The most suitable time for planting garden strawberries

If the beds of your garden strawberry are already three or four years old, you should update the planting. Plants grow old, pests and diseases accumulate on them, the yield decreases, the quality of berries deteriorates, their size decreases. Or perhaps you are only planning on planting a queen of berry berries. Then, tips on planting and updating the garden strawberry plantation will help you grow a sweet crop without much difficulty.

Choosing the right time for planting garden strawberries

Strawberries grow in all areas of fruit growing in Russia. Cultivated since 18th century. In the wild, wild strawberries have been known for a long time, the garden culture of this berry was obtained as a result of the hybridization of two types of wild strawberries - South and North American. Sometimes garden strawberries are mistakenly called strawberries, although strawberries come from another wild species of strawberries. Currently, strawberry cultivation on industrial plantations and in private farms is quite limited.

Garden strawberries (strawberries) are present in almost any garden

There are different opinions of gardeners about the time of planting garden strawberries. When is it better to plant seedlings and transplant adult bushes - in spring or autumn? There is no definite answer to this question, since the landing time depends on many factors. These are the climatic conditions of the growing region, the composition of the soil, the height of the winter snow cover, warm or very frosty winters, the likelihood of sudden winter thaws, etc.

Conventional varieties of garden strawberries bear fruit for 3-4 years, then they exhaust the nutritional potential of the soil and planting needs to be updated. Remontant and neutral-day strawberries (Elizabeth II, Tributes, Brighton, Garland, etc.) should be changed even more often - after two years. Plants of these varieties bear fruit several times a season, therefore, they spend their potential much faster and grow old. In the third year, their productivity is already sharply reduced, the berry is smaller, and the old plant will give a little mustache.

Yulia Babenko, amateur gardener, Voronezh

Household Farm Magazine, No. 3, 2010

Strawberries can be planted both in spring and in the summer-autumn period.

The undoubted advantages of summer planting:

• an opportunity to get a crop of large fruits as early as next summer;
• a much wider selection of varieties in nurseries than in spring.

If strawberries are planted in the summer to obtain berries and seedlings from their uterine plants are used, then you need to select the first, most powerful rosettes as early as possible. They will take root, have time to lay flower buds and please the harvest.

To obtain a generous harvest of garden strawberries, seedlings should be planted at the most favorable time of the year

Cons of summer-autumn landing:

• the days are still quite hot and sunny, you need to pay a lot of attention to the shading of young plants and watering;
• the strawberry bushes planted after August 20 no longer have time to lay flower buds in the right amount and of good quality. The crop will be, but insignificant, the taste and size of the berries may be unsatisfactory;
• the probability of plants falling under low winter temperatures without snow is high, and therefore, it is necessary to take care of sheltering young plantings in a timely manner.

The spring sun is warm, but not yet hot. The most suitable time for planting in the spring is the beginning of May. The air is moderately cool, the soil is already warmed up and there is enough moisture in it. Therefore, strawberries will grow and develop normally and will yield a good harvest next year.

The best time for planting strawberries in spring garden - early May

Pros of spring planting:

• strawberry bushes take root well;
• if spring frosts occur, then their overwintered seasoned seedlings do not suffer from them.

Cons of planting garden strawberries in spring:

• often by the beginning of May seedlings are not yet ready and it is necessary to plant strawberries in June, dooming plants to heat, air and soil drought;
• you need to pre-grow seedlings under shelters or buy ready-made or after planting, provide it with coolness and increased humidity of air and soil.

Video: care for wild strawberries from spring to autumn

Preparation for landing

The most suitable soils:

• medium loam,
• chernozems
• sandy loam soils with acid reaction pH 5.5-6.5.

Although, with good care, this culture grows well and bears fruit on almost any soil.

When choosing plots for planting garden strawberries, preference should be given to sunny places - the more the sun, the sweeter the berry. Of great importance is the relief of the site, it should be flat or have a slight slope (5-8^º), without arid, lowland and wetlands. The distance from the surface of the earth to the groundwater level must not be less than 1 m.

Garden strawberries are very sensitive to soil quality after growing some garden and garden plants.

