How to plant and grow garden strawberries

Garden strawberries please us with one of the very first harvests – the berries ripen in June. Summer residents love her, she grows in almost every plot, but not everyone manages to get a good harvest. Of course, much depends on the variety, but it happens that even the most productive ones do not give full returns. And most often the reason is in the wrong care. Let’s find out how to plant garden strawberries to get a good harvest.

Garden strawberry care

Many gardeners believe that garden strawberries are an unpretentious plant. But this is not so – she is very capricious. And in order to get solid harvests, you will have to please her in everything. And that’s what’s important in the first place.

Watering

Unlike other berry crops, strawberry is a herbaceous plant, and its root system is located in its upper soil layer – up to 30 cm deep, and most are even smaller, at a depth of 15 – 20 cm. And the top layer dries out very quickly in the heat, and plants suffer from a lack of moisture, which, of course, affects the yield.

Experiments conducted by fruit growers at the end of the 60s of the last century showed that with timely watering, the yield of strawberries (depending on weather conditions) increased by 14 – 42%, and the size of berries – by 32 – 42% compared to control – A plantation that has not been watered.

However, strawberries also do not like excess moisture, so they need to be watered on time. In order to get a large harvest of berries this year, you need 2 waterings: at the time of flowering and during the ripening of berries.

As a rule, at this time summer residents water strawberries. And then, when the harvest is harvested, they forget about it. And this is the main mistake. The fact is that strawberries continue to grow – after picking berries, they begin the second wave of leaf growth, and they need water. Therefore, it is important to water the plantation immediately after harvest. This is one of the main secrets of how to grow garden strawberries.

And in the second half of summer, flower buds begin to form at the strawberries, which will produce a crop for next year. Moreover, they are formed for a long time: in early varieties – until early September, in mid-season – until mid-September, and in late ones – until early October. And all this time strawberries also need to be watered! In a normal year, strawberries need 5-6 waterings during the summer, in a dry year – 8-10 (1). Again, experiments have shown that if strawberries suffer from drought in July – August, the next year’s harvest drops sharply, and some varieties do not produce berries at all.

To wet the soil layer to a depth of 30 cm, per 1 sq. m need to pour 2 buckets of water. But it is better to water not with buckets, but from a hose with a sprayer – this way the water is absorbed into the soil evenly.

Feeding

If, when planting strawberries, the site was prepared according to all the rules, all the necessary fertilizers were applied, then for the first 3 years the plants need to be fed only 1 time per season: in early spring (approximately in mid-April) – 1 teaspoon of urea per 10 liters of water, watering rate – 1 bucket per 1 sq. m.

For 4 years, there should be more top dressing – 2 per season:

• early spring – 1 teaspoon of urea per 10 liters of water, irrigation rate – 1 bucket per 1 sq. m, plus humus – 3 kg (this is a third of a bucket) per 1 sq. m (they need to mulch the soil);

• immediately after harvesting – 2 tbsp. spoons of superphosphate and 1 teaspoon of potassium sulfate per 1 sq. m (they must be evenly distributed over the surface of the soil and repaired with a rake).

Starting from the age of 5, strawberries are fed once a season – during flowering: 1 teaspoons of ammonium nitrate, 5 teaspoons of double superphosphate and 4 teaspoons of potassium sulfate per 2 sq. m. These fertilizers should also be evenly scattered over the surface of the soil and sealed with a rake.

It is this feeding scheme that is used in professional farms.

And one more thing: experiments have shown that a good increase in yield (37 – 47%) is given by foliar top dressing of strawberries with urea at the beginning of spring leaf growth – 4 tbsp. spoons for 10 liters of water.

Mustache removal

Strawberries are very fond of breeding with the help of a mustache and give them out in large numbers. But they greatly deplete the mother plant, as a result, not only the yield decreases, but also the winter hardiness of the bushes. Therefore, the mustache must be trimmed, and the sooner the better.

Experiments have shown that removing the mustache during the season gives an average yield increase next year by 70%, and for some varieties of berries it ripens 2 or even 3 times more!

It is necessary to remove the mustache as soon as the berries have been harvested. And during the summer, repeat this procedure 2-3 times (2).

Popular questions and answers

We talked about growing garden strawberries with agronomist-breeder Svetlana Mikhailova – she answered the most popular questions of summer residents.

Sources of

1. Emelyanov F.A., Kruglova A.P., Kulikov V.A., Sazhin N.S., Gryazev N.D., Kinkovskaya N.I., Berkut O.D., Molchanov A.I., Khramov P .BUT. Fruit and berry garden and vineyard // Saratov, Saratov book publishing house, 1955 – 472 p.
2. Egorov V.I., Nazaryan E.A. Handbook of gardening // M.: Profizdat Publishing House, 1957 – 264 p.