I must say right away that the success of a good harvest depends on the quality of strawberry seedlings or its seedlings that you plant on your site, laying a bed of garden strawberries. Therefore, buying seedlings, planting care should be given great attention. You can buy seedlings of strawberries or strawberries garden, you can grow yourself. Here we consider the first option. How to choose strawberry seedlings? What should she look like?
We are used to calling strawberries strawberries, its correct botanical name is large-fruited strawberries. But I will use both of these names, let the nerds not take offense at me.
So, you decided to lay a bed of strawberry garden. I advise you not to save on buying strawberry seedlings. I do not urge you to choose what is more expensive. Of course not. Take a close look at what you intend to buy.
What to choose strawberry seedlings
Most often, seedlings or seedlings of strawberries (strawberries) with an open root system are sold on the market. But you do not know when they were dug from the ground. The roots could dry, and before the sale they were moistened with water. It all depends on the integrity of the seller. Having planted such seedlings of wild strawberries, you will see that not all the plants have started. That is, it did not work out to save, but on the contrary, not only money was lost, but also mood. So how to understand the seedlings, buy this seedlings of strawberries so that it takes root. How to plant strawberries?
A good bush of strawberry seedlings should have at least 3 leaves - one in its infancy and two well developed. It is desirable that the strawberry seedlings be with a lump of moist earth. Then we can hope that she will take root.
There is another good option - to purchase seedlings or strawberry seedlings that you dig from the ground. Prepare a box or other container where you will put dug strawberry bushes. Pour a little earth into the bottom, moisten it, carefully spread seedlings on top. This is a guarantee of one hundred percent survival.
It is best to buy strawberry seedlings in glasses or containers in specialized stores for gardeners. Usually these are annual seedlings. The roots should be at least 5 cm long, and the bushes should have at least 2-3 well-developed leaves. Of course, the leaves of seedlings of strawberries should be healthy-looking, not limp, without damage, without any spots. When choosing seedlings, pay attention that the strawberries have well-developed leaves, as well as a healthy central bud.
Planting seedlings - how to plant strawberries so that it takes root?
It all depends on what seedlings, or rather, in what form you purchased it:
- if it is in a plastic cup, then pour it abundantly an hour and a half before landing;
- if you bought strawberry seedlings in a peat pot, then immerse them with the pot for 1-1.5 minutes in water so that the pot is completely wet;
- if you brought home bushes with an open root system, then they must be kept in a solution of HB-101 (3 drops per 1 liter of water).
Let's look at how to plant strawberries, or rather, seedlings or seedlings correctly.
Pull a lump of earth with roots from a cup. Pay attention to the length of the roots. Most often, the roots occupy the entire volume, and at the bottom of the glass, they are twisted along the walls with a spiral. These roots will not develop further during transplantation. They will die sooner or later. But the plant will spend strength on this process, so they need to be trimmed, leaving a length of no more than 5-8 cm. Before trimming, rinse the roots in water. Trim the dead roots as well, they will be a yellowish-brownish color.
That is, I do not recommend planting strawberry seedlings with a clod of earth. The roots there will be twisted, twisted - they must be carefully straightened, sorted, shortened, removed inanimate, half-rotten. Soak the roots of seedlings in a solution of growth stimulator HB-101 or a solution of heteroauxin (Kornevin). Just a few minutes while you prepare the holes for planting strawberries.
When placing a strawberry plant in a hole, spread the roots. First, pour a small mound about 5-6 cm high at the bottom of the hole. Here, on top of this mound, “put on” a seedling bush, spreading roots on its cone so that they are directed downward. Sprinkling the roots with earth, hold the "heart" of the bush. The “heart” is the place from which the leaves grow. It should remain above the surface of the earth. It cannot be buried, otherwise it will rot and the strawberry bush will perish. But the roots should not be visible, otherwise the bush will simply dry.
Pour the planted bush, slightly press the earth around it with your palms to remove voids from the ground - all roots should be in contact with the ground, there should be no air spaces around the roots. Sprinkle on top with loose earth.
Strawberry seedlings planted in this way will take root well, will easily transfer the transplant.
