Planting strawberries: scheme, choice of location and soil, autumn planting methods

Site and soil selection

Planting strawberries always begins with choosing a place for its future growth. Only after that you can ask the question “how to plant strawberries?”. With the right planting site and the planting process itself, you will get an excellent harvest of this berry. To do everything right, the video below will help you.

Strawberries are very demanding on growing conditions, so they need to be planted in a garden or vegetable garden only in certain places. However, not every amateur gardener knows what soils and places this demanding plant prefers.

In the matter of choosing a place of growth, you first need to decide on the site. It is believed that for strawberries the ideal place for growing are small slopes, with a slope of 2-3 degrees. They should be located in the southwest of your summer cottage. It has been shown in practice that in such a plot the vegetation begins somewhat earlier than in another place. In addition, here the harvest ripens a little earlier, which once again confirms the correct choice of the planting site. At the same time, the northeast side of the garden, as well as lowlands and enclosed areas, are considered the most unfavorable places for growing. Strawberries should not be allocated garden areas that are flooded in the spring. The occurrence of groundwater should be no closer than 60 cm from the soil surface.

It is worth remembering that strawberries are light-loving plants. Therefore, the site should be well lit and warmed up by the sun’s rays throughout the day.

For strawberries, greens, radishes, and legumes are an ideal predecessor. The presence of unwanted neighbors near the seedling planting site can also affect the abundance of the crop. Neighbors near which it is not recommended to grow strawberries include the following crops:

• tomatoes;
• eggplants;
• potatoes;
• pepper.

In addition to these crops, tall fruit trees with a branched root system are bad neighbors for strawberries.

Soil plays an important role in choosing a place for the future growth of a plant. By and large, planting can be carried out on any type of soil, but only some of them will allow you to get an excellent harvest. So, naturally, chernozem and dark gray forest soil, which has a light composition, are considered the best soils for planting. Landing on soils of the middle zone with a light sandy or loamy composition will be somewhat less effective. But soddy soils will reduce the yield of the plant.

It has also been found that strawberries are best grown on slightly acidic soils. In the presence of an alkaline environment, the situation can be corrected by applying acidic fertilizers. Preliminary soil preparation is needed for peat, sandy and clay soils. Clay soils are prepared by applying fertilizers, as well as systematic processing and liming. Sandy soils are prepared 2-3 years before planting strawberries by sowing an oat-bean mixture. Peat soils are prepared by applying potash and phosphorus fertilizers. Various expert videos will tell you in more detail about soil preparation for strawberry cultivation.

Unsuitable soils for planting include the following soils:

• solonchak;
• limestone;
• overly acidic;
• waterlogged;
• waterlogged.

If you have questions about soils, you can watch a specialized video “planting and care of strawberries” or a similar one to find out in more detail whether this soil is suitable for planting or not.

Remember that the right soil and location will play a leading role in future crop volumes. You also need to thoroughly know how to plant strawberries. This is also not an unimportant question, to which it is imperative to know the answer.

Disembarkation dates

In planting strawberries, the time of planting seedlings plays an important role. The key to a high yield is high-quality seedlings. The best rosettes and whiskers develop in early spring. But if you did not have time to collect seedlings in the spring, do not despair – you will have a chance in late summer, when quite good whiskers and rosettes are also formed. It is during these periods that a sufficient amount of moisture and low temperatures are observed. The optimal time for planting strawberries for the middle lane is mid-April to early May and late July to early September.

For the southern regions, it is better to plant seedlings in spring, at the beginning of March, and in autumn – at the end of October. But if the landing site is blown by all the winds, then the landing should be carried out in the spring. So the seedlings will have a whole summer ahead in order to have time to get stronger. In addition, some professional gardeners recommend giving preference to spring planting. So the number of seedlings that take root will be somewhat higher than if the procedure is carried out in the fall, when many seedlings do not have time to quickly enough adapt to open ground conditions.

In some areas, it is noted that the best option for planting young strawberries will be in August. During this period, there is a sufficient amount of seedlings, suitable climatic conditions and free time at the gardener.

Therefore, the question “when to transplant strawberries?” ambiguous. The main thing here is to have time to invest in the above terms, regardless of whether it is spring or autumn.

Line planting methods

Today, there are several planting methods: planting strawberries in pipes, in greenhouses, in the open field, line planting, etc. These methods are the most popular today.

Line planting methods involve growing strawberries in 100 square meters. This will require quite a lot of seedlings – from 600 to 670 bushes. Landing here can be done in several ways. Each of them has its own video, which reflects their features. All these methods do not involve the use of film.

