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Almost no cottage is complete without fragrant and tasty strawberries. Among the wide variety of varieties of this berry, there are remontant – capable of bearing fruit until the very frost and ordinary. However, a good harvest can be harvested from them only if simple, but important rules are observed when planting and growing. The most optimal time for planting strawberries is spring.
Site and soil selection
Before planting strawberries in the spring, you should choose the right place for the plantation. The berry loves sunny areas, not darkened and not swampy. Strawberries bear fruit well in places where cruciferous representatives grew before planting – peas, beans, parsley, radish, radish, garlic. It is not recommended to plant a plant in the same area. The soil should be allowed to recover and get rid of the viruses characteristic of strawberries for at least 5-6 years. Also, a place for a plantation on which potatoes or tomatoes were grown is not suitable, since a significant amount of fungi accumulates in the soil that can destroy the entire plantation.
Strawberries are not particularly whimsical to the type of soil. However, it is worth giving preference to the soil, the acidity of which does not exceed 5,5-7,5 pH, with a humus content of at least 2-3%. You should also check the soil, in preparation for planting, for the presence of wireworm larvae or the Maybug. To do this, in the first weeks of October, autumn plowing is carried out to a depth of 28-32 cm. And to increase moisture reserves, snow retention is organized in winter. In early spring, harrowing is carried out, and immediately before planting seedlings, shallow cultivation.
Seedling selection
Purchased seedlings with closed and open roots
If it is planned to plant strawberry beds for the first time in the country, it is advisable to choose 75-80% of the tested varieties, and leave the rest for the experimental species that are planted for testing. As the main preference is given to zoned varieties, in which case the risk of plant death from changes in climatic conditions in the planting area is reduced.
The best time to purchase seedlings is spring or mid-summer. In spring, stronger, overwintered plants, both with open and closed root systems, go on sale. Such seedlings, as practice shows, take root very well and manage to lay flower buds for next year. However, during this period there is not such a rich assortment as in the summer. If you do not be late with the planting time and spend it in July or early August, you can also harvest next season. It should be noted that seedlings with open roots, which appear on sale in the fall, although more economical, have a low survival rate, and begin to bear fruit only after a year.
Correct and incorrect planting of strawberries
In any case, you should choose plants with shiny, leathery leaves, rich green. They should not have any dark, yellow spots, dots that indicate a fungal disease. Also, the leaves should not be twisted, wrinkled – the consequences of a tick attack or pale – late blight necrosis. Preference should be given to seedlings with a more developed, thick horn, at least 0,8-1,5 cm. This directly affects the fruiting of future bushes – the thicker the horn, the higher their yield. If seedlings with open roots, their length should be at least 7-9 cm, and for seedlings with closed roots, the cassette should be completely filled with them with a minimum amount of substrate. In this case, the peat glass should be completely stitched with the roots out.
Own seedlings from sockets
If there is already a strawberry plantation in the summer cottage, then seedlings can be obtained from the mustache, let out by the plant, at no special cost. For this, the most productive bush is selected. A few mustaches 3-5 are left on it, the rest are carefully removed. After the rosette bushes take root and get stronger, several large leaves are released, they are dug up and transplanted, while choosing only those that have at least three green stems with uniform leaves and a well-developed bud. If rosettes were planted at the end of the spring period, with proper care, the crop can be obtained already in the first year of growth, however, the first flowers are usually removed, leaving only one or two berries so that the bush takes root well.
It should be borne in mind that the next year’s harvest depends on the amount of fertilizer applied in the autumn of the previous year. Strawberries respond gratefully to organic fertilizers, such as humus, manure, chicken manure. Nitrogen fertilizers applied in large quantities can provoke intensive development of bushes and, as a result, low yields.
Ways to plant strawberries
Landing technique
Planting should be carried out in cloudy, overcast weather or in the evening, because in strong sun, many plants can die before they have time to take root. Before planting a plant, 70-90 g of magnesium, 40-60 g of superphosphates, 70-90 g of nitrogenous fertilizers and 50-60 g of potassium salts per 1 sq. M.
Immediately before planting, the roots of the seedlings should be treated. To do this, the bushes are placed completely in a weak saline solution, 30-40 g of table salt and 5-7 g of copper sulfate per 8-10 liters of water, for 20-25 minutes. After that, the strawberries are rinsed under running water. The roots are shortened to 5-8 cm, carefully straightened, placed in shallow holes, keeping the bushes vertical, and covered with soil, leaving the root collar at soil level. Then the earth is slightly compacted with hands, watered abundantly and the planting area is mulched with sawdust, needles, rotted leaves or humus.
In modern practice, the two-line is considered the best landing method. In this case, the distance in the row is 18-25 cm, between the ribbons – 60-70 cm. The single-line method is also popular, in which the distance in the row is similar, and between the lines no more than 50-55 cm. If the plot for strawberries is located in a lowland, then it should be planted on the ridges. At the same time, the width of the ridge is about 55-75 cm, the distance between the bushes is 15-22 cm, placing the ridges in the direction from north to south, they leave paths between them with a width of at least 30-35 cm. Bushes are planted along the edges in two rows.
Video “All about planting garden strawberries”
This video tells in detail how to plant strawberries in the spring, how to choose rosettes for propagation, prepare seedlings for planting, what nuances should be taken into account
