In this article we will tell you in great detail, how to care for strawberries in spring for a good harvest. We will also share with you information on how to care for this berry in other periods.
It is worth remembering that among many gardeners, strawberries are considered a very capricious berry. She demands to herself special attention and care. For example, strawberries need to regularly remove tendrils, old leaves and small berries. In addition, it is also necessary to promptly remove watery berries, which will simply deprive the bush required quantity nutrients. Now we will try to consider the main rules, which include caring for strawberries in spring and summer.
Naturally, with the onset of warm weather, many gardeners are concerned with the question of how to properly caring for strawberries in the spring outdoors plot. In the spring, caring for this crop is very labor-intensive. This time should not be missed in order to get an excellent harvest.
The beds where strawberries grow after winter should be put in proper order. The soil must be clean and moist. All existing weeds and debris must be removed. And after harvesting in the fall, all strawberry bushes should be prepared for winter period. It is probably clear to you that any of these stages requires necessary skills and knowledge. When the strawberry bushes thaw with the onset of spring, it is necessary to clear them of dry grass and leaves. If the bush is frozen, it should be removed.
Most top layer the soil that you mulched in the autumn must be removed by 3 cm. This must be done in order to reduce the number of harmful insects that could easily overwinter in this layer of soil. In addition, this procedure will help the sun's rays reach the roots and quickly warm them up.
Recommendation! Often, novice gardeners make a very serious mistake - they pour a thick layer of soil under each strawberry bush. As a result, the roots take a very long time to warm up. Then the berries begin to ripen very late and they are usually very small and not sweet.
If you don’t know when to start caring for strawberries in the spring, then it’s worth saying that this should be done immediately after the onset of warm weather. Now it is important to touch upon such issues as fertilizing and mulching the berries.
- When the soil becomes loose, you need to sprinkle the strawberry beds with sawdust. In addition to sawdust, you can use peat crumbs, humus, and small straw. You should also fertilize each strawberry bush with nitrogen-containing fertilizers.
- After the first new leaves appear on the bushes, it is necessary to fertilize the soil with a solution of mullein with the addition of ammonium sulfate.
- Complex mineral fertilizers can be applied to the soil to feed strawberries as early as the beginning of May.
Note! In order to reduce the possibility of various diseases, the bushes should be sprayed around using a solution of copper sulfate. Only this procedure must be carried out before the buds open.
As for watering, strawberries need to be irrigated once a week. Only in in this case, the bushes need to be watered in the morning so that the water is warm. Before strawberries bloom, they can be irrigated with rainwater. And after the flowers and first berries appear, you need to make sure that water does not get on the plant itself. There should be no weeds in the beds where strawberries grow.
Caring for strawberries in the spring at the dacha should definitely be done correctly. In this case, you can get a tasty and rich harvest of berries. Treatment of bushes in spring is, first of all, feeding. It will help give strawberry bushes active growth after a cold winter.
If you are well versed in the basics of proper strawberry fertilization spring time, then you can get a good harvest and very tasty berries. It is only necessary to take into account the fact that strawberries are not fertilized in the first year of their life. And as for remontant varieties, then they require regular seasonal feeding. The very first feeding of this plant should be carried out in the last ten days of April, when a constant temperature has established. During this period of time, fertilizing is carried out with complex fertilizers. If you have just started growing strawberries, then in the spring you can use ready-made mineral fertilizers as top dressing. Feeding is applied early spring. And one more time, after harvesting. You should take no more than 25-30 grams of fertilizer per 1 sq.m. landings.
In order for strawberries to produce a good harvest, it is important to take proper care in the spring. And the tips published above will help you do this correctly. Now it’s worth talking about the rules for caring for strawberries in the summer. After you carry out all the necessary procedures in the spring, summer care for strawberries will be minimal. You will need to weed the beds regularly and water the strawberries once a week. In addition, it is necessary to inspect the bushes for the manifestation of various diseases and the effects of pests.
Important to know! If, when inspecting strawberries, you see damaged parts, they should be removed immediately.
After the first berries begin to appear with the onset of summer, we advise you to add straw or sawdust under the bush. This procedure will help avoid contamination of the plant berries themselves with soil and ensure an even distribution of the surface on which they will grow.
Advice! Fully ripe berries from strawberry bushes must be collected regularly. The berry must be removed with the stalk. If the summer turns out to be rainy, then the bushes of the plant will need to be covered under film. This is required so that excess moisture does not become destructive for the bushes. Otherwise, various diseases can quickly develop, and the berries will become insipid and watery.
To please strawberries with a good harvest in the summer, take proper care in the spring. Pest control must also be implemented. It is also important to provide some details about preparing strawberry bushes for winter.
- After you collect the very last berries from the bushes, you need to trim the tendrils and leaves: this way the plant will be able to withstand the winter perfectly.
- Leaves should be cut at a distance of up to 10 cm from the soil surface. Only one stem should remain from the strawberry bush. But you should not be upset about this, since the plant will be able to endure wintering more easily.