Sometimes I don’t have time to build mounds, straighten the roots. I dig a hole deeper, fill it to the top with water, immerse the roots of the bush there, holding the plant by the heart. With my other hand I gradually pour the earth into the hole with water. The most important thing here is not to deepen the heart of the bush or, conversely, not to pull it too high.
When to plant seedlings, strawberry seedlings
There are two favorable periods for planting strawberries. Spring and fall. In the Kuban in the spring, strawberries are planted in March-April (in the middle lane - in May). In autumn, a good time for this is September-October (in the middle lane - August). Freezing is possible in early spring, so the bed with the planted seedlings must be covered with covering material. Properly planted seedlings take root for two weeks. After that, the shelter can be removed.
Now the most important thing is that the seedlings take root, are ready to survive the hot summers or cold winters.
What does strawberry like? She loves light, loose soil. Her root system is superficial, so loosen the soil very carefully. In the Kuban, the soil is heavy, chernozem. It would be ideal to use mulch on strawberry beds. Then she does not need any loosening. Under the mulch, the earth is always loose. Moisture also holds well. Berries are always clean, even after rains.
Soil for strawberries
Of course, strawberries, like any garden crop, love fertile soil. There are two options to make the soil fertile for it:
- when preparing the beds,
- when landing in the hole.
When you plant a strawberry bed, add organic matter - rotted manure, compost - at the rate of 2-3 buckets per 1 sq. Km. meter.
You can add organic matter directly to the well when planting seedlings. Prepare such a mixture in advance:
- 1 bucket of land per bed
- 1 bucket of compost
- 1 bucket of horse or cow rotten manure (you can, if there is no manure, mix a bucket of compost with 2 liters of Biohumus), 2 cups of wood ash.
By the way, granular organic fertilizer based on bird, horse, cow manure Orgavit has now appeared on the shelves. You can use it if you have tight organics, but follow the dosage that is indicated in the instructions.
Wells for planting strawberries - seedlings or seedlings, if you add organic matter there, should be dug deeper and wider: 25 × 25 × 25 cm. I usually use the soil from the holes to prepare the mixture that I described above.
For the past two years I have been fascinated by siderates. My site is large - almost 15 acres. Of these, 1.5-2 hundred are occupied by strawberries / strawberries, however, I planted it in small clearings scattered throughout the country. Of course, processing such an area requires a lot of effort and time. So, along the perimeter of my plot, I sow in the early spring, as soon as the earth allows, mustard and fatseliya. When they throw away the color, I cut the green mass, lay it on the beds with strawberries, between the plants. I assure you, this is the best fertilizer for strawberries.
How to choose a place for strawberry seedlings
What else does strawberries like? She loves a lot of light. Choose a sunny open area for wild strawberries. Rows are placed in the north-south direction.
By the way, I noticed that if strawberry bushes grow in a partially shaded place, for example, under a dull fence, then the berries ripen later, planted in a sunny place. They are larger, but not many. Anyway, I leave these bushes - I love to watch the granddaughter, who “suddenly” finds a berry and begins to “educate” me that I forgot about this strawberry and, if it weren’t, the strawberries would be gone.
Modern varieties of garden strawberries (strawberries) form large bushes. When buying seedlings, pay attention to what size an adult plant will be. Therefore, when planting seedlings, leave a distance between plants from 30 to 50 cm, taking into account, of course, the characteristics of the variety, as well as the fact that over time the bush will increase in volume.
Gardeners practice a single-row planting, two- or even three-row planting - while plants are planted in a checkerboard pattern. There is also a carpet planting of strawberry garden, when the bushes are planted, just glades. But in any case, it is advisable to maintain a distance between the bushes of 30-50 cm (given the characteristics of the variety).
Everyone chooses the option that suits him best.
Strawberries, like any plant, need moisture. It is especially necessary for plants.
- in the period of leaf growth,
- during flowering,
- during the ripening of berries
- after harvesting (August, September) - during the laying of buds.
And yet, be sure to water the strawberries in dry autumn. Before winter, strawberries should go on moist soil.