Caring for strawberries after harvesting

Therefore, it is worth learning about strawberries after harvest, what to do (video) with the bushes, and what fertilizers should be used at this time to get a rich harvest of berries next year.

Process strawberry careImmediately after harvesting the berries, this is the first step in preparing the plants for the fall and winter. Additional care is important, as it will strengthen the bushes and make them more resilient. Don't neglect proper plant care, as this will help make the strawberries stronger and the harvest significantly larger.

When does the bushes stop bearing fruit?

Gardeners pick the last berries from the bushes quite early, not only for strawberries but also for garden strawberries. However, it's important to keep in mind that everbearing varieties bear fruit slightly longer than usual. Gardeners have not only weeks but even months before the cold weather sets in, so they have plenty of time to prepare the bushes for winter. Therefore, it's important to learn about strawberry bushes after harvest, what to do (video) during this period, and how to properly care for them. It's important to remember that warm weather will encourage weed growth, which is detrimental to the plants. Therefore, it's important to regularly remove excess weeds from the beds to prevent disease and pests from attacking the berry bushes.

Once the bushes stop producing fruit, they will gradually accumulate strength not only for next season's fruiting but also for the coming winter, which requires considerable energy. If weeds grow around them, the young strawberry plants will not be able to store enough nutrients to survive the winter.

Antennae growth

Many gardeners, learning about this berry after strawberry pickingThey don't know what to do with the runners, but they will definitely need to be trimmed. Once fruiting ends, the bushes begin to grow vigorously again, resulting in more foliage and the growth of new runners. If the gardener doesn't prune these unwanted shoots promptly, the bushes will become significantly weakened, which will adversely affect the plant's nutritional status and reduce its chances of surviving the winter frosts.

Is soil loosening necessary?

What care do strawberries need after fruiting? What should be done next with soil and weeds? Do the plants need watering? All these questions concern gardeners who are accustomed to tending their plants in their beds. Considering that weeding is not recommended during the active fruiting period, new diseases and pests that migrated from older leaves and stems can develop on the newly grown leaves.

Strawberry bushes produce a harvest within two and a half to three weeks, during which time the soil in the beds becomes very dense, so it is very important to remove all weeds and then loosen the soil.

Is it necessary to feed plants?

At this time, roots and adventitious roots can be quite close to the soil surface, and in some cases, they emerge, which negatively affects the plants. Don't try to bury them; it's best to prepare special mixtures for strawberry feedingThe article below will discuss how to properly feed these plants.

The process of caring for strawberry bushes after fruiting

When caring for strawberries after harvest, the first important question a gardener faces is what to do with the plants. It's worth noting that after the harvest is complete, all old leaves and grass must be removed from the beds, as they can spread fungal infections or pests. After this, the gardener removes weeds from the beds and loosens the soil to allow oxygen to penetrate.

It's important to pay attention to the leaves of each plant. If young leaves begin to curl or become deformed, it's time to treat the plants specifically to eliminate the mites that have taken up residence. Since the entire harvest has already been collected, chemicals can be used; they won't affect the future harvest but will quickly eliminate the unwanted guests. When choosing this treatment, it's recommended to remove all damaged and old leaves, as well as branches showing visible signs of infestation, beforehand.

Some gardeners recommend removing the leaves from strawberries entirely, either by cutting off each leaf or simply mowing the bushes. However, this method is ineffective, as the plants lose vigor and may not survive the winter. Removing all leaves is only recommended as a last resort, that is, if the entire planting is infested with mites. In other cases, only partial leaf removal is required, selecting only the weak and infected leaves.

How to care for young bushes

When caring for young strawberries after harvest, what to do with the bushes (video) is one of the most pressing questions. If the plant is only one year old, then if the leaves show signs of mite or fungal disease, simply remove the old and rotted leaves, leaving the rest in place. Complete leaf removal is only possible on plants that are more than two years old.

We recommend:Spring treatment of strawberries against diseases and pests

But the runners will have to be removed from all plants, regardless of their age. While it's possible to leave the runners over the winter to freeze, the strawberry plants will then waste nutrients on the growth of these shoots, significantly reducing the future yield.

How to water after picking berries

After fruiting, the bushes don't require constant watering; moistening the soil only as needed is sufficient. If there's been no rain for too long, you'll have to water the plants yourself. It's still worth using a potassium permanganate solution for watering; it will help disinfect the soil, which is crucial before winter. It's also worth providing additional nutrition for the plants; for this, regular compost is used, spread directly onto the beds, around the roots. Some also use manure for additional nutrition, spreading it in whole chunks onto the beds.

Ash is another excellent fertilizer for shrubs. Simply sprinkle the crushed ash dust over the beds; a two-liter jar per square meter is sufficient. However, combining this fertilizer with manure is strictly prohibited, as it will quickly remove beneficial nitrogen from the soil, which is essential for plants after harvest. A special fertilizer mixture, available at any gardening store, is ideal.