- Trimmed bushes should be treated immediately by special means from diseases and pests, and also add mineral fertilizers to the soil.
Instead of a conclusion
We hope that you were able to learn about how to care for strawberries in early spring. Our article has provided you with many interesting tips, which you can easily apply in real life.
Video on the topic: caring for strawberries in the spring at the dacha open area video
If your strawberries at your summer cottage bring you a rich harvest, then you can be safely congratulated. You count experienced gardener, who is doing well. However, not every summer resident has this situation. In many cases, growing strawberries brings nothing but grief. And all because this berry is considered capricious. Consequently, it can be extremely difficult to get a rich harvest. But remember that it is possible. You should learn about how to care for strawberries in the spring so that there is a good harvest and already in the current season you can collect a lot of berries from each bush.
We care for strawberries in spring
Caring for strawberries in spring is considered difficult. However, it has a significant impact on harvesting. If you put the strawberry beds in order in the spring, then in the spring you will only have to control the growth of the bushes and monitor their health. Now it’s worth considering in more detail all the stages of caring for strawberries.
With the onset of spring, many summer residents ask each other when to start caring for strawberries in the spring? And it is worth saying that care must be carried out immediately, as soon as it gets warmer outside and all the snow melts off. So, at this stage you need to clear the strawberry bushes of dead and dry leaves. Plants that have frozen out must also be removed immediately. Remove the top layer of soil from the strawberries by about 3 cm. This will allow you to rid the strawberries of pests that have spent the winter in it. In addition, in this case, the strawberries will be able to warm up faster.
Note! In early spring, you should not add soil to the strawberry bushes. In that case root system It will take a long time to warm up. As a result, the berries will ripen much later.
If you do not plan to remove the autumn soil, then it is recommended to loosen it to a depth of 7 cm between the rows of strawberries.
In order for strawberries to produce a good harvest of tasty berries, it is important to proper care in the spring. And the advice in this publication should definitely be useful to you. It is worth noting that spring care It is impossible to imagine growing strawberries without fertilizing and mulching. Therefore, after loosening the soil, you should do the following:
The beds with strawberries must be sprinkled with: sawdust, fine straw, peat crumbs. You can also use humus as a bedding. At the same time, the strawberry bushes are fed with fertilizers with a high nitrogen content.
As soon as green leaves appear on the strawberry bushes, a solution of mullein is added under each bush. Also add ammonium sulfate to it.
Complex fertilizers should be applied in early May.
In order to prevent diseases of strawberry bushes and get rid of pests, each bush and the ground around it should be sprayed with a solution of copper sulfate. This must be done before the strawberries put out their leaves.
It is recommended to water strawberries warm water. This should be done once a week in the morning. Before the strawberries bloom, you can water them using the sprinkling method. And when flowers and berries appear, water should not get on them.
Weeds should not appear in strawberry beds. A layer of sawdust will allow you to avoid their appearance. In this case, water and fertilizers will flow freely to the root system, but weeds will not be able to break through this layer.
How to care for strawberries in the summer
We talked above about how to care for strawberries in early spring. You've probably already noticed that doing this is not particularly difficult. Now it’s worth talking about how to care for strawberries in the summer. Summer strawberry care should include:
- Regular weeding of beds;
- Water once a week;
- Inspecting bushes for pests and signs of disease;
- Timely removal of strawberry bushes and those parts of the plant that are damaged;
- Adding small straw or sawdust to the bushes;
Note! The addition of straw and sawdust must be done correctly. This usually happens before the first strawberries appear. In this case, they will not be contaminated by the soil.
- Harvesting strawberries including the stem;
- Fertilizing after harvesting with water and wood or nitrophosic ash. This procedure carried out until August 10;
- If the summer turns out to be rainy, then the strawberry bed can be covered with film. As a result, you will prevent the berries from becoming waterlogged. If this is not done, then diseases may develop in the strawberries, and the berries themselves will become too watery.
How to prepare strawberries for winter
When you have collected the last strawberries from the bushes, start trimming the leaves and tendrils. As a result, you will be able to prepare the plant for a comfortable winter. In this case, the leaves of each bush are cut 10 cm from the ground. It is also necessary to cut off all mustaches. In general, after such manipulations, you will be left with only stems of strawberries. Don't be scared! There is still a lot of time before winter arrives. The strawberries will be able to get new leaves, and the bush itself will get stronger. As a result, the strawberry bush will be even better able to withstand harsh temperatures.
Leave one tendril that comes from the strawberry for reproduction. Dig its rosette into the soil. This rosette may produce a healthy and beautiful bush next year. From this bush you will collect delicious berries. And if you replace strawberries in this way, you can achieve a good harvest. And if you follow all the rules for caring for strawberries, the yield can increase by another 15%.
Spray the bushes that you have trimmed with products against diseases and pests. Then feed the plants. In this case, mineral fertilizers are used. In late autumn, you can mulch the already prepared strawberry bushes again. Used in this case sawdust or peat. The layer should be 5 cm.
