Strawberry- the common name of the plant and berries nutmeg strawberries (lat. Fragaria moschata = Fragaria elatior) which became widespread in the 20th century. The very word "strawberry" is derived from the old Russian "club", which in ancient times meant something round, spherical. Musky strawberries, she is also nutmeg strawberries, she is also high or Spanish strawberries, and sometimes just shpanka, she is also high, garden, real, European strawberries - a herbaceous perennial of the genus Strawberry of the Pink family. Often referred to as strawberries garden strawberries, or large-fruited, or pineapple (lat. Fragaria × ananassa)- well, in different decades, either nutmeg strawberries or pineapple strawberries were massively cultivated in the gardens - both of them were called strawberries or “victoria” (after the name of the popular variety). Now most often they grow nutmeg strawberries, so now it is strawberries. This berry has been known to mankind since antiquity - references to it were found in Egyptian and Greek written documents, and even in Virgil. Nowadays, this berry is mostly cultivated in Europe and in both Americas.

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Strawberry bushes - description

Strawberry is a herbaceous perennial plant, the bushes of which reach a height of 15-35 cm. The stems of strawberries are erect, pubescent with a glandular pile. Strawberry leaves are trifoliate, large, light green in color. Strawberry flowering looks attractive - white five-petal flowers with a double perianth are collected in corymbose inflorescences of 5-12 pieces. The so-called strawberry is actually an overgrown receptacle with numerous small nut fruits located on its surface. Strawberries have a sweet-sour taste and a pleasant aroma.

Fruiting time for strawberries

The flowering and fruiting of strawberries has no clear time limits - each variety has its own. In varieties with one-time fruiting, the active period is very short. Early varieties begin to bear fruit in May. One of the earliest varieties, Alba and Lambada, bear fruit from the second decade of May to early June, the fruits of the Darselect and Hani varieties ripen a little later, followed by Crown, Eliani, Polka, Elsanta with a shift of 3-4 days. All these varieties begin fruiting in May, but there are later varieties - June and July: strawberries in June are varieties Symphonia, Florence, Victoriani, and strawberries in July are Malvina.

Remontant varieties, or varieties of a neutral day, vegetating almost to frost and fruiting several times during this period, also differ in terms of fruiting, but such strawberries begin to ripen in the summer. For example, Portola strawberry picking starts only in August and lasts until mid-November, Flamenco varieties - from mid-August to mid-December, and varieties such as Albion, Marling Pearl and Opal Pearl bear fruit from July to December.

Next, we will tell you how to care for strawberries from the moment fruiting stops until the time when all life in the garden stops altogether - how to water strawberries, when and how to feed her, Do I need to cut it and how to do it.

Strawberries after harvest - care

Watering strawberries

Cultivation of strawberries does not end at the moment when berries stop appearing on the bushes. Even after the harvest is harvested, strawberry care continues. After all, strawberries do not stop growing and developing after harvesting, so one of the most important points for caring for them is moistening the soil on the site. How often to water strawberries so that she can recover, get stronger and build up the buds for the next harvest? It is necessary to water infrequently, about once a week or a decade, but abundantly so that the soil is saturated with moisture deeper - surface watering will not bring any benefit.

weeding strawberries

After watering, it is necessary to loosen the soil in the area to a depth of 10 cm, but use the chopper very carefully near the bushes - do not damage the root system. During loosening, spud strawberry bushes, sprinkling the growing adventitious roots with earth. Simultaneously with loosening, remove the emerging weeds. Make sure that the beds for strawberries are not overgrown with grass. Remove the weeds in the aisles, and then pour any small rubbish into the passages cleared of grass - sawdust, dry branches, chips, etc. This measure will prevent overgrowing of the area with strawberries with weeds. Later, in the fall, you will have to weed the weeds again, but there will be much less of them if you do the main work of destroying them in the summer, immediately after picking the berries.

