Growing strawberries in open ground

The only people who don't like strawberries are those who are allergic to them. Although even they love it, they simply cannot afford to eat it.

Growing strawberries outdoors is simply growing strawberries in your garden plot. Open ground means your garden bed, unprotected, for example, by a greenhouse.

Content:

• How to choose suitable soil and prepare it for planting strawberries
• How to choose seedlings for strawberries and plant them correctly
• Proper care of strawberries and disease control

How to choose suitable soil and prepare it for planting strawberries

Grow strawberries It is possible in any soil; it is quite unpretentious to the composition of the soil. But still, chernozem soils with the addition of ash are considered more favorable. But peat soil components are not recommended for strawberries, although many consider peat to be a rich soil for growing them.

Before planting strawberries, the soil must be prepared, especially if it has not been cultivated before. If there may be chafer larvae or wireworms in the soil, then, if possible, it is better to choose another place for planting strawberries.

The closer the shelterbelts are located to the garden plot, the higher the likelihood of them being in the ground. If this is not possible, then alkaloid lupine can be planted on the site to control pests (the larvae die from eating its beans).

Or you can add an ammonia solution to the soil (according to the 2 l/ha scheme).If perennial grass weeds are found in sufficiently large quantities at a summer cottage, then the soil should be treated with a Roundup solution (3 l/ha). This should be done in the autumn, and in October it is advisable to plow the area deeper. In winter, soil moisture is maintained by snow cover. In the spring and on the eve of planting, the soil is harrowed (to a depth of at least 15 cm).

How to choose seedlings for strawberries and plant them correctly

To obtain high yields and visually attractive berries, it is recommended to choose for planting elite varieties of strawberries, as well as the first reproduction. When selecting seedlings, it is advisable to buy sorted and pre-healthed ones. A fibrous root system with shoots of about 8 cm is preferred; the diameter of the root collar should be at least 6 mm. You can use seedlings after digging them up at the end of autumn, provided they have successfully wintered at low temperatures.

It is best to plant strawberries on the southwestern side, preferably with a slope of 2-3 degrees: the bushes grow faster and the harvest ripens much earlier. It is not recommended to grow strawberries in lowlands. For good growth of strawberries in open ground, you should also check its acidity: the ideal level would be 5.5-6.5.

Strawberry seedlings are planted in open ground in early spring or early autumn. Moreover, in the spring, planting should be done as early as conditions allow to begin gardening work. Autumn planting falls within the range from mid-August to the 20th of September; it is advisable to plant seedlings after rain or watering the soil. The soil should not be very wet, but moist enough.If you plant seedlings in late spring or autumn, a significant part of them may die.

When planting, the box with seedlings should be placed in the shade, after keeping it in a cool place for five days. When planting strawberries in open ground, make sure that the neck of the bush is at ground level and the roots are located vertically in the hole.

You also need to check the length of the roots and, if necessary, shorten them to 10 cm.

Proper care of strawberries and disease control

After planting, the soil is watered and sprinkled with humus or dry soil to retain moisture in the soil for a longer period of time. The first couple of weeks after planting seedlings are the most critical - it is necessary to keep the soil constantly moist. Watering should be daily, so the strawberries take root faster. After this, watering is reduced to once every two days.

Despite the fact that strawberries love moisture, excessive watering has a detrimental effect on it - it increases susceptibility to diseases and pests (in particular, to powdery mildew, gray rot), its winter hardiness decreases and fewer generative buds grow (which ultimately leads to a decrease in yield).

You should not neglect other measures in caring for strawberries: hand weeding, constant monitoring and ridding of weeds between rows, pest control.

If strawberries are affected by diseases, it is advisable to identify this as early as possible (therefore, regular inspection is necessary). At the initial stage, the bushes are treated with a composition containing copper oxychloride (1 tablespoon is added to 10 liters of water). This is suitable for powdery mildew, rot and spotting.

If the strawberry beetle, weevil or transparent mite has attacked, then spraying with karbofos (3 tbsp.spoons are added to 10 liters of water). One of the preventive measures is to transplant strawberries to a new site every four years.

Growing strawberries in open ground involves watering them regularly, without a long period of drying out. If proper watering is not carried out, strawberry yields drop significantly. For convenience, you can install it on the site drip irrigation system or sprinkler system.
And, of course, it is important to remove weeds, which multiply quite actively in open ground, and to fight pests that can destroy the entire crop and plantings.

For self-confident gardeners, growing strawberries is not such a troublesome task, and the pleasure of eating one of the most delicious berries will be your reward for your hard work!