Note! The filling should be done carefully. The bushes should not be covered. You will remove this bedding in the spring. As a result, the roots will receive a lot of sun and will be able to warm up quickly.
In conclusion
Now you have learned how to care for strawberries in the spring after winter. We hope that these recommendations will help you achieve a rich harvest of berries. Be sure to care for your strawberry bushes properly. Follow all the recommendations and then the harvest will not only be rich, but also tasty.
As soon as the snow crust begins to melt under the rays of the spring gentle sun, the plants wake up and pull green shoots towards the life-giving light. in the spring it also wakes up early, at this time it is necessary to properly care for the berry bushes, otherwise it will be difficult to wait for a rich harvest. This article is all about proper care of strawberries in early spring.
Spring strawberry care: when to start work
In different climatic zones start time spring work in strawberry beds can vary greatly, so there are several periods suitable for caring for strawberries in the spring:
- Southern regions - caring for strawberry plantings can begin after the snow cover melts; in reality, this time occurs at the beginning of March.
- Central regions and the Moscow region - a favorable period for early spring care of overwintered strawberry bushes begins in the second half of March.
- Northern regions - the start of activities to care for strawberry beds should be dated to mid-April.
Caring for strawberries in early spring: rules of agricultural technology
In early spring, you need to remove the cover from the strawberry beds if the berry garden has been insulated for the winter. The film insulation is carefully rolled into a roll, the mulching layers of leaves or grass are removed with a rake, cleaning the soil surface with a hard broom.
There is no need to be afraid that rough mechanical impacts will damage overwintered plants - healthy strawberries have an extensive root system and are firmly planted in the ground. Using a rake, you can only pull out weak or diseased plants.
Caring for strawberries in the spring should be aimed at maximizing the removal of organic residues from the garden bed, because pests can overwinter in foliage and mulch, which become more active with the onset of warm weather and can cause significant harm to strawberry plantings. A large number of pathogens of infectious fungal diseases accumulate in fallen and dried leaves, which is why plantings should be protected from outbreaks of dangerous diseases.
Loosening and watering
After cleaning, it is worth starting to loosen the soil under garden strawberries. This must be done with caution, because the roots of strawberry bushes lie very close to the surface. Directly near the plants, it is worth loosening manually with a wooden pointed stick to a shallow depth; row spacing can be loosened with a hoe.
Loosening helps improve soil aeration and prevents the soil under the bushes from drying out. When loosening, it is very important to ensure that the soil does not fall into the center of the bush - the heart should not be covered with earth.
If, when loosening the soil, you can find bushes with exposed roots, it is worth hilling the plants, making sure that the growing point remains on the surface. Plants that have sunk into the soil during wintering should be raised a little, freeing up the growth point.
After wintering, the soil on the site is saturated with moisture, so some gardeners consider it unnecessary to water the berry garden, but this is wrong. Moisture from the soil evaporates daily, so after short time plants may experience water deficiency, so early spring watering must be carried out.
Water the strawberry bushes in the evening or in the morning, using warm water. It is necessary to start watering when it is visually possible to determine the moisture deficit in the soil. When precipitation occurs, watering is not carried out until the beds dry out. The watering regime for strawberry beds before flowering begins is once a week.
Important! The need to water strawberries in the spring is determined by the condition of the soil, for which a shallow hole is dug (depth - 30 cm). Take the soil from below and squeeze it in the palm; if, after unclenching the palm, the soil crumbles into large segments, it is too early to water. If the soil does not form, but crumbles into dust, the need for watering is obvious.
To sufficiently moisten the beds, the soil is moistened to a depth of 40 cm. It is useful to mulch watered beds with fresh straw.
Early spring feeding of strawberries allows you to saturate the soil with nutrients that are necessary for plant growth. In order for strawberry bushes to quickly begin to grow, the plants are fertilized several times during the spring:
- There are 2-3 leaves in the formation phase.
- Before flowering.
- During the period of ovary formation.
When applying nutrients, it is important to know what fertilizers the plants need at that moment. Nutrient compounds are applied directly to the soil to stimulate the growth of green mass; strawberry bushes need to be fertilized with nitrogen fertilizers (saltpeter, urea).
The use of formulations containing saltpeter helps accelerate the growth of new leaves and also increases the size of the berries. A lack of nitrogen will have a detrimental effect on the condition of the berry bushes - the growth of leaves will decrease and their shredding will be obvious.
An aqueous solution of ammonium nitrate is prepared according to the following recipe:
1 tbsp. a spoonful of dry substance is dissolved in a 10 liter bucket of water. Watering is carried out in moist soil at the root of each plant. The rate of application of the nutrient composition is from 0.5 to 1 liter for each strawberry bush. In addition to saltpeter, you can feed the plants with urea, which will help improve the taste and sugar content of ripe berries.
You can add a handful of ash under each strawberry bush; ash from burnt coniferous plants is especially effective.
Caring for strawberries in spring: video of the first fertilizing and treatments.