Top dressing strawberries

How to feed strawberries

Organic fertilizer for strawberries has proven itself perfectly - horse manure, humus or mullein. Strawberries also respond well to the introduction of chicken manure as a top dressing. You can also use more modern means - mineral fertilizers, for example, ammophos, which includes nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium, as well as magnesium, sulfur and calcium. It is highly undesirable to apply chlorine-containing fertilizers, since strawberries do not tolerate chlorine well.

How to fertilize strawberries

Immediately after removing weeds and loosening the soil, spread small pieces of mullein or horse manure around the site. All subsequent waterings and rains will gradually dissolve these substances, release microelements from them and deliver them deep into the soil, to the strawberry roots. But the method of fertilizing the site with chicken manure is much faster. To do this, fresh litter in a ratio of 1:20 is diluted in water, mixing thoroughly, and the composition is poured under the strawberry bushes. Consumption is approximately the following: one bucket for 8-10 strawberry bushes.

If you decide to use mineral fertilizers, scatter them over the garden, dig into the ground with a chopper, and then water the area. So that after moistening the soil a crust does not form on its surface, mulch the area with strawberries with peat or pine needles. In the future, you can loosen the soil and water the strawberries through the mulch.

pruning strawberries

When to prune strawberries

Do not put off pruning strawberries until the fall, do it immediately after the strawberries have ceased to bear fruit. As for remontant varieties, it is better not to cut the bushes that bear fruit the first year at all, removing only weak or diseased leaves and mustaches, if the variety you grow forms them. Remontant strawberries are cultivated only for a year or two, then their yield decreases markedly, and the berries become smaller.

How to prune strawberries after harvest

Remove bushes from the site that will no longer bear fruit - in their place you can still have time to grow some later crop this year. From those bushes that will bear fruit next year, you need to cut off all the foliage at a height of 10 cm from the ground, and also remove the strawberry mustache. Do not worry that the strawberries were left without leaves after pruning - before winter, they will still have time to build them up.

Strawberry processing - prevention

How to treat strawberries for diseases

In the fight to ensure that diseases and pests of strawberries do not deprive you of the harvest of berries, the best remedy is scrupulous observance of the agrotechnical conditions for its cultivation, because strawberry diseases are a consequence of a violation of the rules for caring for it. However, there are times when strawberries get sick, even if you follow all the rules. To prevent this from happening, it is necessary to carry out preventive treatment of strawberries from diseases, and this should be done in the fall. It is best to spray strawberries and the area with nitrofen - this drug will destroy all pathogenic viruses and fungi on strawberries and in the ground.

Features of the care and processing of strawberries in autumn and summer.

Strawberries are a delicious and sweet berry. It can be used to make jam and compote. And it also has delicious pies. But in order for the plant to give a good harvest, some care is needed. Bushes should be looked after at all times of the year.

In the summer, there are not so many manipulations with strawberry bushes. There is no need to cut it. But for good fruiting, some care is still needed.

Summer care:

• Immediately after fruiting, weeding is necessary. This will improve air circulation in the root area.
• Hilling. In August, the roots of the bushes begin to become bare. Therefore, you can sprinkle the roots with moist soil. This will prevent them from drying out and allowing them to grow.
• Application of mineral fertilizers. Ash or phosphates are introduced. Basically, it is recommended to water the bushes with a mineral solution.
• Many recommend cutting green leaves completely after harvest. Closer to autumn, the green part will appear again.

Whiskers should be trimmed after fruiting. A large number of antennae form throughout the summer. A lot of people don't recommend trimming your mustache. But still there is an opinion that the mustache can grow into the ground and lead to a weakening of the bush. This in turn reduces the yield.

Mustache Trimming Instructions:

• Early in the morning or in the evening after sunset, pruning is necessary.
• Pruning is done with garden shears. It is impossible to pull and cut off the mustache. You can damage the bush
• Pruning is carried out at the very base of the antennae. After pruning, some mustaches can be rooted.

Leaf pruning order:

• Immediately after the end of the fruiting period, pruning of leaves is carried out. They are removed with scissors.
• In addition, you need to view all the leaves. Young leaves should not be cut.
• After the detection of pests, all leaves are mowed. After that, you can mulch the soil with straw.

