How do you fertilize strawberries after harvesting, what should you use, and how do you properly prepare them for winter to ensure a delicious harvest next year? The answers to these questions can be found in this article. Strawberry bushes can bear fruit for several years without replanting, but only if they are properly cared for.
Post-harvest care
Summer may only begin in mid-June, but by this time, strawberries have already finished fruiting. At this time, other plants are actively growing, including a variety of weeds, and it's important not to neglect your berry patch. If you don't weed your strawberries in time in the summer, it can cause problems in the fall: the overgrown weeds will be difficult to separate from the strawberry bushes. Also, remember that weeds significantly deplete the soil.
Gardeners advise Immediately after harvesting strawberries, provide the bushes with proper careThis involves weeding the beds and between them. Additionally, mulch should be added to the soil to help kill any potential pests and protect the bushes from disease. The soil should also be loosened.
Trimming
Before you begin fertilizing strawberries after harvest (we'll discuss how to fertilize them in the final section of this article), you'll need to prune the tendrils and bushes. After the fruiting period, when the berries have absorbed all the nutrients from the soil, the foliage will begin to grow vigorously and flower buds for next year will begin to form. At the same time, old leaves die off, and tendrils emerge. Remember that tendrils drain the strawberry bushes, so they must be pruned.
Old foliage dies off on its own, but it should also be removed. It harbors a wide variety of pests. During fruiting, strawberries are not fertilized or weeded, which encourages pests to quickly migrate to the bush's young leaves.
Very often, after the fruiting period, when the soil cannot be loosened, the soil becomes hard and compacted. As a result, the adventitious roots of the bush may end up on the surface, which is also detrimental to the future harvest. Therefore, strawberry care should begin immediately after harvesting. First, remove all leaves without exception. Yes, this is a complete pruning, but it will have a beneficial effect on the plantation's yield next year.
Removing all leaves reduces the risk of diseases and pests. Each strawberry leaf only lives for about 60 days, after which it begins to age rapidly. Old leaves must be removed; young leaves can be removed or left in place, but be careful not to allow fungal diseases or pests to develop.
Mandatory stages of strawberry care after fruiting:
1. If the leaves are heavily spotted, this indicates a strawberry mite infestation. Prune the bush completely, removing all leaves. Treat the bed with a pest control product.
2. If the plantation contains bushes that are older than two years, it is recommended to remove all leaves from them after fruiting.
3. Everyone's mustache is trimmed. strawberry bushes Absolutely! Tendrils are used only for propagation; they serve no other purpose and only take up all the nutrients from the soil.
4. If one bush has several runners, try to cut them all off as close to the base as possible. Trim the runners several times per season.
5. The root system of older bushes can become overgrown and protrude from the soil. It is not recommended to grow this berry in the same location for more than three years. Be sure to loosen the soil after harvesting and apply mulch to cover protruding roots.
6. Watering strawberries that are no longer producing fruit is not necessary. If there is no rain throughout the summer, you can water the beds infrequently but thoroughly.
Top dressing
Fertilizing strawberries after harvest—and what to feed them with—is a pressing issue for many gardeners. Without additional fertilization, it's difficult to achieve a good harvest. Disease and pest control treatments are carried out depending on the specific pest. strawberryLet's look at the pests in order.
Strawberry mite
It prefers young leaves, so their deformation and yellowing are the main signs of infestation. After harvesting, treat the areas with malathion (three tablespoons dissolved in a bucket of water).
Spider mite
It manifests itself as webbing on the underside of the leaves. To get rid of the pest, use the product Fitoverm, two ml of which is diluted in a liter of clean water.
Strawberry weevil
It feeds on young leaves and buds of the plant, waiting for the right time in the soil. To get rid of parasites, use malathion at a rate of 60 grams per 8 liters of water.
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Angelica
Question: I have remontant strawberries planted in my garden plot; they bear fruit almost until December (I live in the Krasnodar region). How should I care for them, when should I feed them, and can I cut off all the leaves for the winter?