Autumn planting of strawberries has one, but a very big advantage — berry bushes will yield a crop in the first season. When planted in spring, plants take root, mature, but almost never bear fruit. That is why many gardeners plant new berries at the end of summer.
Planting strawberries: timing
In the north and south of our country, the autumn planting dates will be slightly different. Usually, work begins on August 15, and ends by mid-September — early October. In any case, at least a month should pass from the moment the seedlings are planted in open ground until the onset of frost.
Seedling disinfection
Before planting, it is advisable to decontaminate the bushes, because on all their parts there may be eggs of pests and infections. To kill insects, you need to completely immerse the planting material in water heated to 50 ° C and leave for 15 minutes. Repeat dive after 60 minutes.
A bath of copper sulphate (1 tsp), salt (3 tbsp. L) and water (10 l) will help rid the plants of pathogens of fungal diseases. The exposure time is from 8 to 9 minutes. Then the plants are washed in clean water and planted in a permanent place.
Holes: size and distance between them
When planting, the depth of the hole and the position of the roots are of great importance — the latter must be straightened to their full length, otherwise the plants may die. Therefore, the average depth of the hole is usually 30-40 cm.
The distance between plants and rows depends on the method of planting strawberries:
- Carpet method of growing strawberries. In this case, the cultures are not thinned out, the whiskers are not removed, which gradually leads to the filling of the beds over the entire area. The plantation does not require much attention, but the berries become smaller every year, because the plants do not have enough food. With this method of growing, strawberry bushes can suffer from fungal diseases, because they grow in cramped conditions, and airing the beds is difficult or even impossible. Pathogenic fungi are activated in such conditions very quickly.
- With the bush method of growing, the distance between individual bushes is from 45 to 60 cm.
- The nesting method of planting provides for a distance between plants of 8 cm, and between rows — from 25 to 35 cm.
- When planting strawberries in rows, they are planted every 15-25 cm, with a row spacing of 50 cm.
Attention! Before planting strawberries in a permanent place, the holes are pre-moistened.
Planting strawberries: choosing a place
Properly chosen site guarantees a high return on the plantation.
Berry crop requirements:
- Do not plant after cabbage, potatoes and all vegetables from the Solanaceae family. The best predecessors are onions, lettuce, garlic, carrots, radishes, celery, dill.
- Lighting — bright sun. It is not recommended to break the beds under the strawberries in the shade, otherwise the berries will be sour, and the bushes will bloom less.
- Protection from blowing — strawberry plantings are located in a quiet, windless place.
As for the soil, the site is dug up in advance, adding per 1 m²: 1 bucket of compost, potassium salt — 20 g; urea — 25 g, double granular superphosphate — about 40 g. Garden soil can also be mixed in equal proportions with humus and compost, adding two glasses of ash per 1 m².
Ideal bed for strawberries: parameters
Each gardener has an ideal bed — his own, because a lot depends on the availability of free space on the site. But the optimal parameters of the berry are as follows:
- The width of the beds is 80 cm, the row spacing is 40 cm. In such a berry bush, it is convenient to plant bushes in 2 rows.
- The orientation of the beds to the cardinal points — from east to west, which will allow all plants to receive uniform lighting throughout the day.
- The distance between berry bushes is 25-30 cm; for powerful tall remontant varieties, up to 40 cm can be left between plants.
- Free passages between the beds — up to 65 cm.
- The height of the beds is from 20 cm to 1 m.
- Row spacing — It is useful to plant grass in the row spacing. Mowed meadow helps to reduce the temperature of the heating of the earth on hot summer days.
Important! Do not plant strawberries next to fruit trees.
Follow our tips and you will have lots and lots of garden strawberries!
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Strawberries (strawberries) frigo: features of planting, growing, care
Feeding strawberries for a generous harvest