In August, a number of activities are carried out:

• Mustache trimming and rooting. This will allow you to have a small amount of planting material for next year.
• Leaf pruning and revision. You can mow or remove old leaves. If a tick is found, then the leaves are burned
• Next, the bushes are treated with hot water mites. Its temperature is 65 °C.
• The soil is loosened and mulched with straw. Sprinkle bare roots with soil
• Plants are watered with mineral fertilizers at the rate of 10 g per bush

What work to do with strawberries in September?

Autumn time is the best period for feeding and weeding strawberries. Flowers often appear in September, but there will be no berries on them. So just pick empty flowers.

List of works in September:

• Weeding and loosening the soil. This will saturate the roots with oxygen and improve nutrition.
• Sprinkling with sawdust or pine needles. It mulches the soil
• Fertilizer. Mineral fertilizers are introduced
• Shrubs are being transplanted
• Removal and replacement of sockets. They can weaken the bush, so plant good rosettes and apply fertilizer

Fertilizing is recommended in spring and autumn. From diseases, bushes are sprayed in the spring before flowering begins. In autumn, watering with solutions of fungicides is carried out and the affected foliage is removed. Top dressing is also carried out in spring and autumn. In spring, this is compost and ash, and in autumn, mineral fertilizers. They will help strengthen the roots and prepare them for the next season.

The timing depends on the variety of strawberries. Ordinary varieties are processed after fruiting in August. And remontant varieties, before frost.

Feeding aids:

• chicken manure
• Compost
• Mullein
• wood ash

In autumn, you can fertilize with organic or mineral fertilizers. Gardeners prefer to combine organics and minerals. Organic fertilizers perfectly protect strawberries from frost. This is compost, litter and mullein.

Mineral fertilizers:

• Ammonium nitrate
• potash fertilizers
• wood ash

As you can see, strawberries require care almost all year round. These bushes, in order to get a good harvest, must be fed with mineral and organic fertilizers.

VIDEO: Feeding strawberries

Berry crops after fruiting need care, Victoria is no exception. What measures need to be taken to ensure next year's harvest? Let's figure it out.

After harvest

Here are the last berries collected. Now you need to remove the weeds and loosen the ground near the bushes. The loosened soil is covered with mullein or horse manure for fertilizer. The first antennae, not even grown, are placed on top of the manure. The rest - do not touch, since adult mustaches can take root if they grow cork roots. If they do not take root before winter, then in the spring they are removed.

Summer residents ask: "How to process Victoria in the fall?" It is necessary to clear the passages between the beds from weeds. Pour chips, sawdust, branches onto the resulting paths. Such mulching will retain moisture in the soil and prevent weeds from multiplying, which interfere with the strengthening of young bushes. The sooner weed the beds, the better the new bushes will be able to strengthen and grow. Manure will not only fertilize the soil, but also maintain the necessary moisture.

Crop Care in October

How to process Victoria in the fall, namely in October? At this time, a layer of 5 cm is carried out. Sawdust or peat are best suited for these purposes. In the future, the beds are covered with spruce branches. In autumn, they also prepare the soil for planting Victoria in the spring. To do this, in the middle of the season, the land is plowed 30 cm, but not loosened. In this form, leave for the winter.

How to process Victoria in the fall, if the weather is warm, dry? In this case, it is recommended to shed the culture well: the soil should be wetted by 30 cm or more. If flowers appear on the plant during warm days, then they must be removed. The aisles are dug, and the beds are sprinkled with manure, Kemira fertilizer and a layer of ash.

Victoria can be fed with humus. To do this, in a deciduous forest, the top layer with dry, undecayed leaves is removed and discarded, after which the deciduous humus is taken and applied under the culture. The result is always stunning.

How to treat Victoria after fruiting from pests and diseases? To prevent the development of diseases and the reproduction of pests, Victoria is sprayed with Fitosporin. From the appearance of gray rot, a solution of water with copper chloride saves, from powdery mildew - water with potassium permanganate or colloidal sulfur. There are ready-made preparations for processing Victoria after harvesting - Aktara, Intavir, Zeon, Karate.

