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Today it is possible to grow strawberries on your own all year round. For these purposes, various methods have been developed by experts. One such way is growing strawberries using Dutch technology. In this article we will consider everything related to this technology.
The essence of Dutch technology
The principle of the Dutch technology of growing strawberries is that the plant is planted in closed ground. It can be a greenhouse, special bags, pallets, boxes and flower pots. The choice of a place for year-round growth depends on how much you want to harvest and for what needs.
Since any plant “falls asleep” for the winter, this method involves the “awakening” of strawberries in order to obtain a crop. This is achieved by creating the necessary conditions for the growth of seedlings. To provide strawberry bushes, it is necessary to ensure the supply of all the necessary nutrients for them, in this case, a nutrient solution is used, which is dripped (using various tubes) to each seedling.
Placement of seedlings using the Dutch technology is allowed both vertically and horizontally. The choice of placement method depends on you and the available space. In addition, when growing strawberries according to the Dutch technology, it is necessary to provide the plant with additional lighting so as not to reduce the yield. Getting a crop all year round, in this case, is achieved by constantly planting new plants (the time period is about two months).
Advantages
Due to the presence of a certain number of advantages, this method of growing strawberries has become one of the most popular. Consider all the advantages of growing strawberries using Dutch technology:
- the possibility of planting seedlings in absolutely any container: pots, bags, boxes, pallets;
- the possibility of vertical placement of plants (when breeding in bags), which allows even a small area to get a fairly large amount of crop;
- the ability to achieve maximum natural light (when using greenhouses with transparent walls);
- the possibility of planting seedlings at home: on the balcony, windowsill, garage;
- the possibility of avoiding infection of seedlings with various bacteria, since the containers described above can withstand repeated sanitization;
- obtaining a harvest every 1,5-2 months, which allows the use of this technology for commercial purposes;
- strawberries according to Dutch technology are in no way inferior to berries grown in the usual way;
- simplicity and convenience of the method. Once you have set up the installation, you can only support it, spending a minimum of effort on it;
- the taste characteristics of grown berries do not differ from natural growth.
Such an impressive list of advantages suggests that the Dutch technology of growing strawberries is practically the most optimal method for obtaining large volumes of crops year-round.
What varieties are suitable?
Before any person, when he decides to apply a similar method of strawberry production, the question becomes: which variety is best to use in this situation? In this case, it is recommended to use remontant strawberry varieties, which, even when grown on open ground, give very impressive crop volumes. In addition, remember that any plant that has been grown indoors is devoid of natural pollination. Therefore, experienced gardeners recommend using only self-pollinating varieties for the Dutch technology of growing strawberries. Otherwise, you may get flowers without berries. Or you will have to run around with a brush and pollinate all the flowers yourself, and this is already quite problematic (especially with large growing areas).
The most preferred varieties for growing strawberries with Dutch technology are: Maria, Tristar, Selva, Elsanta, Sonata, Tribute, Marmolada, Polka, Darselect, Gloom.
Cultivation
Once the varieties have been selected, you can proceed to direct cultivation.
The first step is to get seedlings. It can be grown independently from seeds, or you can use mustaches and rosettes from mother bushes that grew in the open field. To do this, in the first year you need to cut off all the mustache and peduncles from the mother plant. Next year, such a bush will give about 20 mustaches. They need to be rooted and then in the fall they will make strong rosettes. We dig these sockets and either plant them in specially prepared indoor soil, or put them in storage at an air temperature of -2 degrees. For these purposes, a refrigerator is perfect. At the same time, do not forget that all leaves and vegetative shoots should be removed before storage, it is forbidden to cut the roots or wash them.
The day before the planting material is planted, the seedlings are taken out of the refrigerator and thawed. The landing is carried out in November. The landing process is no different from landing under normal conditions. In order to grow strong and healthy bushes and then get a plentiful and tasty harvest, it is necessary to adhere to all conditions in accordance with the requirements of strawberries.
Ground preparation and planting
Before you start planting planting material, you must first prepare the soil.
Soil preparation for the mother bush is carried out in the fall. The necessary fertilizers are applied to the soil: potassium chloride, superphosphate, lime, rotted manure or chicken manure. Then, already in the spring, plants are planted at a distance of about 40 cm from the neighboring row.
Soil preparation in a container. The selected containers are filled with a moisture-intensive, porous and non-toxic substrate. Usually, mineral wool, peat, perlite, coconut fiber are used for these purposes. You can also use light sandy soil with the addition of rotted manure and sand (in a ratio of 3:1:1). However, it is not very recommended, as pests quickly start up here. Remember that all soil must be sterile, free of germs and weeds.
After that, seedlings are planted in a checkerboard pattern and using a 25 by 30 cm scheme. If this parameter is reduced, the bushes will grow too densely and, as a result, you risk getting small berries.
Conditions for growth
When using the Dutch technology for growing strawberries, certain conditions must be observed in order to achieve the desired result.
Conditions for growing strawberries:
- watering. It is necessary to ensure full and frequent watering of the bushes. For these purposes, you can use a drip irrigation system;
- creating additional lighting. All remontant strawberry varieties are neutral day plants and require an 18 hour meeting for normal growth. To achieve this effect, fluorescent lamps are used;
- temperature regime. The optimal temperature range for strawberry bushes is 20-22 degrees;
- Fresh air. To ensure this condition, it is sufficient to periodically ventilate the premises;
- if necessary, carry out pollination of flowers;
- batch planting of seedlings, which will allow you to get a constant level of yield.
It is enough to provide the above conditions, and you will learn an excellent harvest.
Care of plantings
After you have planted the seedlings, it remains only to maintain all the indicated growth conditions for strawberry bushes given in the previous paragraph. If you did everything right, then the rest of the planting care will come down to providing them with the necessary nutrients, drip irrigation and periodic airing. To get a continuous harvest, you need to repeat the process of planting new seedlings every two months. Since the soil was originally sterile, it is only necessary to carry out preventive spraying of plants in order to prevent infection when new seedlings are planted.
Fulfilling all the requirements, thanks to the Dutch technology, you will definitely get a plentiful and tasty harvest.
Video “Growing strawberries using the Dutch method”
In this video, you can get acquainted with one of the variations of growing strawberries, which also involves elements of Dutch technology.
