Feeding strawberries during fruiting

How to feed strawberries during fruiting

There are 3 main fertilizers that any plant, including strawberries, need: nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium. These are the so-called macronutrients. And the rule is this:

• nitrogen is applied at the beginning of active growth – it is needed for growth;
• phosphorus is applied before flowering – it stimulates the formation of flowers;
• potassium is introduced at the beginning of fruiting – it is responsible for the ripening of the crop.

Of course, this is a somewhat exaggerated story, since all these elements are responsible for many functions, but these are the main ones. And it’s so easy to understand what the plant needs at the moment.

Consequently, during fruiting, strawberries need more potassium – without it, the berries will be small, sour, and the yield will decrease (1).

Feeding Options

The main potassium top dressing is applied as soon as the first berries begin to set: 1 tbsp. a spoonful of potassium sulfate per 10 liters of water. Consumption rate – a bucket per 1 sq. m.

Usually this is quite enough, but you can feed strawberries and trace elements:

• boron: boric acid at the tip of a knife in a bucket of water – this top dressing will help speed up the ripening of berries;
• zinc: 2 g of zinc sulfate per bucket of water – will increase the yield.

In both cases, the consumption rate is 10 liters per 1 sq. m.

“In addition, during fruiting under strawberries, it is useful to add ash,” advises agronomist-breeder Svetlana Mihailova. – It should be evenly scattered around the plants, a handful for each bush. Ash contains a large amount of potassium and a lot of macronutrients – just everything that strawberries need.

Feeding strawberries with mullein

Such advice, indeed, is often found on the Internet, but it can be classified as harmful. The main nutrient in mullein is nitrogen. And, as we found out, it is necessary for the active growth of the plant. If you feed strawberries with mullein at the time of fruiting, it will provoke active leaf growth to the detriment of the crop. In addition, the berries will become watery and will quickly rot.

“Feeding with mullein will be appropriate later,” says agronomist Svetlana Mikhailova. – For example, if in the middle of summer you cut the leaves of strawberries, then it is useful to fertilize it with nitrogen, the same mullein. It will help strawberries grow new green mass. It must be applied immediately after pruning. It is not worth delaying nitrogen fertilization, at the end of summer they are inappropriate, since they can reduce the frost resistance of plants.

Mullein infusion is prepared as follows: 1/2 bucket of manure is poured with 5 liters of water, covered with a lid and cleaned in a warm place so that it ferments. On average, fermentation lasts a week.

As a result, a mother solution will be obtained, which must be diluted with water in a ratio of 1:3 or 1:4 (2) before use, that is, 250 – 300 ml of solution per 10 liters of water.

Fertilizing strawberries with yeast

Recently, it has been advised to feed everything with yeast, including strawberries, promising unprecedented harvests. They are said to stimulate the growth of beneficial microorganisms in the soil and help plants absorb organic fertilizers faster.

“In fact, not a single professional fruit grower will recommend yeast – there is not a single scientific study that would confirm their effectiveness,” says agronomist Svetlana Mikhailova.

But it is known for sure that, being fungi, they actively absorb potassium and calcium from the soil during reproduction. Namely, potassium is needed by strawberries during fruiting. So yeast can do more harm than good. Therefore, it is better not to experiment.

Popular questions and answers

We talked about feeding strawberries with agronomist-breeder Svetlana Mikhailova.

Sources of

1. Ed. Tarasenko M.N. (translated from English). Strawberries // M.: Publishing House of Foreign Literature, 1957
2. Levoshin V.K. Home garden and vineyard // Saratov, Saratov book publishing house, 1959