Strawberries - do you need to mow the greens?
The question is, in fact, on topic. I have been growing strawberries for four years now, from one small bed growing into several large ones.
When I expanded the plantation and divided the bushes, everything was fine. Now the berry patch has grown and despite the fact that I remove the extra tendrils, it turns out to be a continuous carpet. Neighboring summer residents advise mowing down all the greenery in the fall to renew the plants (and strawberries themselves do not grow).
I read the Internet - they say that in our region there is no need to mow - it will freeze. What to do?
I always mow down the leaves of strawberries in the fall. I do this to make it easier to get the beds in proper shape in the spring. I’ve never had strawberries freeze over, but I try to sprinkle more of it on the strawberry beds as soon as the snow falls.
I mow immediately after harvesting. And to protect it from frost, I cover it with straw or hay for the winter. Another option is to use fallen leaves.
I think it is necessary to mow
otherwise your “carpet” will reduce the size of the strawberry itself.
How to properly care is written here:
http://agronomu.com/cpost/rastenievodstvo/jagodovodstvo/klubnika/,
You can cover it with anything, but mowing the greenery is necessary.
You need to mow or cut off all the large leaves and water the ground
In the month of August, we always mow the strawberries after they have borne fruit. The next year, it grows quickly and produces a good harvest of berries. When we don’t do this, the strawberry harvest the next year is smaller.
It may freeze here too, but after fruiting we prune it, by winter it will grow again, but you probably already need to renew your bushes, plant new ones, if everything is so overgrown.
Petrol lawnmower 4.5 HP; 3.4 kW; cutting width 460 mm INTERTOOL LM-4545
Mowing leaves is an outdated method of caring for strawberries. You can do this, but it is not the best option.
After harvesting, strawberries must gain strength in order to bear fruit the next year, and if you mow the leaves to zero, the bush does not accumulate strength, but rather spends it on growing new tops.
You should cut off the tendrils, old leaves, leaves affected by diseases and infections (red and with spots) and leave young ones, literally one rosette of small leaves.
Yes, it’s a lot of fuss... Well, if you’re too lazy to fuss, then you really should just mow everything down.