It turns out that it is quite possible to harvest ripe strawberries in the year of planting. The main thing is to properly care for it and choose the right varieties.
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Varieties bearing fruit in the year of planting
Not every strawberry variety is capable of producing a crop in the same year that it was planted. For this purpose, remontant varieties and NSD varieties are suitable - neutral daylight hours. This means that these strawberries can yield more than once a season.
Having planted such strawberries, you will notice that the flower stalks appeared after a few weeks. But if the goal is to get the harvest as early as possible, then they should be removed. This must be done in order to give the plant strength to form a root system, and not to grow berries. Flowers should be harvested before June, and in July, allow the seedlings to begin to form the fruits themselves. If these requirements are met, then already at the end of summer or at the beginning of autumn, you can remove the first fruits of garden strawberries.
Due to the difference in taste preferences, experienced gardeners advise the following varieties: Profusion, Albion, Temptation, Queen Elizabeth II, Brighton, Lubava, Felicia, Monterey.
When to plant strawberries
Strawberries are usually planted in August or September. But if you want to try the berries this season, then planting should start in the spring. For central Russia, the best time to plant strawberries is April-May. But don't stick to exact deadlines. You need to focus on the air temperature: the optimal time will come when the air warms up to 15 degrees, and this temperature will not decrease.
How to choose and prepare a site
Strawberries are very fond of sunlight. Therefore, choose a well-lit area that is sheltered from the wind. If it is located from north to south, then you will receive coverage for the whole day.
Garden strawberries are moisture-loving plants, but do not choose a site for planting them in lowlands or in areas where groundwater lies close to the surface. This will have a bad effect on the processes of plant formation. It can also lead to fungal infections.
The best soil for strawberries is sandy loam or loamy. The soil should be neutral or slightly acidic. A suitable pH for such a soil is from 5.5 to 6.5.
The soil must be fertile, since a good harvest is possible only on soil saturated with useful substances. It is worth feeding the land ahead of time, since the fall. In the fall, you need to add about 10 kg of compost or humus, 30 grams of potassium sulfate and 100 grams of superphosphate per 1 square of planting area. This composition must be dug deep enough into the ground, 30 cm. If the soil pH is low, then it should be increased. To do this, before digging up the earth, sprinkle it with slaked lime or dolomite flour: about 300 g or a little more per square of earth. If the soil on the site is heavy and clayey, then in order to improve its structure, you need to mix it with low-lying peat. 1 square of land will need 15 kg of peat.
Before planting in the spring, you should dig up the soil and level it well. You also need to disinfect the ground. To do this, apply a solution of copper sulfate (300 g per 10 liters of water) to the surface of the soil. You can also use "Fitosporin-A, Gamair or Alirin-B.
How to feed garden strawberries
Since strawberries of NSD and remontant varieties quickly select from the soil all the substances it needs, it is simply necessary to feed it regularly.
- The first feeding should be done 4 weeks after planting. To do this, you need to prepare a solution from mullein (dilute 1 part of mullein in 15 parts of water and insist for 3 days), compost (in 10 liters of water, stir a kilogram of compost) or chicken droppings (dilute 1 part of droppings in 20 parts of water and insist 3 days). Water with this composition at the rate of 1 liter of solution per 1 bush.
- The rest of the organic fertilizing should be carried out at intervals of 14 days. In addition to the above methods, you can use herbal infusion, yeast fertilization or ash. But in July, you need to stop using organic fertilizers - they contain nitrogen, and this will already harm the strawberries.
- In August, you can fertilize the bushes with fertilizing containing minerals. For example, potassium-phosphoric, based on 1 square of land, it is necessary to make 20 g of potassium sulfate and 30 g of superphosphate.
In the fall, it is better to use special complex fertilizers.
Do you plant strawberries in spring?
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