. Without resorting to the use of chemicals, to prevent the occurrence of dangerous infectious diseases (gray rot, spotting, powdery mildew) to which this crop is susceptible.
2. Significantly facilitate weeding plantings.
3. Create optimal conditions for the natural release of the surface of the ridges from pathogenic fungi by improving air circulation in bushes with bare bases. Removing diseased and old leaves contributes to the disinfection of the soil due to its good ventilation and heating by sunlight.
4. To create obstacles for the successful development of the strawberry mite, a microscopic pest that loves dampness and lives at the base of leaf petioles.

Trimming methods

Pruning strawberry bushes after harvest can be:

• complete (total);
• partial (selective).

It is better to refuse the complete removal of leaves from strawberry bushes, since total pruning contributes to the rapid depletion of plants that spend all their energy not on laying fruit buds of the future crop and storing nutrients, but on increasing green mass.

Full mowing of the leaves is advisable only if the strawberry plantings have been badly damaged by pests or fungal infections.

During partial pruning after harvest, you must first remove all (including healthy) leaves lying on the ground. After that, having carefully examined the bush, remove the old, dried up and diseased (spotted, speckled and dotted) leaves of the upper tiers.

Young and healthy leaves are best left. You should not touch the bushes of this year either: they need to get stronger and gain strength.

Cut leaves that are infected with diseases and are likely to contain pests should be burned immediately. They are not suitable for laying in compost and use as a mulching material.

If the gardener does not plan to propagate strawberries, throughout the entire vegetative period he must definitely remove its creeping shoots (whiskers), cutting them as close as possible to the middle of the leaf rosette.

Basic pruning rules

Pruning strawberries after harvest requires conscious action, as thoughtless leaf removal can harm plants:

1. Despite the fact that some gardeners call it mowing, the use of a scythe, lawn mower or sickle in this case is completely unacceptable. This is an exclusively manual work, requiring the use of sharply sharpened garden tools: secateurs, scissors or a knife.
2. In order to avoid mechanical damage to the root system of plants, it is strictly forbidden to pick the leaves manually. Damaged bushes will hurt, recover for a long time and probably will not bring a lot of fruit.
3. In order to prevent the penetration of pathogens of dangerous infections into the base of the bushes, you can not cut the leaves under the very root. The length of the petioles left must be at least 5 centimeters.
4. Pruning should only be done in dry weather. Treated bushes are watered exclusively at the root. Watering by sprinkling can be applied only after the final tightening of the wounds left after pruning.
5. Processing should begin with the beds on which healthy and young plants grow, gradually moving to older and more problematic plantings. The beds, on which some bushes show signs of wilting or being affected by viral diseases, should be treated last, disinfecting the tool used as often as possible, using a strong solution of potassium permanganate or copper sulphate.
6. Since the main purpose of pruning is to clean plantings from insect pests and pathogens of dangerous infections, cut leaves must be carefully collected and burned immediately. Putting them in a compost pit is not recommended (except when they fall into the deepest layers, which will not be used within the next five years).

Timing

Any pruning of green mass severely injures and weakens strawberries, however, there is a period during which its bushes are able to quickly recover, painlessly enduring the removal of almost the entire above-ground part.

This period begins 7-10 days after the cessation of fruiting (usually at the end of July). The optimal time for pruning strawberries in regions where snow cover occurs in early or mid-November expires by mid-August.

It is by this time that the gardeners of the Moscow region, the Urals, the northwestern and central parts of Russia, Siberia, the Far East and Altai need to complete the work on processing strawberry ridges. Pruning of strawberries is somewhat delayed (until high-quality planting material is obtained) only if the mustache for its reproduction is supposed to be taken from a fruit-bearing plantation.

Such tight deadlines are explained by the fact that strawberries need at least 2-3 months of active vegetation to build up a new leaf apparatus and prepare for winter, since it is the leaves that provide the process of photosynthesis that affects the development of the root system, annual horns and the laying of fruit buds.

If for some reason the optimal timing for pruning the berry was missed, it is carried out in a sparing mode, involving the removal of only the lower and affected (covered with white bloom, spots and uncharacteristic redness) leaves.

Step-by-step instruction

The method of pruning strawberries after harvesting is extremely simple: grabbing a bush with one hand, cut off its entire aerial part (including leaves, unnecessary mustaches and dead flower stalks) with a sharply sharpened tool.

As a result, cuttings of leaf petioles sticking out above the ground remain on the ridge (their height - in order to avoid damage to growth buds in the center of annual horns and hearts of strawberry bushes - should be at least 8 cm) and barely appeared young leaves.

Cardinal pruning of all foliage is unacceptable, since bushes that have not had time to grow green mass will go to wintering weakened and, unable to endure the cold, simply freeze.

The cut leaves are carefully combed out with a rake.