Best predecessors:

• garlic,
• bow,
• carrot,
• beetroot
• radish.

Areas which were previously grown are completely unsuitable for planting:

• solanaceous crops (tomatoes, potatoes), pepper, since strawberries can be affected by verticillus and fusarium wilt;
• lilies, asters, gladioli (possibly infection of strawberries with a stem nematode).

It is effective to alternate the cultivation of strawberries with sowing after three or four years of green manure (lupine, vetch, alfalfa, melilot, beans) and grain crops (oats, barley, wheat) to restore the soil.

Prepared soil should be loose and free of weeds.

Depending on the season, plants are planted in open ground or under a film. There are several ways to plant garden strawberries:

• seedlings
• dividing the bush
• seeds.

With any method of planting, you first need to prepare a site or garden. Experienced gardeners advise preparing beds two to three weeks before the expected planting date, so that the soil has time to settle and compact. The site for planting is dug up with a shovel or a milling cutter to a depth of 25-30 cm. When digging, carefully remove the rhizomes of perennial weeds. In the future, this will greatly facilitate the work of weeding. If the site has been prepared since the fall, then the soil is enough just to thoroughly loosen.

Under the digging of the soil, organic and mineral fertilizers are applied (per 1 sq. M):

• one bucket (5-7 kg) of well-rotted manure (humus);
• 70 g of superphosphate;
• 20-30 g of potassium sulfate.

Instead of mineral fertilizers, in the preparation of the garden, you can use wood ash (a liter jar) and Kemira complex fertilizer (spring-summer) - 60 g per 1 sq. Km. m Such soil fertilization before planting strawberries is the main one and it is sufficient for growing plants on this site for two or three years.

After preparing the soil, mark the site or bed. This is necessary in order to plant strawberry bushes evenly and leave a passage for processing and watering plants.

There are several schemes for planting strawberries:

• when growing in a household or summer cottage, the most common are single-row (single-row) and double-row (two-row) planting with a distance between rows of 85 cm and between plants in a row - from 15 to 35 cm. This planting pattern is considered narrow-band;
• when grown industrially, a broadband scheme is used. At the same time, plants are planted with so-called ribbons with a distance between them of 90-100 cm, between rows in a ribbon - 40-50 cm, and between bushes in a row - from 15-20 cm to 30-40 cm. The width of the aisles for servicing plantings is 60 -70 cm
  

  Usually strawberries are planted according to a narrow-lane single-row and double-row pattern.

Photo gallery: strawberry planting schemes in the ground

Planting seedlings

For spring planting of wild strawberries, you can use young seedlings of their own varieties obtained from rooted outlets and wintered in the refrigerator (see section "Planting wild strawberries with seedlings"), or purchased seedlings (preferably with a closed root system). It is best to plant strawberries in cloudy weather or in the evening, after sunset. Before landing, you should prepare everything you need:

• seedlings
• watering can with water
• shoulder blade
• mulching material.

The roots of the plants prepared for planting should be dipped in a mash of clay, vermicompost or in a solution of the root stimulant so that they do not dry out in the air. Then you can proceed directly to the planting of wild strawberries.

Do not allow drying of the roots of seedlings of strawberries

The landing process consists of several successive steps:

1. In the prepared area, a hole is made with a spatula or grooves, the distances between which must correspond to the selected landing pattern - single or double row.
2. Holding the seedling by the apex kidney, gently place it in the hole or groove. It is necessary to ensure that the roots of the plant are directed vertically down. In this position, fouling roots are formed along their entire length. The roots, which, when planted, are bent upwards, will then almost die.
3. Planted bush strawberries are covered with soil to the level of the "heart" - the apical kidney and slightly compact the soil around the bush with your hands.
4. After planting, the seedlings are watered. This should be done in several steps, carefully so as not to expose the roots of the plants.
5. When the water is completely absorbed, the soil around the strawberry bushes is mulched with peat, overripe sawdust, dried grass cuttings.
   

   When planting garden strawberries, the apical bud - the "heart" should be at ground level

It is unacceptable to fill the apical bud - the "heart" of the seedling with earth - this will lead to its poor development, lack of fruiting and death.

