Garden strawberries, or strawberries as we often call them, are one of the fragrant berries that summer generously bestows upon us. How fortunate we are to have such a harvest!
In order for the “berry boom” to repeat itself year after year, we need to take care of the berry bushes during the summer (after the fruiting is over). In spring the ovary will be produced from the buds, the formation of which starts about 30 days after the end of fruiting (except for strawberries, whose buds will keep forming).
Our task is how to fertilize strawberries after fruiting, and to positively influence this process by proper care and fertilization.
HOW TO CARE FOR STRAWBERRIES AFTER FRUITING
After berry harvesting, it is necessary to remove the bushes with signs of pest and disease infection and mechanically damaged leaves. If you need to rejuvenate the bed, you can leave 1-2 strongest tendrils, slightly covered with soil to form a root system and remove the rest.
For heavily infested plots, it is recommended that the leaves be cut off completely from the surface at 2-3inch (5-7cm). Pruning is always very stressful for the plant and it is highly undesirable to supplement immediately after pruning.
To take all the cut garden strawberry leaves that show signs of pests and diseases and burn them. Then, your seedbed already looks healthier in one season.
After weeding, treat the plots with approved fungicides for disease prevention and insecticide. The period just after fruiting is the best time to do this treatment because it is already a month later (at the next harvest).
Fertilization is an important part of post-fertility care for strawberries. The quality of strawberries also depends on what kind of care is given to them during the whole gardening season. Strawberries should be fertilized 4 times during the growing season.
Strawberries need to be nourished at least once during the following year’s flower bud formation (July-August).
During this season, strawberries are replaced every 10 to 14 days.
All cottage owners can be divided into three categories.
- supporters of organic nutrition.
- proponents of mineral fertilizers.
- gardeners who use both methods on their plots.
Let’s consider the different methods of fertilization of strawberries.
ORGANIC FERTILIZERS FOR STRAWBERRIES
Ash
It is a common fertilizer for berry and vegetable crops. Ash saturates the soil with trace elements, prevents pests and diseases, and helps to restore leaf quality.
To protect and nourish the roots, compost or humus mixed with ash (about a handful per plant) can be applied under each plant.
A solution of ash and water can be poured under the strawberry roots. To do this, pour 1 liter of boiling water 250 grams of ash and let it stand. The resulting mixture is diluted with 10 liters of water.
Chicken manure
You need to dilute chicken manure with buckets of water, about 1:10 or 1:15. Water the resulting mixture along the rows of strawberry garden strawberries so as not to oversaturate the soil solution near the roots.
This procedure should be done after rain or after a good watering. If the fertilizer gets on the leaves, it needs to be rinsed with water from the watering can.
Green fertilizer
To prepare this fertilizer, the weeds growing on your plot are suitable. Fill a large container (or at least a bucket) with greens and add water. Nettles, mocked, dandelion leaves, gooseberries, and other weeds work well for this.
Fill the green manure for 7-14 days (depending on the weather), and do not forget to stir it from time to time. The mass-produced from it gives off a specific odor, so the container is best put away from home.
In 10-14 days, you can perform the feeding of strawberries. To do this, dilute the infusion with water in a ratio of 1:9 and water under the roots of the plant.
Mullein solution
This fertilizer for garden strawberries is similar to fertilization with chicken manure. It is necessary to dilute cow manure with 1:15 water. The resulting mixture should be left to ferment for 10-15 days so that the uric acid, which can burn the plant roots, evaporates.
After 2 weeks, the resulting mixture is mixed with ashes (0.5 tbsp of ashes per 10 liters). This fertilizer was combined with watering the strawberries. Along the rows of the berry bushes, fertilizer is applied into the pre-prepared furrows, 1 bucket per 3 m of row.
FERTILIZATION OF GARDEN STRAWBERRIES WITH MINERAL FERTILIZER
Supporters of mineral fertilizers know that for the regeneration of leaf mass after pruning, it is necessary to feed strawberries with nitrogen. But here, it is important not to overdo it.
Excessive application of nitrogen fertilizer after fruiting can lead to strong leaf development, increased growth of fibrous roots, and incomplete or incomplete laying of flower buds.
Ammonium nitrate
Dilute 10 grams of ammonium nitrate solution per 10 liters of water and water the plant, do not get it on the strawberry leaves to prevent scalding.
Special mineral fertilizer
For the smooth formation of flower buds in the next season, strawberries in strawberry gardens should be fertilized with phosphorus and potassium. The modern market offers many special mineral fertilizers for garden strawberries. The same fertilizers, if done in autumn, will allow you to better prepare the plants for winter.