Spring pruning of garden strawberries
Pruning of old and dried leaves must be done in the spring, but you must act with extreme caution. Carefully inspect each bush; during pruning it is very convenient to remove foci of disease.
The first thing to be removed from the bushes is dried leaves. The cutting height is 5-7 cm. If the leaves are damaged by infections, they are removed completely.
If necessary, remove all mustaches and young rosettes that have grown in the fall.
It is very important to cut off the hard petioles of strawberry leaves. sharp knife so as not to injure the entire plant. You should not pull on the leaf, trying to tear it off - there is a great danger of damaging the heart and new young leaves.
It is advisable to burn cut leaves, rosettes and tendrils.
The final stage of spring strawberry care: treatment against pests and diseases. Spraying of bushes in berry beds is carried out in calm sunny weather, in the morning or at sunset.
The first treatment is carried out after removing the mulching insulating layers, for which 2-4% Bordeaux mixture is used.
It is useful to treat plantings against fungal infections using the following fungicides: Fitosporin, Phytocide, Fundazol, Topaz, colloidal sulfur.
For pests, bushes are treated with Actellik, Heterofos, and Carbamide.
All drugs are diluted strictly in accordance with the manufacturer’s instructions, processing is carried out in compliance with personal safety measures.
Strawberries are a very labor-intensive crop. Some summer residents don’t even plant it, fearing that they won’t have enough time to care for it. But it’s impossible to imagine a plot without strawberries, especially if there are children in the family. To get a normal harvest, you need to start caring for the plantation in early spring.
Clearing the beds of leaves and removing winter covers
It is from the strawberry bed that most summer residents begin to inspect their property in the spring when they first arrive at the site. If there is no more snow, you cannot delay cleaning the plantation; every day is expensive in this matter. Often the garden bed looks very sad: there are more dry and diseased leaves on it in the spring than green ones. But these dry leaves often contain various pests or pathogens. Therefore, everything that did not survive the winter should be removed as quickly as possible.
However, in many regions strawberries are wrapped for the winter with modern non-woven materials such as spunbond. If the shelter is still held in place by unmelted snow or ice, it is too early to remove it. Otherwise, the material is removed immediately, after which cleaning of the plantation begins.
How to make cleaning easier is up to the owner to decide. If the soil is already dry, it is better to start work by using a rare rake: they will collect a significant portion of the debris. But in the unfortunate case, you can also pull out some good bushes with a rake. Therefore, you often have to work manually on your knees, armed with pruning shears. In addition to dry leaves, green leaves that are severely affected by spots are also pruned. But if the winter has been harsh and even there are few spotted leaves left, it is better to leave them for now.
Often the strawberry plantation in early April is a pitiful sight
It is best to burn both trimmed plant parts and old mulch immediately. If during work a severe mite infestation of the strawberry is noticed, immediately after cleaning it should be treated with insecticides without delay. Even Chlorophos solution can help with this according to the instructions.
If burning dry leaves is impossible for some reason, they are buried deeply. When placed in a compost heap - deep enough to use this layer no earlier than three years later.
It happens that after the work has been done, severe frosts return. Therefore, after cleaning the beds nonwovens It’s worth keeping it ready to cover the strawberries again if necessary. But winter is unlikely to return at all, and moderate frosts are not scary for overwintered leaves. Therefore, it is better to mulch the bed with suitable bulk materials: best - pine needles, in a layer of 4–5 cm, but first you should feed the strawberries.
Mulching is not only a process that allows you to save moisture and heat; on clean mulch, the berries will be clean
Fertilizing strawberries and watering
After cleaning, the strawberries need to be helped to recover from winter. To do this, it must be fed with nitrogen fertilizers. You can use any saltpeter, or better yet urea, the dose is about 5 g of active substance per 1 m2. Thus, on square meter Approximately take a small handful of granular fertilizer. If it is completely dry, it is better to apply the fertilizer in liquid form, dissolving it in a large amount of water. Typically, fertilizing is carried out so early that urea is easily drawn into the soil. melt water and rain.
Humus is rarely added in the spring, but if this has not been done since the fall, it is advisable to sprinkle it between the rows and lightly cover it with a hoe. More often, phosphorus-potassium fertilizers are given to strawberries in the summer. Useful in spring foliar feeding, but we are no longer talking about April, but about the beginning of flowering. When the first flowers bloom, strawberries are sprayed with weak solutions of complete mineral fertilizers, adding zinc salt to the solution (preferably sulfate, to a concentration of 0.01%). At the same time, the row spacing can also be watered with infusions of mullein or bird droppings.
Mineral fertilizers can be applied both in dry form and in solutions
Unfortunately, no matter how snowy the winter, the melt water does not last long. Loosening the sazu bed after cleaning preserves moisture for a while, but then watering is required, especially if it does not rain.
In our area, we have to water strawberries as soon as possible. We just put the hose in the garden bed and the water flows... But as soon as the berries start to sing - stop! We have to maneuver between “if only it doesn’t dry out” and “if only it doesn’t rot.”