The fertility of the strawberry plantation in the next season depends on the quality of processing the bushes and compliance with the optimal timing of their pruning.

Care for strawberries after fruiting and harvesting

Care for Victoria in the period after fruiting includes:

1. Removal of dry and affected leaves from the ridges, as well as a layer of old mulch containing pathogens of dangerous infections and pests.
2. Careful weeding of weeds that rob plants of nutrients.
3. Pruning old foliage and mustaches.
4. Merciless destruction of bushes affected by the strawberry nematode (to prevent the spread of this pest).
5. Thorough loosening of the soil between the rows.
6. Watering plantings (during the drought period).
7. Preventive treatment of bushes from infections and pests.
8. Periodic top dressing.
9. Soil mulching.

Soil loosening

1. In order not to damage the roots of strawberries, loosen the soil on the beds only in the aisles, immersing the tool to a depth of 70 mm.
2. Having finished loosening the beds, it is advisable to pile up the strawberries, paying special attention to plants with a bare root system (as a rule, this is typical for 2-3-year-old bushes) and making sure that the soil does not fill up the growth point (the so-called "heart"), located in the very center of the bush.

Watering rules

1. In order for the treated bushes to recover quickly by growing the root system, green mass and laying fruit buds, the soil on the strawberry plantation must be moist.
2. In dry weather, strawberry beds should be watered at least once a week (watering should be plentiful). Immediately after pruning, it is necessary to water the treated bushes not by sprinkling, but by the method of overlap.
3. So that the growing leaves do not suffer from sunburn, it is necessary to water the strawberries either in the morning or in the evening.
4. After watering, the soil on the beds must be loosened, preventing the formation of a hard crust on its surface.
5. So that the ground under the bushes always remains loose and moist, it is advisable to mulch the plantation.

Mulching strawberry beds

Soil mulching is an extremely useful manipulation that contributes to:

• loosening the soil in the beds;
• accumulation of nutrients and enrichment of the soil with many beneficial microorganisms (due to the decomposition of mulching material);
• control of growth of weeds, which greatly facilitates the care of plants;
• more aesthetic appearance of berry beds.

A suitable mulching material for planting strawberries is:

• needles;
• sawdust;
• leaf humus;
• straw;
• chopped dry grass left over from mowing the lawn and previously dried in the sun.

As a mulching material, you can use spunbond (preferably black, which prevents the growth of weeds), covering them with high beds intended for new plantings of strawberries.

Pest and disease control

It is advisable to subject strawberry bushes that have fruited to chemical treatment designed to destroy pests and fight all kinds of diseases, since during the fruiting period the possibility of its implementation was absolutely excluded.

Before proceeding with the chemical treatment of strawberry bushes, it is necessary to rid them of diseased, old, dry and pest-damaged leaves:

1. After removing the damaged foliage, the petioles remaining from it, as well as the soil under the strawberry bushes, are treated with a weak solution of potassium permanganate. This measure prevents the occurrence of fungal infections.
2. The infection of plantings with strawberry mites can be guessed by the presence of leaves, the surface of which resembles corrugated paper. To combat it, you can use the anti-mite preparations Actellik, Thiovit Jet, Fitoverm, Fufanon, Kemifos and an aqueous solution of colloidal sulfur, acting in strict accordance with the manufacturer's instructions.
3. Active rotting of the berries indicates damage to the bushes by gray rot. In this case, the bed must be treated with a solution of copper oxychloride.
4. The presence of yellowish leaves localized in the center of strawberry bushes, which are distinguished by unusually thick petioles, is evidence of their defeat by the nematode. As experience shows, in this case, any attempts (including spraying with chemicals) to save the plants are completely useless, so they must be destroyed. The beds on which the affected bushes grew must be shed with a large amount of boiling water.
5. To combat the raspberry-strawberry weevil, planting strawberries should be treated twice with a solution of the Intavir preparation. The interval between treatments should be at least 14 days. Good results are obtained by spraying the beds with a solution prepared from ten drops of iodine and 10 liters of water.
6. The presence of brown spots on strawberry leaves can be the result of viral infections. You can cope with them by spraying the leaves with a solution of Bordeaux liquid.
7. Strawberry pest and disease control can be combined with foliar top dressing of bushes if fertilizers are added to the applied tank mix.

In order to prevent the development of diseases, strawberry plantings must be regularly inspected, immediately removing diseased leaves and getting rid of diseased plants, using a weak solution of potassium permanganate to irrigate the soil in the garden.

Top dressing of fertile strawberries

By the end of the fruiting period, weakened strawberry bushes, which have given all their strength to the fruits of the new crop, are especially in need of top dressing. Only with their help, plants will be able to fully recover and lay a sufficient number of flower buds.