To plant strawberries in low areas, in order to avoid strong overmoistening of the soil, it is recommended to design beds. At the selected location, mark the sizes of the future beds and install side and end fences. To do this, use boards, border tiles, metal profiles, tiles. The decorated space of the bed is filled with fertile fertile soil and strawberries are planted according to the usual scheme.

Video: planting strawberries in the open ground

Planting garden strawberries in the tree circle

For the cultivation of wild strawberries, the space of the near-trunk circle of young seedlings of fruit trees is well suited.

1. In a tree trunk circle in a radius of 50-70 cm, loosen the soil to a depth of 8-10 cm to prevent damage to its root system.
2. They bring 4-5 buckets of humus, a liter jar of wood ash, 0.5 cups of complex fertilizer.
3. The soil is thoroughly mixed with fertilizers, leveled with a rake and plant 5-7 outlets of strawberries.
4. It is watered and mulched with straw or dried grass with a layer of at least 5 cm. It is very important that the mulch does not touch the strawberry bushes and the tree trunk.
   

   When planting garden strawberries in the near-stem circle, both the tree and the berry feel good

With this planting in the “flower beds”, both strawberries and seedlings win: there is no loss of moisture, weeds do not grow, the soil is loose and breathable. Three years later, when the crown of the tree grows and will give a lot of shade, strawberries are transplanted to another place.

I have observed this more than once: they planted a plant, and on the 3-4th day after planting, they already begin to feed it with fertilizers or diluted manure. This is a common mistake. For two weeks after planting, the plants do not need to be fed anything. And disappointments happen due to the fact that in the first year after spring planting in June or July they expect large berries and a large crop from the plant. When they see a not-so-large berry and, of course, a small crop, they are disappointed in the variety. In the first year, the plant will give the berry, but it is premature to judge the merits and demerits of the variety by this berry. A full-fledged harvest from short-day varieties (fruiting once a season) should be expected only next year. In neutral-day varieties, the first flowers that appear in the spring after planting must be removed, and then in the autumn it will be possible to harvest.

Yulia Babenko, amateur gardener, Voronezh

Household Farm Magazine, No. 3, 2010

Care and feeding

After planting, strawberries need to be taken care of - regularly water, loosen the soil and remove weeds. In the first two years, seedlings do not fertilize, they need only fertilizer when planting. Strawberries are fed as needed if there is not enough nutrients in the soil or cold weather with prolonged rains. As a top dressing, you can use complex mineral fertilizers (the amount is given per 1 sq. M beds):

• nitrophosco - 20 g;
• nitroammofosku - 18 g;
• diammophos - 12 g;
• ammophos - 11 g.

They are introduced into the grooves with a depth of 10-12 cm, laid along the row at a distance of 15 cm from it. After top dressing, the soil in the grooves is poured with water and covered with earth or mulched. Foliar top dressing is carried out before the appearance of peduncles by the ideal organic-mineral fertilizer.

Video: feeding strawberries in spring

If, after planting strawberries in open ground or on beds, there is hot, dry weather, it is advisable to prune the loose seedlings for several days. This must be done in order to strengthen the root system of young plants and evaporation from the leaves was minimal. For shading, you can use cloth panels (they are thrown directly onto the planted bushes), a special net (it is pulled over the landing area) or improvised means (buckets, containers from seedlings, basins).

Planting seedlings

When updating plantings of garden strawberries is required, the question of seedlings arises. Naturally, strawberries propagate using rosettes that form on the mustache.

Whiskers are long, very flexible shoots that are formed from the vegetative buds of the lower part of the horn (annual growth of the plant). They are massively formed after the end of the fruiting period. On bushes of wild strawberries grown for seedlings (the so-called mother plants), and on young non-bearing plants, they grow earlier than on fruiting ones. On each mustache, its daughter plants are formed - rosettes and a new mustache. Each uterine bush can give from 10 to 30 mustaches.

However, for new plantings, sockets from fruiting plants are not recommended, so as not to transfer possible pests or diseases with them. For the cultivation of environmentally friendly seedlings that are free of diseases, mother liquors are used that do not give a crop. To get high-quality seedlings, the mother plant is laid on a site with good fertile soil, possibly protected from the winds and slightly shaded. The optimum is considered to be the site on which legumes or grain crops grew before strawberries, or the site under black vapor (free from any plants).