Before flowering begins, you can water both at the root and by sprinkling, if the water is not too cold, but after the flowers open - only at the root. If possible, it is worth equipping the system drip irrigation, delivering water directly to the roots. Strawberries themselves signal the need for watering: their leaves droop greatly in the heat.
Protection from pests and diseases
Strawberries are by nature very vulnerable to diseases and pest attacks. Unfortunately, even on summer cottages It’s not always possible to do without “chemistry”. Therefore, if the gardener is not an ardent opponent of plant protection products, after harvesting plant residues on the first day of work on the plantation, it is worth spraying it with 3% Bordeaux mixture, which reliably protects against a complex of fungal diseases.
Apparently, Bordeaux mixture will remain in the gardener’s arsenal for a long time
When flower buds appear, but before the flowers bloom, the strawberries are treated against a complex of pests: at this time, you can take any colloidal sulfur preparations and good old Chlorophos. If harmful insects attack during flowering, you can use copper oxychloride.
Opponents of “chemistry” often make do with relatively by safe means. So, in early spring you can pour water on the bushes with a temperature of 60–65 o C (strictly, according to the thermometer), this destroys the larvae of most pests. Many are also destroyed by treating the plantation with an ammonia solution. As soon as new leaves begin to grow, dissolve 40 ml of a 10% ammonia solution in a bucket of water and spray the strawberries. If you spill the soil, many pathogens of fungal diseases are also destroyed. In addition to ammonia, many gardeners use iodine, hydrogen peroxide or potassium permanganate for prevention. Combined solutions are often prepared, for example, 1 g of permanganate and boric acid per bucket of water.
Planting (transplanting) strawberries
Strawberries can grow in one place for many years, but after 3-4 years their yield drops sharply, and there is no point in leaving them in place. In many regions, new plantations are planted in the spring. As a rule, this is done in the southern regions in April. In the same month, if necessary, adult bushes are transplanted to a new location. There are many options for planting strawberries; at dachas it is usually planted in rows, leaving 50–70 cm between them, and in rows, depending on the variety, from 15 to 40 cm.
The busiest summer residents prefer carpet growing of strawberries
Unfortunately, in the spring to find a good one planting material It’s not so easy on your own site. While fresh leaves appear, time passes, and it is advisable to complete planting before approximately May 10. The bed must be ready long before the procedure. When preparing it, a large amount of fertilizer is applied in the fall. The best of them is well-rotted manure. Take two buckets of it per 1 m2, adding little by little minerals. Wood ash is also good for this.
Shortly before planting, the bed is watered with a 0.1% solution of copper sulfate, and strawberries are planted in cloudy weather. Seedlings are disinfected by immersing them in water at a temperature of about 45 °C for 10 minutes. When planting, straighten the roots, and when filling them with soil, observe the most important condition: The heart should remain slightly above the surface of the earth. Planted bushes are well watered, and in case of dry weather, subsequent waterings have to be carried out very often until the strawberries continue to grow in a new place.
Video: what to do with strawberries in spring
Strawberries require effort throughout the season, and springtime is very important for a good harvest. It cannot be said that its cultivation is very difficult, but the work on the plantation is varied, and it is extremely necessary.
Garden strawberries are whimsical and capricious crops that require constant care and attention. Breeders different countries Many varieties have been developed that differ in flowering time, shape, size and taste characteristics of fruits, as well as resistance to various diseases and weather conditions. General principles agricultural techniques remain the same for all varieties of strawberries. A special place spring care takes place, the quality and timely implementation of which directly determines the future harvest.
How to care for strawberries in spring
Spring work on caring for strawberries begins as early as possible. The sooner the strawberry plantation is put in order, the better. As soon as the snow cover melts and the soil dries, you need to begin active action. The main activities are as follows:
- cleaning the area;
- trimming old leaves and tendrils;
- replanting old bushes;
- watering;
- feeding;
- treatment against diseases and pests.
Caring for strawberry beds should begin as early as possible
Deadlines
In regions with different climatic conditions, the timing of spring strawberry care work varies greatly. Plants wake up, their root system begins to function and fresh shoots appear when the soil warms up above +5...+7 °C. To make the snow lying on the strawberry beds melt faster, sprinkle it with some dark powder: crushed ash, coal or tobacco dust, peat. A wire frame is mounted over the plantings and any covering material is thrown over it. This simple procedure will speed up fruiting by 7-10 days.
Work on strawberry plantations begins immediately after the snow melts
Some gardeners advise using potassium permanganate granules, which not only enhance absorption sun rays, but also disinfect the soil and also feed the plants.
On average, work on strawberry beds begins at this time:
- southern warm regions- beginning of March;
- middle zone and Moscow region - from late March to early April;
- northern regions - from late April to mid-May.
In the northern regions, in order for the strawberries to warm up faster, the beds are covered with film or cloth
Depending on specific weather conditions, the timing of spring work may change, but the sequence of actions always remains the same.