Line landing methods are of the following types:

1. double landing. Considered the best method. Here, the interval between plant bushes is approximately 15-20 cm, and between rows – 60-70 cm. The interval between lines is approximately 30 cm;
2. single line landing. The following intervals should be observed here: between bushes – 15-20 cm, between lines – 60-70 cm. The beds in this method are made in the south-north direction. At the edges of the beds, strawberries should be planted in two rows;
3. three-line. More painstaking and less popular of the three existing methods.

A strawberry planting scheme, regardless of the row planting method, should be developed before the start of the process.

This will make it possible to more effectively use the available free space in the selected garden area. In addition, having a well-thought-out planting pattern, which can be found in any specialized planting video, will allow you to get the job done much faster.

In order not to stray from the selected scheme, you should do the following:

• make markings for future rows. On the two sides of the site, located opposite each other, we make notes for the placement of future rows of lines;
• then we drive pegs into the ground in the marked places;
• we stretch the cord between the pegs;
• then, using a 25-centimeter stick, we mark the places for future planting of seedlings.

After that, throughout the entire cord, every 25 cm we make a hole and pour one liter of water into it. Further, according to the technology of urgent planting, we plant seedlings in the resulting black softened earth. In this case, the roots of the seedlings must be well covered with the resulting soil. The roots of the seedlings need to be slightly shortened. Their length should be about 5-6 cm. By doing this, you will start the process of enhanced formation of lateral roots. At the end of the landing, dry earth should be covered from above, and then pressed firmly to the ground.

After planting is complete, water the seedlings abundantly. It is necessary to pour on each bush up to half a liter of water. Also planted seedlings should be watered every 7-10 days (the time interval is determined by weather conditions). Remember that after each watering you need to mulch the soil.

Both methods for planting do without the use of a film. The seedling itself can be wrapped in black film to prevent damage to the nervous root system. In this method, it is not gentle to wonder how to plant strawberries. Here everything is done by standard methods, as with other planting options. This can be seen by watching the relevant videos.

It is worth noting that the landing time by the methods described above can be any, with the exception of winter, of course. Using these methods, you can plant strawberries in spring, summer or autumn. It all depends on your personal preferences or the availability of free time. But there are some nuances here:

• spring planting should be done in early April. When planted in a later period, seedlings will develop much more slowly, which will lead to a decrease in yield;
• summer planting will allow you to get the first harvest only next year;
• in autumn, it is necessary to land only in September. In this case, as well as during spring planting, seedlings need to create a shadow. It is made with burlap. The film in this situation is not recommended;
• planting in the fall requires sheltering seedlings for the winter. Shelter should be in November, before the snow falls. To do this, you can use the film. The use of a film will prevent freezing of planting and significantly reduce the death of plants from frost. Instead of a film, you can use straw, which is placed in a moderate layer.

As you can see, the methods described above are very convenient to use and allow planting seedlings at any time of the year (except winter).

Correct landing rules

Regardless of how the method was chosen for planting, there are certain rules that must be followed in order to achieve good survival and an excellent harvest.

Rules for the correct landing:

1. strictly adhere to the criterion for choosing a place for landing;
2. plant seedlings properly. Seedlings can be prepared both independently and bought ready-made;
3. landing site preparation. The soil before planting should be cleaned of weeds, watered abundantly, and also fertilized. Having carried out these actions, you will provide the seedlings with everything necessary for successful survival and further growth;
4. strawberry planting should be carried out within strictly allotted time, regardless of the time of year. Otherwise, the survival rate of seedlings will be negligible.

All these aspects will be covered in the video below. It should be remembered that planting seedlings should only be done on a cloudy day. Usually the landing is carried out in the evening. The ground should be moist, but in no case wet (with the exception of the line method). Seedlings should be in a cool place for several days before planting. If it has long roots, they should be shortened to an average of 5-10 cm. In addition to the roots, it is necessary to cut off excess leaves. Seedlings should contain no more than three leaves.

In addition, the key to successful survival will be the initial fertilization of the soil, as well as timely watering. It is especially important to water the seedlings abundantly in the first week. But do not be too zealous with moisturizing, since excess moisture is just as destructive as its lack. This can be the main reason for reducing the survival of seedlings and its further yield. After watering, we fertilize the earth with humus. You can do without fertilizer by simply covering the seedlings with dry soil.

Do not forget after each watering, especially in the first two weeks, to mulch the soil. Such actions will prevent the soil from drying out quickly, and will also contribute to the penetration of water to the root system of plants. If you follow the above recommendations and rules, you will get almost one hundred percent survival rate, and in the future you can count on a high and high-quality harvest.

Now you know how to plant strawberries and you can achieve a high survival rate of planted seedlings without any problems and get strawberries of excellent quality every year.

Video “How to plant strawberry bushes”

In this post, an expert gives helpful tips on how to plant strawberries in the fall.