Garden strawberry is the most popular berry culture among summer residents. This is not surprising: its sweet taste and unique aroma will not leave anyone indifferent. It adds the advantages of rapid entry into the time of fruiting, early ripening and high yields.
However, not all gardeners manage to achieve a good return from this culture, because in this case it is important to know and observe certain subtleties. We have identified 5 basic steps required to perform in order to get a rich harvest of large juicy strawberries.
Step 1. Proper watering
Garden strawberries are very moisture-loving. Sufficient moisture content in the soil is important for it at all stages of development. After all, this culture, having a superficial root system, is not able to extract water from the deep layers of the soil, so with its shortage, the ovary is rapidly drying up.
If you want to get a generous harvest of large juicy berries, you need to provide strawberries with regular watering. Moisten the soil in the strawberry garden 1-2 times a week in warm weather, and during droughts – every 2-3 days, each time it is necessary to wet the soil to a depth of at least 25-30 see the Most important watering — during the ripening of berries, they should be most abundant.
Sprinkling strawberries with ice water from a hose can provoke the development of fungal diseases, so use only defended and heated in the sun water. During the period of filling and ripening berries should be preferred root watering.
Step 2. Mulching
Regularly watering strawberry bushes, you may face another problem: ripening large berries lie on the ground and from constant contact with moist soil are affected by gray rot. In addition, these berries are easy prey for slugs and snails. To cope with this, you can use mulching. As mulch use black polyethylene film, modern nonwoven materials, as well as a variety of organic matter – straw, sawdust, weeds, coniferous litter, peat and so on.
This technique will protect the berries from rotting and will not allow pests to get to the Goodies — everything will be safe and sound. A layer of mulch promotes faster ripening, leaving it clean and dry – it’s a pleasure to collect! In addition, mulching will reduce the number of watering, protect the root system of plants from temperature changes, as well as save you from the tedious procedure of loosening rows and weed.
Step 3. Proper feeding
If you want to achieve a rich crop of strawberries, we must not forget that this culture – a real gourmet and very fastidious attitude to their diet. Its menu should include not only organic, but also a balanced mineral complex, as well as microelements necessary for normal development and fruiting.
With fertilizing organic fertilizers, everything is simple: in early spring after the snow melts, spread the ripened humus or compost under the bushes with a layer of 3-4 cm, and if the bed is emulsified with a film or other covering material – pour the plants under the root with a solution of mullein (1:10) at the rate of 1-1.5 liters per Bush.
To increase the yield of berries will help spraying plants during mass flowering drug containing gibberellinic acid sodium salts — a stimulant of fruit formation. It will multiply the number of ovaries, protect the inflorescences from falling and reduce the number of voids.
Step 4. Protection against diseases and pests
On the way to a rich harvest to cross out all your efforts can insatiable pests.
No less damage is caused by fungal diseases. They first affect the leaves, and then lead to General oppression of plants and loss of their productivity. To support the health of strawberries and help her form a decent harvest, spend a number of preventive treatments that will protect plants from complex diseases.
In early spring, after the snow melts, it is necessary to thoroughly clean the bed from dead leaves and immediately burn them.
5-7 days before flowering in the period of mass extension of buds, treat with a tank mixture of systemic fungicide and broad-spectrum insecticide. After harvesting, carefully cut all the leaves on the strawberry bushes (except for a few of the youngest) so as not to damage the hearts, and repeat the treatment with the same drugs.
Step 5. Timely removal of mustache
Strawberries are endowed with a tremendous craving for life and in all conditions constantly strives for reproduction – forms berries with seeds and throws a mustache. “Kids” on both sides pull the juices from the mother Bush, fighting for the right to exist. Based on this, offers a very simple method of increasing the yield of this culture: the more whiskers will form a hive in a season, the lower the amount of berries he can give, and Vice versa.
To increase the impact of berries you will need to promptly remove all appearing mustache, which delay the extra strength of the bushes to the detriment of the formation of the crop. To do this, 1-2 times a week inspect strawberries and cut air shoots at the beginning of their development. This approach will allow you to redirect all the efforts of the plants for abundant flowering, the formation of the ovaries and obtaining a particularly large berries.
If you clearly remember and follow the above rules, you will be able to annually receive a large number of large, sweet and fragrant berries. Move to the rich strawberry harvest such steps quite easy, so to master this “waltz” can any novice gardener.
Dear readers, and what tricks do you use to increase the yield of garden strawberries? Share your secrets with other gardeners in the comments and tell us about the proven techniques that help you achieve a rich harvest from this crop.
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