In the harsh Siberian conditions, winters are usually so snowy that the snow cover does not melt until mid-April. Next you need to keep a close eye on the weather. In just a few days everything dries up and you can start planting strawberries. We always start gardening work by clearing it of old leaves. If you are late, the dry leaves dry out completely and it becomes impossible to collect them, since they crumble into small fragments. As a result, all pest-infested or diseased parts of the plant remain on the ground, and are also carried by the wind throughout the garden. It is most convenient to use a fan rake, which is used to rake the mown grass on the lawn. They injure bushes less and remove small debris better.
Strawberry planting cleaning and pruning
If the berry plantations were insulated for the winter, then you need to remove the shelter as early as possible so that the bushes do not get covered in the event of sudden warming. Roll insulation carefully roll up and put away before the autumn cold. Some gardeners cover strawberries in the fall with branches, spruce branches, sawdust, hay, vegetable tops or other plant debris. All this needs to be removed. Dry leaves and last year's mulch layer are raked with a rake. In the spring, this mulch is more likely to interfere, since the root system warms up worse, the plant wakes up later and does not begin to grow well.
Rake all dry leaves and debris, then burn
There is no need to be afraid to pull out the plant with a rake. A normal healthy strawberry bush is held very firmly in the ground due to its branched roots. Rough mechanical impact using a rake is not capable of causing significant harm to strawberries. Only sick or weak specimens are easily pulled out.
Using pruning shears or garden shears, cut out all old, damaged, dead leaves, remaining tendrils and last year's flower stalks. They mercilessly remove everything unnecessary, leaving only a few fresh green leaves. Root leaves lying on the ground must also be removed. Then you need to walk along the surface of the soil with a hard broom, raking up small debris. All plant organic residues must be carefully collected and burned, as pathogens of various types are collected on them. infectious diseases, insect pests (weevils, aphids, etc.) also overwinter in them.
Use pruning shears or garden shears to trim off all last year's leaves and remaining tendrils.
Berry plantings are carefully loosened, trying not to damage the roots. The row spacing is treated with a hoe or hoe. Loosening improves soil aeration and helps better retain moisture in the soil under the plants. You need to carefully adjust the beds with strawberries. If the roots are exposed, then it is necessary to add soil under the bushes. Pieces of soil should not be allowed to fall into the center of the bush; the growing point should always be above the soil level. If necessary, if the plant has gone too deep into the ground during wintering, it needs to be raised a little. It is carefully dug out and raised to the desired level.
Strawberry beds must be loosened after removing debris and pruning.
It is best to prune strawberries immediately after fruiting. In Siberia, this time falls at the end of July or beginning of August. We have been practicing burning with fire for several years now. gas burner. Old foliage burns along with the pests and fungal spores present on it. In this case, the bush itself does not suffer. Almost immediately after this procedure, green young leaves grow, and before the onset of autumn, the strawberry manages to acquire a lush and healthy crown. In the spring, you don’t have to bother with pruning for a long time; you can remove the overwintered ground part and debris in literally half an hour. The main thing is to be in time before fresh shoots appear. Otherwise, it will be inconvenient to use a rake, since it is extremely easy to damage fragile leaves.
Replanting old strawberry bushes in spring
When everything is tidied up and in order, you need to conduct a detailed audit of all the plants that survived the winter. Overwintered bushes are carefully examined for viability. Dead, dried or too weak specimens must be pulled out and destroyed. To prevent bald spots in the beds, new plants are planted in the vacant spaces. As planting material, you can use well-established strong mustaches or divide the mother bush into several parts.
Other strawberry bushes are transplanted into the empty spaces left after dead plants.
This needs to be done as quickly as possible, then the transplanted bushes will have time to take root well before the onset of hot summer time. During the rapid growth green mass The root system is also actively growing. This period is considered the most favorable for transplanting strawberries. The plant will easily tolerate minor damage to small roots.
Transplantation is carried out using the following technology:
- They dig up the damaged specimen under the root and remove it along with a lump of earth, since pests like to settle in the soil between the roots.
- Several mature bushes are selected for seedlings. You can use last year's rooted strong mustache.
- Divide the rhizome into parts. Each fragment must have its own growing point and at least 2-3 leaves.
- The roots are dipped in a weak solution of potassium permanganate (light pink).
- Dig and prepare a hole. Apply nitrogen fertilizer, peat or humus.
- The hole is filled with water. The liquid should be settled and slightly warm (not cold well or tap water).
- After the water is absorbed, the seedling is placed in the planting hole.
- Holding the plant by the core, fill the hole with soil. The growing point should not be buried, as the bush may rot.
- Water generously again.
For transplantation, adult strawberry bushes are used, which are carefully divided into parts.
In the spring they are busy arranging new beds. Strawberries are transplanted to another place every 3–4 years. Maximum yield This crop produces in the second and third years of life, then the yield drops sharply. The soil is depleted, the number of pests is rapidly increasing and the plants begin to get sick often, so after this time the strawberry plantation needs to be rejuvenated.