Elite cultivars of strawberries are planted in the mother liquor

Bushes for seedlings are grown one, a maximum of two years. As a rule, elite strawberry varieties are planted in the mother liquor; they are planted in spring (mid-May) or autumn (late August or early September).

1. Flower buds on uterine bushes are removed.
2. When the strawberry bush forms a mustache with rosettes, they are laid out along the rows.
3. Sockets are slightly buried in the soil and sprinkled with earth for rooting.
4. In the process of growing seedlings, it is regularly watered using sprinklers or from a hose with a spray. Water consumption during irrigation should be at least 1.5-2 buckets per 1 square. m
5. After watering, the aisles are loosened and mulched.
6. Sprouted weeds are destroyed by spraying with solutions of herbicides.

Photo gallery: planting and growing garden strawberries seedlings

Seedlings of good quality should be:

• annual;
• with roots of 5-7 cm or more;
• with 3-5 (and more) well-developed leaves;
• without mechanical damage and signs of wilting;
• with a well-developed apical kidney on the horn;
• with a fibrous root system.
  

  Seedlings of garden strawberries should have a well-developed apical bud

For autumn planting, strawberry seedlings are dug up in August or October and immediately planted in the ground. If planting is planned in the spring, seedlings are hardened at low air and soil temperatures during October and November, then the leaves are mowed and dug up. Plants should be treated with fungicide, placed in plastic bags and stored in the refrigerator at a temperature of 0-3 ° C or in the freezer. Such seedlings are called frigo.

The prospect of using frigo strawberry seedlings (dug seedlings are stored in air-tight packaging in the freezer before planting) has found more and more evidence in recent years. The advantage of this seedling is that it is stored in the refrigerator at -20 ° C and it can be taken for planting at the best time. In the southern regions, scientists advise seedlings for storage in November and December, in the more northern - in October and November. The main indicator of plant readiness is a uniform brown color of roots extending from the rhizome. In dug plants, the soil must be washed off from the roots in 2-3 doses. The leaves are removed, the plants are bundled and placed in bags of 0.05 mm thick plastic film, treated with an aqueous solution of Fundazole, slightly weathered and sealed.

E. Yaroslavtsev, candidate of agricultural sciences.

Household Management Journal, No. 2, 2010

Video: planting strawberries seedlings

It often happens that the gardener is completely satisfied with the variety of cultivated strawberries, but planting requires updating. In this case, you can use seedlings from your own site. In this case, it is desirable to clean it from pests, to conduct disinfection. The most reliable way is to warm the plants in hot water. This technique contributes to the destruction of both the nematode and the strawberry tick. Heated seedlings will take root well in the spring.

The best time for heat treatment is early spring, while the plants are at rest.

1. Take two containers of different sizes. One tank is placed in another so that between them there is free space for water.
2. At the bottom of a larger container, wooden blocks are placed on which a second, inner container is placed.
3. Both containers are filled with hot water and put on fire. Water should be +48 ^ºC. A temperature below is useless - pests will not be destroyed.
4. Plants are lowered “upside down” along with the roots into the internal container for 15 minutes.
5. Then they are removed and immersed in the same way for 10-15 minutes in cold water, and even better - in a very weak, pale pink solution of potassium permanganate.

To measure the temperature during seedling processing, a special water thermometer with divisions of 0.5 ºС is used.

If it is planned to use purchased seedlings for planting strawberries, it should also be processed for disinfection. Otherwise, seedlings are planted in the same way as described in the section "Planting strawberries with seedlings."

After receiving the seedlings, I cut off the extra leaves, leaving only one real leaf and heart. I carefully inspect the roots, cut off all the rotted areas to healthy tissue. Before planting, seedlings prepared in this way are lowered for 10 minutes in a Tiovit-Jet solution, diluted according to the instructions, or in a solution of colloidal sulfur. After that, I wash the seedlings with water. I pour the planting holes with a solution of Humate. I place the seedling in the hole so that the roots do not turn up and the heart is at the level of the soil surface.

