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Strawberries or garden strawberries can be attributed, without cunning, to the most beloved berries. Today, many gardeners grow tasty fragrant fruits, but in garden plots it quickly departs. And how you want fresh berries to be on the table all year round.
Growing strawberries using Dutch technology allows you to get products all year round. For planting, a closed ground with a specially created microclimate, an irrigation system and lighting is used. Today, many gardeners make good profits with this method. The question is, is it possible grow strawberries in Dutch in small areas, worries not only novice gardeners, but also experienced gardeners.
Why choose Dutch technology
The technology comes from Holland, as the name suggests. This country is the leader in the export of strawberries. The method can be used at home, providing a fragrant berry not only to your family. Part of the harvested crop can be put up for sale to recoup the costs.
The application of the technique does not require large areas and special funds. The main thing is to have greenhousewhere you can grow plants even in winter. Practice in growing strawberries according to Dutch technology, it is possible at home on the windowsill. At this stage, you can find out what kind of thermal and light conditions, microclimate the plants need. A large farm will require special equipment. Today, there are many videos on the Internet that tell about different methods of growing strawberries.
The essence of technology
The Dutch way of growing strawberries has a number of features:
- First, it is necessary to equip a planting room. The main thing is that it should be covered ground. Capacities can be very different. Strawberries can be grown in crates, bags, pallets and even flower pots.
- Secondly, according to the technology, plants cannot bear fruit all year round, so some of the bushes have to be sent into hibernation, when others are fed and continue to work for the harvest. The technology for growing strawberries all year round involves planting seedlings with an interval of two months.
- Third, nutrients and moisture are delivered to each root through drip irrigation.
- "Beds" can be placed vertically and horizontally.
Benefits
More and more Russian gardeners are now practicing Dutch strawberry cultivation technology. It has many advantages:
- Placing a large number of plants with minimal use of the cultivated area.
- Greenhouses with heating and transparent walls provide enough natural light for strawberries.
- Any premises can be used for planting.
- The resulting products do not get sick and do not suffer from pests, because they do not come into contact with the ground.
- A stable harvest in one and a half to two months makes the Dutch strawberry growing technology attractive for businessmen.
- The taste of the berry is in no way inferior to the fruit grown in the traditional way.
- Once installed, a system can last for more than one year.
Which landing method to choose
Dutch technology strawberries can grow in different placement - vertical or horizontal. Gardeners constantly argue about this. Although any of the methods is good in its own way under certain conditions. But the main advantage of any is the minimum occupied area for growing a large number of seedlings.
In a large and light greenhouse, you can use both methods of placing the ridges. If a garage or loggia is occupied for strawberries, then it is best to arrange the plantings vertically with additional lighting.
Planting material
What varieties are suitable
Having become acquainted with the description of the technology, gardeners must not only install equipment, but also select the appropriate strawberry varietiesbecause not everyone is suitable for the Dutch method. The best are the remontant varieties, which give good yields even in the open field. But their most important advantage is self-pollination.
Recommended varieties:
- Maria and Tristar;
- Selva and Elsanta;
- Sonata and Tribute;
- Marmolada and Polka;
- Darselect and Darkness.
Strawberry cultivation technology
Growing seedlings
Step-by-step instructions (some steps can be skipped):
- The soil for growing seedlings is prepared in the fall, superphosphate, potassium chloride, lime and manure are added. You cannot use soil from the ridges where strawberries grew.
- A continuous harvest throughout the year can be obtained if the seedlings are handled correctly. When cultivating strawberries, you need to start some of the plants for artificial rest and wake up at the right time for the gardener. In their natural environment, plants sleep in winter under the snow. You can get planting material from seeds or by rooting mustaches and rosettes. First-year plants grown from seeds or mustaches should not be allowed to bloom, peduncles must be removed mercilessly.
- The next year, the mother bushes will give up to 15 tendrils, from which healthy rosettes can be grown. As a rule, the dormant period for strawberries occurs in the second half of October. At this time, the sockets are dug out so that they are not killed by the frost.
- Leave them indoors at a temperature of + 10-12 degrees for 24 hours. After that, remove leaves, soil, vegetative shoots. The roots must not be touched.
- The planting material is tied into bundles and put into thin plastic bags. Store seedlings in the refrigerator on the bottom shelf (vegetable drawer). It is there that the temperature required for planting material is 0 degrees. High temperatures will cause the strawberries to grow prematurely, while low temperatures will cause the plants to die.
- The day before disembarkation, the planting material is taken out of the storage, kept at a temperature of + 12 degrees.
- Mix sterile soil consisting of sandy soil with rotted manure and sand in a ratio of 3: 1: 1. Instead of sandy soil, some Dutch strawberry growers use mineral wool or coconut fiber.
- The containers are filled with soil and seedlings are planted. You need to water the plants drip.
- The cultivation of strawberries must comply with agricultural practices.
- After the crop is harvested, the strawberry bushes must be removed, leaving some of the most productive plants for new seedlings.
When grown outdoors, replacement is done after 4 years.
Video about the secrets of Dutch technology:
Lighting
If you decide to use the Dutch method, you have to think about the lighting system. Renovated strawberries require good lighting. Especially in the autumn-spring period. Lamps are placed at a height of at least one meter from the plants. Reflective materials can be installed to improve efficiency.
The lamps in the greenhouse should burn for about 16 hours, only in this case it is possible to guarantee the normal development and fruiting of strawberries grown according to Dutch technology. About a decade after planting, the plants begin to emit peduncles, and after 30-35 days, depending on the early maturity of the variety, berries appear.
Irrigation system
The Dutch method of growing strawberries involves drip irrigation. It does not matter whether water will penetrate from above or through the soil to the plants, the main thing is that it does not fall on the leaves.
With the correct organization of the irrigation system, strawberries will not be affected by diseases. Water the plants with warm water. At the same time, top dressing is applied at the root. The Dutch system for growing strawberries in a greenhouse does not include foliar feeding.
Containers for growing strawberries
Gardeners who are interested in the peculiarities of the Dutch method are interested in the question of which containers are better to choose.
At home, you can use boxes or bags. The second option is used more often.
How to plant plants in bags
We bring to your attention a video about growing garden strawberries in bags:
The picture above shows a variant of plastic bags in which strawberry bushes are planted. The diameter of the container should be at least 15 cm. Plants are planted in a bag filled with soil at a distance of 20-25 cm, preferably in a checkerboard pattern.
Seedlings are inserted into the slots at an angle of 40 degrees, carefully straightening the root system. The roots should always point downward. Plastic containers can be laid on the windowsill or placed on the balcony in a pyramid in several rows. In this case, the volume of the crop increases.
Large bags with placed strawberries are grown according to Dutch technology in greenhouses. Take a look at the photo below to see how the landings look. In the strawberries grown in the greenhouse according to this method, all vitamins are present, the taste is preserved.
Let's summarize
The main thing for a gardener is getting a rich harvest with minimal labor costs. Dutch technology allows a large number of strawberry bushes to be grown horizontally or vertically in a small greenhouse area.
The method does not cause any particular difficulties, you just need to follow agrotechnical standards and treat your business with love.