Watering strawberry plantings in spring
Immediately after wintering, the soil is well saturated with melt water. But the moisture evaporates very quickly and watering strawberry plantations needed regularly. Since the root system of strawberries is superficial and never goes deeper into the ground than 20–30 cm, water deficiency has an extremely negative effect on the development of the crop and the formation of the ovary. Need early spring watering can be determined visually by the type of plant. If the leaves have withered and begin to curl inward, then the plantings need to be moistened urgently.
The need for early spring watering of strawberries is determined by the appearance of the plants.
There is a proven way to determine the need for watering. To do this, dig a hole about 30 cm deep. Take a handful of earth from its bottom and squeeze it in the palm of your hand. If, after unclenching your fingers, the soil sample breaks up into large pieces, then moistening is not yet required. A lump of earth crumbling into dust signals a lack of moisture and the urgency of watering.
Water the berry crop abundantly; the soil should be saturated to a depth of at least 40 cm. On average, each bush will require about ½ liter of liquid. In the absence of rain, strawberry beds are moistened once every 5–7 days. It is best to do this in the early morning before sunrise or in the evening after sunset. Before the first flowers appear, the planting can be watered using sprinkling methods (from a watering can), this stimulates more luxuriant growth of the above-ground green part. IN further watering carried out between rows or in special holes dug between bushes, as well as by drip method.
Before flowering, strawberries can be watered from a watering can.
The crop reacts negatively to the temperature of the irrigation liquid. It is not recommended to water the plants cold water from a well or well. You need to let it sit a little and warm up in the sun. Excessive moisture is very harmful for strawberries, since excessive moisture levels create favorable conditions for the development of fungal infections and rot. This is especially true during fruit setting and ripening. If the weather is cool and rainy, watering should be stopped.
After the first high-quality moistening, you need to mulch the beds with fresh straw, mown grass, sawdust, pine needles etc. This will help retain moisture in the soil for more long time and reduce the frequency of watering. The mulch layer should be about 3–5 cm. Some gardeners use non-woven covering materials or dark plastic film for this purpose.
After watering, strawberries are mulched
We have been using grass cut from the lawn as mulch for several years now. During the period of active growth, it grows especially quickly and has to be mowed often. Our lawn is considered sporty and the grass on it has small, neat, narrow leaves. Even when beveled, it looks unusually decorative and does not spoil the appearance beds that were mulched with it, not to mention the undoubted benefits it brings.
Fertilizing strawberries with organic fertilizers
A mandatory step in the list of spring procedures for caring for strawberries is the application of fertilizers. Many gardeners prefer to use exclusively organic fertilizers, since they are considered absolutely harmless and an overdose of them is impossible. In contrast to mineral additives, an excess of which has an extremely negative effect on the taste of berries and makes them dangerous to human health.
Many gardeners prefer organic fertilizers
For the first time, strawberry plantations are fertilized after the snow melts, when active growth of the bushes begins. Fertilizing must be carried out before flowering begins when stable warm weather sets in. This procedure stimulates the growth of above-ground green mass and the formation of flower ovaries.
The following fertilizers of organic origin are used:
- Mullein. 0.3 kg of manure is poured into a bucket of water and infused for 2–3 days. The resulting nutritional composition is added to special grooves that are dug between the bushes. 10 liters of solution is enough for 3–4 linear meters. You can water each plant at the root, being careful not to let the liquid get on the leaves. Sometimes it is advised to simply spread manure directly under the roots, sprinkling 2–3 cm of soil on top. But it should be taken into account that in fresh mullein contains weed seeds that will later germinate.
Mullein infusion is most often used, but manure can simply be spread under the plants
- Humus. Scatter on the ground under the leaves. At the same time it acts as mulch.
Humus is scattered in the bite area
- Chicken droppings. It is a natural source of nitrogen, which is especially necessary for plant development in the spring. Requires strong dilution: only 1 part of litter is needed to 20 parts of water. The composition is left to infuse for 3–4 days, then the plantings are watered. Approximately ½ liter of solution is spent on each bush.
Infusion of chicken manure is watered at the root of each bush.
- Nettle or other weeds. Fill 1/3 of the bucket with chopped herbs, which is then filled to the top with water. The resulting infusion is diluted in a ratio of 1:3 and the strawberry plantings are watered between the rows. About 10 liters of nutrient fluid are consumed per 1 m2.
For feeding, use an infusion of nettle or any other weed.
- Wood ash. A glass of ground ash is poured into a bucket of water, mixed and applied under the bushes (1 liter per 1 m2). You can simply sprinkle the powder on the surface of the soil under the plants.
Strawberries are fertilized with infusion of ash
- Yeast. Contain nitrogen, zinc, potassium and others useful substances. 0.2 kg of raw baker's yeast is diluted in ½ liter of warm water, left for 20–30 minutes, then the volume of the solution is brought to 10 liters and the strawberry bushes are generously watered with it.
Strawberries respond very well to foliar feeding. Solutions for spraying bushes organic fertilizers must be used at half concentration.