Yulia Babenko, amateur gardener, Voronezh

Household Farm Magazine, No. 3, 2010

Fit under black cover material

To accelerate the ripening of the crop in recent years, black plastic film is actively used. This is practical because:

• on a sunny day, the soil under the black film warms up faster and stronger, and in the evening the film retains heat for a long time;
• moisture in the soil is stored for a long time, since the evaporation of water from under the film is minimal;
• there is no need for frequent weeding of weeds; the soil in rows is not loosened. In the first year of fruiting, weeds weed around the plants (inside the holes in the film) and loosen aisles 3-4 times;
• there is no contact of berries with the ground, so they remain clean throughout the entire ripening period. In addition, there is no danger of diseases of garden strawberries with fungal diseases and damage by pests;
• the mustache with sockets does not take root and can be easily removed if necessary;
• the film can be used on one bed or plot throughout the entire time of cultivation of strawberries, that is, up to 3-4 years.
  

  Black cover material for strawberries can be used for 2-3 years

The disadvantages of growing strawberries using a black film include:

• inconvenience of watering plants through openings for planting;
• overheating in case of extreme heat in the summer - burns may appear on the leaves. To avoid this, in the summer with strong heat, straw or dry grass should be scattered over the film.

Plant strawberry under a black film in this way:

1. A bed prepared and fertilized in the usual way is covered with a black film, dripping along the edges or fixing the edges with improvised materials (boards, metal profiles, paving slabs, etc.).
2. According to the usual planting scheme, holes with a diameter of 5-7 cm are cut into the film, into which seedlings are planted.

In winter, the roots of strawberries under the film are protected from frost, and in spring the snow on the black surface melts earlier and the earth warms up faster. As soon as the snow is falling, arcs can be placed above the bed and covered with a transparent film. With this method of shelter, strawberries bloom 2 weeks earlier than undiscovered. With the beginning of flowering, the film must be lifted on one side to provide ventilation and access by insects for pollination of plants.

During flowering, the film above the strawberry must be lifted on one side to provide ventilation and access for pollination by insects

If strawberries grown on a black film need to be propagated, they do this:

1. A mustache with sockets is laid on a container with moist soil and pinned with wire.
2. When the outlet takes root, it is cut off and transplanted to a permanent place.

A substitute for a polymer film can be a cheap (5-6 times cheaper than a film) special thermohydrophobic paper, which decomposes after the end of its life, without clogging the soil.

Yu.V. Trunov, Doctor of Agricultural Sciences, Professor

"Fruit growing." Publishing House "KolosS", Moscow, 2012

As a more modern and effective material for the cultivation of garden strawberries in a covering way, non-woven materials are used - agrotex or black spanbond. These materials compare favorably with the plastic film in that they are hygroscopic (that is, leak moisture) and breathable, so watering and ventilating the land is much easier.

Video: planting strawberries under agricultural material

Transplanting garden strawberries in spring

It is known that garden strawberries grow well and bear fruit abundantly in the same place for 3-4 years. Then the yield and quality of berries are sharply reduced. To prolong the fruiting of plants, they are transplanted to a new place. It is not necessary to transplant strawberries with seedlings. Two or three year old bushes are perfect for this, especially if the variety has high quality indicators.

You can transplant, as well as landing, in the spring, summer or autumn - depending on weather factors and climatic conditions. In the southern regions, autumn is considered the best time for transplanting, so that the transplanted strawberry bushes bloom in the spring and yield a crop. In the northern and middle latitudes, a spring-summer transplant is preferred.

Video: strawberry transplant in spring

A new plot for growing strawberries is being prepared similarly to a plot for planting seedlings or seedlings. The transplant process also has much in common with the planting process, with the only difference being that when transplanting a plant, it is carefully dug out along with a lump of earth surrounding the roots. The transplanted bush of strawberries can not be deeply buried in the ground, the apical bud must remain at the level of the soil surface. After transplanting, the plant should be abundantly watered and mulch the soil around the bush.