After harvesting, experienced gardeners feed strawberries at least three times:

1. Immediately after pruning the affected leaves (in late July or early August), strawberries are fed with nitrogen fertilizers. This measure will accelerate the growth of young leaves.
2. Two weeks later, a second top dressing is carried out, consisting in the introduction of organic matter enriched with potassium and phosphorus. This top dressing stimulates the laying of flower (or fruit) buds.
3. About a month later (in mid-September), the strawberries are fed for the third time, using a mullein solution for this.

Top dressings can be organic or mineral.

The most popular mineral supplements:

1. "Ammofoska" is a complex fertilizer containing four main components: potassium, phosphorus, sulfur and nitrogen. It can be embedded in the soil with a chopper, scattering dry granules over the surface of a strawberry bed (at the rate of 20-30 g per square meter), and then watering. Ammophoska can be dissolved in water (a matchbox in a bucket of water) and water the plants from a watering can.
2. "Nitroammophoska" and "Nitrofoska" are used in the form of an aqueous solution prepared from one tablespoon of fertilizer per 10 liters of water.
3. Specialized fertilizers for garden strawberries: Ogorodnik, Kristalon, Fertika.
4. An aqueous solution of a mixture prepared from potassium sulfate, superphosphate and ammonium nitrate (in a ratio of 1:3:1).

Gardeners should be aware that fertilizers containing chlorine, which is detrimental to this crop, cannot be used to feed strawberries.

The most popular organic fertilizers used to feed strawberries include:

1. Biohumus. It is poured directly to the roots of strawberry bushes.
2. A solution of mullein, prepared from one part of manure and ten parts of water and infused for a day, after which it is used to apply under strawberry bushes. To enrich the infusion with additional trace elements, experienced gardeners add one part of wood ash to it.
3. Infusion of bird droppings. It is not recommended to apply bird droppings under growing bushes in a dry form: this is fraught with a burn of the roots and death of plants. To prepare an infusion, bird droppings are diluted with water (in a ratio of 1 to 10) and infused for at least 48 hours. After that, diluting one liter of the finished infusion with ten liters of water, they use it to water the strawberries.
4. An herbal infusion prepared from nettles and other weeds left over from weeding. Having laid the grass in a large barrel (approximately to the middle of its volume), add a little wood ash to it, add water to the very brim and leave it in a sunny place for fermentation for ten days. To speed up fermentation and enrich the infusion with beneficial microorganisms, you can add 200 g of yeast to the barrel. The finished herbal infusion is diluted with water (in a ratio of 1 to 1) and used for watering strawberry beds. It not only feeds strawberries, but also helps deoxidize garden soil.
5. Wood ash, rich in trace elements and used to reduce the acidity of the soil in the beds. After pruning strawberries with wood ash, sprinkle the soil (based on: a two-liter jar for each square meter), after which it is watered and loosened. Since wood ash is incompatible with fresh manure, the simultaneous use of these fertilizers is unacceptable.

When fertilizing strawberry beds, you should remember about the inadmissibility of overfeeding it. Otherwise, she will begin to "fatten", actively increasing the green mass and refusing to lay flower buds. Experienced gardeners say that underfeeding strawberries is better than overfeeding them.

Preparing plantings for winter

1. Preparing strawberry beds for winter consists in adding mulching material (peat or sawdust) under the bushes. The thickness of the mulch layer should be at least 5 cm. The use of straw or hay as mulch should be avoided, as they can attract mice that can gnaw on the roots.
2. In order to reduce the pressure of the snow cover on the plants, at the end of November they are covered with raspberry branches or spruce branches.
3. You can protect strawberries from severe frosts by covering them with a thick layer of dry foliage.

After picking berries, strawberry bushes require special care to recuperate and intensively lay fruiting buds for the next year.

With the correct implementation of summer-autumn preventive measures, garden strawberries (the scientific name of strawberries) increase fruiting by at least 15-30 percent. The fruits become larger, juicier and sweeter. Any variety of simple or remontant strawberries gratefully responds to care and attention, so berries grown by one's own hands are noticeably different from store-bought ones.

Care for strawberries after harvest

At the end of July-beginning of August, after the fruiting of strawberries, the care corresponding to this period is carried out, consisting of: trimming the mustache, removing damaged leaves, weeding, top dressing, hilling the bushes.

In July, after harvesting strawberries, the plants begin to grow new leaves, form new horns, the growth of whiskers with side rosettes intensifies and new flower buds are laid for the new season.

Be sure to weed the beds, that is, the removal of all weeds. Excess mustache and dried leaves are also removed. Reddened leaf blades are removed first.

It is impossible to cut off foliage and mustaches, you can only cut it off, otherwise the bush will be damaged and will hurt. For trimming, take only sharp scissors or secateurs. Old, cut leaves, in order to avoid the reproduction of pests, it is better to burn. If young leaves curl or look corrugated, this indicates that the plants are infected with strawberry mites and they should be treated with a special preparation.