Mineral fertilizers are often applied in the fall after harvesting. In early spring, the following compositions are used:
- ammonium nitrate or nitroammophoska - 35–45 g per 1 m2 (scattered between bushes) or 25–30 g per 10 liters of water (½ liter for each plant);
- urea - 1 tbsp. l. for 10 liters of water (½ liter per bush);
- potassium sulfate - 25–30 g per 1 m2.
Strawberries can also be fed with mineral fertilizers
On sale you can find special complex fertilizers intended for garden strawberries.
You can use a special complex fertilizer intended for strawberries
After spreading over the surface mineral granules the soil needs to be loosened a little and the fertilizer mixed with the soil.
Pest control and disease prevention
Strawberry plantations are often attacked by insect pests and are affected by various diseases. It is much easier to prevent a problem from occurring than to deal with its consequences for a long time. Therefore in the spring preventive measures Particular attention is paid to the control of pests and diseases in strawberries. Prevention is recommended to be carried out after loosening the top layer of soil and before applying fresh mulch.
In the spring, preventive treatment of strawberry plantings against pests and diseases is mandatory.
A huge number of different pests settle on strawberries, but the most common ones found on them are:
- nematode;
- transparent strawberry mite;
- weevil;
- slugs;
- spider mite;
- May beetles (larvae);
- mole crickets.
The diseases that most often affect strawberry plantations are:
- powdery mildew;
- white and gray rot;
- root rot;
- spotting;
- viral mosaic;
- fusarium wilt.
With proper care and good preventive treatment with special preparations, it is possible to avoid the spread of fungal infections and damage by harmful insects. Great value is given to the timely removal of last year's plant residues, in which pathogens and insect larvae overwinter. It is recommended not only to remove dry leaves, but also to remove the top layer of soil (2–3 cm). As a last resort, deep loosening of 6–8 cm is allowed.
Preventive treatments are carried out as follows:
- Early in the spring, after removing debris and loosening, the plantations are treated with copper-containing preparations (3% Bordeaux mixture, 2% copper sulfate, HOM, etc.). This measure helps against a whole range of fungal diseases. If the air temperature is above +15...+17 °C, then you can use biological products (Phytodoctor, Fitosporin, Trichodermin, etc.).
- Before budding begins, around the beginning of April (in the northern regions at the end of April or beginning of May), the bushes are sprayed fungicidal preparations to prevent the appearance of insect pests (Karbofos, Urea, Actellik, Actofit, Aktara, etc.).
- At the end of flowering, re-treatment against insects with fungicides is carried out.
Preventive treatments are carried out with various drugs
Don't rush to use it chemicals, if no alarming signs were noticed on strawberries on the plantation last season. You can try to get by with harmless folk methods:
- Watering with water heated to 60–65 °C. Hot liquid is poured over all the leaves of the plant and its core. This treatment kills most of the pest larvae.
Hot water destroys pests, their larvae and eggs
- Solution ammonia(per 10 liters of water 40 ml of ammonia). Ammonia solution is excellent nitrogen fertilizer, and also destroys aphids, nematodes and other insects. All bushes and the soil under them are watered from a watering can three times a season:
- Tincture of iodine (10 ml per 10 liters of water). Treatments are carried out once every 7–10 days. The product is effective against gray rot and weevils.
Strawberry beds are watered with a weak solution of potassium permanganate
- Mustard infusion. Dilute 50 g of dry mustard powder in 5 liters of warm water, leave for two days, then dilute another 5 liters of water and water the strawberry bushes.
Mustard infusion helps in the fight against weevils on strawberries
Onion peel infusion repels pests
Hydrogen peroxide helps fight rot on strawberries
There is a specialized complex drug“Strawberry Rescuer”, which has a very wide range of actions. It effectively destroys insects, their eggs and larvae, fights fungal pathologies, and also stimulates plant growth.
Strawberry Rescuer is a universal drug
- observe crop rotation and do not grow strawberries in one place for more than 4 years;
- Always treat acquired new seedlings before planting and immediately after it;
- buy planting material only in trusted places and from reliable suppliers;
- promptly destroy diseased plants and weeds;
- plant herbs between the rows that repel harmful insects and attract beneficial ones.
Preventive measures take much less effort and time than the subsequent fight against fungal diseases and insect pests.
Garlic planted between strawberry bushes perfectly repels insect pests
Ordinary garlic repels pests very well. We always plant it in late autumn between strawberry bushes. Garlic sprouts appear early, when the berry crop has not yet woken up after hibernation. Thanks to the insecticidal properties of the spicy vegetable, the number of pests in strawberry beds is noticeably reduced. The biological method of plant protection works effectively and is absolutely safe.
Grow fragrant and delicious berry not as difficult as it might seem at first glance, even in quite severe climatic conditions risky farming zones. By observing the whole range of necessary spring measures and putting in a certain amount of physical labor, a patient and skillful gardener always manages to get a good harvest of garden strawberries.