In November

How to process Victoria for the winter? This is the most pressing question at the end of the autumn season. Remontant varieties are covered with a film. In November, snow guards are installed, as well as traps for small rodents. At the end of autumn, the beds can be covered with needles, and in the spring it can be removed from the base of the bushes to quickly warm the earth. When snow falls, it is thrown over the area where Victoria grows and compacted.

If the berries are grown in open ground, then their roots are sensitive to frost, as they are located shallow. In the northern regions and those places where severe frosts are observed, the beds should be covered with straw or brushwood. "Insulation" is not crushed, so as not to interfere with air access. Lack of oxygen leads to the development of fungal diseases. For shelter, you can also use burlap, matting or cotton canvas. You can not use a tarpaulin for insulation, as under it the victoria rots and rots.

Simple care, prevention of pest reproduction, shelter beds for the winter will ensure a good harvest next summer. The more we take care of the plants, the tastier and better the berries grow.

It is not for nothing that strawberries are considered the queen among the berries that grow in our climatic conditions. And this is due to its exquisite taste and unique aroma, which most of us like so much. The closest relative of strawberries, garden strawberries, or, as they call it, Victoria, has special taste qualities. Unfortunately, the ripening season of this beautiful berry is rather short - by the end of the first summer month, it ceases to bear fruit. However, at the same time, it also requires considerable labor efforts on the part of the owner, and not only in spring and summer. Victoria needs care in the fall. And this, in turn, is a guarantee that next summer there will be a wonderful berry harvest on your plot of land. Therefore, we will talk about what to do with Victoria in the fall.

In general, autumn care for Victoria involves, firstly, the obligatory pruning of bushes, and secondly, feeding it with fertilizers, and, thirdly, preparing the plant for winter.

How to care for Victoria in the fall: pruning bushes

One of the most basic milestones in caring for garden strawberries is pruning. As a rule, mustaches and leaves of bushes are circumcised. The need for this procedure is explained by providing the plant with rest after active growth and fruiting, which will lead to the rejuvenation of Victoria and gain strength by next summer. In addition, such processing of Victoria in the fall will help improve the condition of each bush. It is known that various kinds of pests settle on the leaves. By cutting them, you will naturally heal strawberries.

Regarding how to cut Victoria in the fall, this procedure is recommended to be performed immediately in the fall in September. Use a pruner, sharp knife or scissors for this. It is important to cut the leaves at a level of 10 cm from the ground so as not to damage the growing point of the victoria.

After circumcision, experienced gardeners are advised to treat the bushes with solutions from pests and diseases. It will also be very useful for the berry to carry out weeding of the rows, loosening them and pouring fresh earth for bare roots.

How to care for a Victoria berry in autumn: top dressing

But autumn top dressing is needed for Victoria strawberries to accumulate organic, mineral substances and form new fruit and leaf buds. Victoria fertilizer should be applied in autumn after trimming leaves and mustaches, that is, in September.

If we talk about how to feed Victoria in the fall, then humus, chicken manure, and a barn are excellent for these purposes. Mineral fertilizers are also used (potassium salt). Excellent growth for the kidneys gives top dressing, for the preparation of which it is necessary to mix 2 tablespoons of potash fertilizers and nitrophoska with a glass of wood ash, dissolving the mixture in 10 liters of water. Such a talker must be poured under each bush. After fertilizing, it is recommended to mulch the soil.

Autumn care for Victoria: preparation for winter

In areas where winter is always snowy, Victoria's cold is not terrible. But the lack of snow for plant bushes can be detrimental. That is why strawberries should be covered for the winter.

Ordinary straw is especially suitable for mulching. She needs to carefully and completely cover each bush. But if you do not have straw at your disposal, you can use other materials. Fallen leaves, peat, tree branches or corn stalks are also suitable as a covering pillow - everything that is found in your garden. In addition, quite often purchased covering material - spunbond or lutrasil - is used to prepare Victoria strawberries for winter.

Thanks to such care in the fall for garden Victoria, the plant will accumulate strength and give you a tasty and rich harvest next year.

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Care for strawberries after harvest - what not to forget to do ?!