No gardener will say that in such and such a season he had too much, an extra crop of strawberries. You can never have too much of this fragrant, sweet berry, which surpasses overseas exotic fruits in taste! And so that it is really enough for use in the season and as a reserve, it is important to know the techniques of how to increase the strawberry harvest. The tips are applicable to both regular and remontant varieties.
Observe crop rotation
In principle, the garden strawberry is not capricious to its predecessors. But carrots and beets are considered best for her, and tomatoes and all other members of the nightshade family are considered worst.
Renewal of the strawberry plantation itself is of great importance – its resources are exhausted in 3-4 years, and for most remontant varieties even earlier – in 1-2 years. And ideally, planting fresh strawberry bushes is enough – young and healthy planting material should be placed in a completely different, new place.
Mulch
It is dangerous to loosen strawberry beds often – there is a great risk of damaging the root system of the bushes. But at the same time, it must “breathe”. Therefore, it is better to mulch them in May, for example, with chopped straw. You can also use black film.
The main thing is that thanks to the preservation of looseness and moisture of the soil after watering, as well as the suppression of the growth of weeds, the garden strawberry will be able to direct the maximum of its vegetative forces to the formation of the crop.
Fertilize well
A recommendation of 4 feedings per season is considered standard:
- In the spring, during the period of active growth, add bird droppings or mullein, diluted with water in a ratio of 1:10. When using dry manure, the norm is reduced by half. 1 liter of top dressing is used per plant.
- During the period of budding, spring fertilizer is applied again, mixing 1 matchbox of urea and complex trace elements for every 10 liters of water.
- On the eve of flowering, beds with berries are fed according to a well-known recipe with cow’s milk without additives.
- In the middle of August, large and at the end of the month, remontant strawberries are fertilized again with bird droppings or cow dung with the addition of 0.5 cups of wood ash for every 10 liters.
With such a “menu”, the garden strawberry will surely please you with the harvest declared according to its variety.
Prune in time
Excess green mass of plants, as you know, takes away part of their strength and nutrients, which could be used for crop growth. Therefore, 12-14 days before the expected beginning of ripening of the berries, you need to cut off the leaves and whiskers of strawberries, only about 1/3 of the green. And it is necessary to remove the leaves that cover the berries from the sun.
Water properly
If there is not enough water, the ovaries fall off, and those berries that ripen are small in size and are not suitable for making jam. But when there is a lot of moisture, the crop risks rotting, the berries ripen not sweet, but watery.
To determine for sure whether it is time to water strawberries, you need to take a handful of earth in your hand, squeeze it in your fist and look – if the lump crumbles, it means that the berry is threatened by drought. On average, in a moderately hot summer, strawberries are watered 1 time in 7 days during the period of intensive growth and 1 time in 5 days during the fruiting period. 0.5-0.7 liters of warm water is used for each plant.
In order for strawberries to please with their yield, there is another rule – the cultivated varieties must be recommended by their creators for a specific region. Since these plants are often distinguished by excellent adaptation to local climatic and soil conditions.