Planting strawberries in the regions

When planting and growing garden strawberries in the regions, one should first of all take into account the climatic conditions of the area, the duration of the warm period and air temperature in spring and summer, the abundance or insufficiency of snow in winter, the tendency to aridity or waterlogging of the soil, etc. Strawberries are not hardy and winters well. only under snow cover. Decrease in temperature in the late autumn to -10 ^ºC in the absence of snow cover causes freezing of plants, and at -15 ^ºC is their death. Under a layer of snow with a thickness of 20 cm or more, strawberries tolerate short-term frosts up to -25-30 ^ºC. In most areas, the most dangerous are sharp drops in temperature in the fall, before snow falls, and in spring, after it melts.

In Belarus

The best time for planting strawberries in Belarus is spring - the last week of April or the beginning of May. At this time, the soil is already warm enough, and the air temperature is kept within 10-18 ^ºC. This allows young seedlings to take root and begin to quickly develop the root and vegetative system. Since the summer in Belarus is short, rather cool and rainy, the zoned strawberry varieties of early ripening are best grown and bear fruit:

• Kokinskaya early
• Lviv early.

Well suited for Belarus and varieties of medium term fruiting:

• Festival daisy,
• Roxana

Photo gallery: zoned varieties of strawberry garden large-fruited for Belarus

Repairing varieties have also proven themselves well. The most productive are one- and two-year-old plants, in subsequent years, the yield decreases sharply. This is due to the cool and humid climate of Belarus. In addition, in frosty winters with little snow, strawberries can freeze.

For planting, slopes of the southern and southwestern orientations, which are the longest lit by the sun, are most suitable. If the site for planting has waterlogged soil, it is necessary to plant strawberries on high ridges to avoid being affected by gray rot. In most of Belarus, the soil composition is suitable for growing this crop, with the exception of lowland and wetlands.

The planting process is standard, it can be planted both in open ground and under cover with a film or agrofibre. Before winter cold, beds with strawberry planting should be well mulled and covered with straw, sawdust, film or dry foliage. During the winter, it is advisable to additionally rake snow on the beds.

In Ukraine

Garden strawberries in Ukraine are considered one of the main berry crops. Its cultivation is facilitated by a mild, warm climate and fertile chernozem soils. The main areas of cultivation are traditionally the southern and western regions of Ukraine.

Video: strawberry planting in Ukraine

Strawberries are planted during the entire warm time, from late March to August. In the southern regions in early spring, in the central and western regions - in late April or early May. Thanks to the mild winters, strawberries are planted mainly in the fall in order to receive the first crop in the spring and summer of next year.

Landing in the southern regions is preferable to areas with a northern and north-western orientation, since on the southern and eastern slopes the soil loses moisture faster. Planting and caring for strawberries in Ukraine do not differ from ordinary ones, but in hot weather in summer, plants should be provided with regular and plentiful watering.

In Siberia

In Siberia, strawberry seedlings are best planted in spring, from late April to mid-May. Although some gardeners prefer autumn planting. For cultivation, winter-hardy, early-growing varieties having increased resistance to fungal diseases are most suitable. In the Siberian regions, garden strawberries bear fruit steadily for two years, then plantings should be renewed.

In order to avoid undergrowth of bushes in autumn, it is advisable to cover the plants after establishing minus air temperatures to -2 ^ºC. As a shelter for strawberries for the winter period, mulch, agromaterial, and film are used. In the spring, during thaws, in order to avoid freezing of plants on the beds, snow retention should be done using shields or large branches.

During thaws in Siberia, snow retention should be carried out on beds with garden strawberries to avoid freezing of bushes

The process of planting and transplanting strawberry garden in Siberia is no different from the usual. To strengthen the plants and good fruiting in the spring, additional foliar dressings are added with any stimulants for berry crops. Spraying produce:

• before flowering
• when tying berries
• during the ripening of the crop.

Video: wild strawberry under cover material

Gardeners are increasingly attracted to year-round cultivation of garden strawberries. This involves planting seedlings in open ground under film shelters (beginning or end of June), growing berries using conventional technology (second decade of June or end of July), using winter greenhouses (from January to May and from September to December). All methods of planting and growing garden strawberries, subject to good care and competent agricultural technology, will provide high and stable yields of sweet berries.