After pruning, the soil around the strawberries is loosened, fertilized, and watered. The aisles are loosened 10 centimeters deep. Around the plants, loosening is carried out by 5-7 centimeters. It is desirable to spud bushes.

In this case, the roots should be completely covered, and the upper part of the bush should remain above the ground. In no case do not fill up the growth point, that is, the middle of the rosette of leaves.

Feeding strawberries in July

Mineral fertilizers with a wide content of trace elements are taken for top dressing. About 30 grams of fertilizer goes per square meter. For this, a special fertilizer for garden strawberries is suitable - Fertik, ammophoska.

Fertilizers containing potassium chloride should not be used, as it slows down growth and impairs fruiting. Fertilizers are embedded in the soil to a depth of about 5-8 centimeters.

In addition to these fertilizers, you can use last year's humus. It crumbles around the bushes and digs a little into the soil. Humus improves soil structure and makes it more fertile.

You can also fertilize the beds with diluted chicken manure (breeding it in a ratio of 1:15 with water). When feeding, we must not forget that this solution should not fall on the foliage, otherwise burns will appear on the plants, which provokes the development of diseases. A high concentration of the solution can generally destroy the bush. Therefore, this type of dressing is not used so often. And more often in spring than in summer and autumn.

If the weather is dry, then the beds with strawberries are abundantly spilled with water. Soil moisture should be maintained until the end of the season. Watering is done once a week in a bucket per square meter.

For best results, drip irrigation can be used. This type of watering allows you to get the right amount of moisture and at the same time the plants do not rot, since the soil does not become waterlogged.

Caring for strawberries in August

To get a bountiful harvest for the next season, perennials need proper care at the end of summer. It includes: pruning leaves, transplanting mustaches, preparing plants in winter, that is, sheltering bushes.

Old leaves are cut off. Here, gardeners act differently, some mow all the foliage completely, others remove only leaves damaged by diseases. If strawberries grow in groups, early varieties are processed first. Then come the middle and late varieties, this will allow you to evenly care for the plants and prevent them from overgrowing, which leads to the threat of infection with diseases and pests.

Mustaches with new rosettes and young roots are planted to form young bushes. For this, the strongest specimens are selected, usually this is the first rosette on the antennae. Planting strawberries is recommended to be renewed every 3 years, it is for so many years that the bush bears fruit as much as possible, then the bush ages and the yield decreases markedly.

To protect strawberries from various fungi, powdery mildew, and pests, the bushes are sprayed with special preparations, or with self-prepared means.

For spraying, drugs such as:

• Karbofos or Actellik, this is protection against weevil and strawberry mites;
• Azocen and Topaz are used for the prevention and control of powdery mildew;
• a one percent solution of lime and copper sulfate saves bushes and berries from rot, spotting.

Fertilizing strawberries in August

Top dressing of bushes during this period increases the degree of frost resistance of the plant and contributes to the laying of future flower buds.

Complex mineral fertilizers should include: 1 part nitrogen, 2 parts phosphorus, 4 parts potassium. In the finished version, it can be: Fasco, Autumn, Autumn. All these preparations, except for the base, contain other useful substances.

Fertilizer Autumn in its composition does not contain nitrogen, which allows it to be used even in a later period, but this preparation contains all the elements that are necessary for the growth and good fruiting of strawberries.

In the form of organic fertilizers suitable: peat, horse manure in granules, humus, bone meal.

Mineral and organic fertilizers should not be mixed. In rare cases, when the soil is depleted, mineral and organic top dressings are applied over the entire area of ​​​​the beds. If the strawberry planting area is quite large, this mixture can also be used.

After feeding, the plants are covered with mulch, and for wintering, the bushes are covered with leaves, needles, potato tops, and straw. Dry weather is chosen for shelter, otherwise the layer may compact and cause the formation of pests and diseases within the layer or lead to root rot.

The layer of mulch covering plants from frost should be at least 7 centimeters. In addition to mulch, non-woven material is used, for example, spunbond.

Autumn care for remontant strawberries

Remontant strawberries, in comparison with simple varieties, have a short life span and after two years the plants must change new ones. Some varieties do not produce mustaches and are easier to care for, but seeds are used to propagate them, which complicates the breeding process.

July and August are suitable for updating strawberry plantations. By autumn, the bushes take root and easily endure the winter.

In preparation for winter, flower stalks and leaves are cut off from the mother bushes. Bushes are hilled so that the roots are covered with soil. But the core of the plant must remain open, otherwise it will begin to rot.

The best reviews of gardeners

I always cut off almost all the leaves, leaving 3-4 leaves. when the first frosts begin, I cover with spruce branches so that they do not freeze in winter. in the Urals it happens in winter -30, so you can’t do without shelter. and I cut off the leaves because by the end of the season they are almost all sick.