Seven Secrets of a Good Strawberry Harvest

Every summer resident or gardener dreams of achieving such a strawberry harvest that you can enjoy these berries for all summer and collect them daily at least in a small bucket. And it is also advisable not to use mineral fertilizers and pesticides. Experienced gardeners offer to take advantage of their growing secrets. They highlight seven main secrets.

Secret 1. Variety of strawberry varieties

Having spent more than one year on their plot or garden, choosing and tasting numerous varieties of strawberries, some stop at one type of berry. It seems that this variety is ideal for the area you have chosen. But don't dwell on just one variety.

In order for strawberries to produce a harvest all summer, you need to choose at least 5-6 different varieties of strawberries. Two of them must be early ripening, one or two mid-ripening varieties and at least one late variety. Each berry variety (or two varieties according to ripening time) must be planted in a separate bed. This will allow you to observe each variety and identify all its positive and negative sides. Such tactics will help in the future to make the right choice between different varieties.

There are also such universal (remontant) strawberry varieties that can bloom and bear fruit repeatedly throughout the warm season. True, she needs special care and growing rules.

Secret 2. Mulching strawberries

Since the bushes of this berry love moist soil, you need to create such conditions for it, even if there is no possibility of constant watering in the beds. Will come to the rescue soil mulching.

As a mulching material, you can use cut grass or straw, uprooted weeds or wood shavings. But the ideal mulch for strawberries will be needles. With its aroma, it will scare away pests and protect against diseases. The needles are able to retain moisture in the soil for a long time, and after rotting it will become an excellent fertilizer.

In order for the strawberry bushes to be protected in winter, you need to cover the beds with fallen leaves at the end of fruiting. With such mulch, berries are not afraid of even severe frosts.

Secret 3. Removing buds from young strawberries

Strawberry bushes in the first year of life delight their owners with good flowering. Each flower is an expectation of an increase in yield. But in fact, young bushes need to be prepared for the future bountiful harvest. Each bush should take root well and develop its own root system. For this, he does not yet have enough strength.

In the first year, he can only one of two things - give a good harvest or take root well. If the flowers that have appeared are not removed in time, then all forces will go to fruiting, and an undeveloped root system will not protect the plant in the winter cold. Therefore, be patient until next summer and ruthlessly remove any emerging flowers. Such a bush will get stronger enough, since all its strength will go to the development of roots.And next year he will certainly thank him with a good harvest.

Secret 4. Timely watering of strawberries

Strawberries are very fond of water. Even if the beds are covered with mulch, it is still necessary to keep the soil moist. With mulching material, the amount of watering is reduced significantly. But the plant needs water during all periods of growth and development.

In temperate climates, watering the berry bushes is enough once a week, in the summer - twice a week, and on dry and hot days - daily. If the weather has given a generous rain, then watering is not necessary. Sometimes, along with watering, various dressings are introduced into the soil.

Secret 5. Feeding strawberries

Each gardener must decide for himself what kind of fertilizers to feed strawberries - mineral or organic. But it will certainly be difficult for strawberries without dressing. This process must be repeated at least three times during the entire season: before flowering, during the ripening of berries and at the end of fruiting (possible at the beginning of autumn). But those who have chosen remontant strawberries will have to work harder. These types of berries require weekly feeding. Only with them can you expect a plentiful and long-term harvest.

If you are for organic fertilizers, then use the available means: ash or herb infusion. Ash is added to the soil in the autumn and after each berry collection. It should be poured directly under each strawberry bush. The herbal infusion is prepared for three days. The container is filled to the top with grass and filled with warm water.

You can feed the bushes with vermicompost infusion. One glass of this drug is diluted in ten liters of water and kept for a day. Then mix equal parts of water and infusion and water the plants.

Secret 6. Removing the whiskers from fruiting strawberries

For the growth and development of the whiskers, the plant spends a large amount of nutrients that would be more needed by ripening berries. If you do not remove the mustache in time, the berries will be small and lose their taste. They will have a lot of water, but little sweetness, and it will be more difficult to keep them. Therefore, timely removal of the whiskers is the key to a good harvest.

Secret 7. Protecting strawberries from pests

If you are against the use of chemicals in your summer cottage or garden, then you should take care in advance to prevent pests from entering the strawberry beds. Prevention is a great power, use proven methods.

During the period of leaf formation on the bushes, in early spring, use any biostimulant. He needs to process every strawberry bush. And after another two weeks, fix the result with the "Summer resident" means. This biological product will not allow its most important pest, the weevil, to approach the plant.

Plant onions and garlic, marigold flowers, or marigolds next to strawberry beds. The scent of these plants will scare away all pests.

You can close access to pests to strawberries using a covering material. The beds can be covered with foil and left until the flowering period begins.