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Who doesn't like to feast on red, ripe, juicy and very rich in flavor and aroma of strawberries? However, in order to maximize the yield of this berry, it is necessary to care for the bushes all year round. They need to be processed, fed and watered. This is due to the fact that the laying of fruit buds for the next year occurs in the current season.
This article will tell you how to prepare strawberries for winter in the fall. When and how should you water the berries? What fertilizers should be applied under the bushes before wintering? How to spud and how to cover strawberries? These issues will be highlighted in the article.
Pruning bushes
Strawberries will survive the winter only if they have a healthy leaf apparatus. After harvesting, old leaves and antennae from strawberries must be cut off, since the antennae will not have time to form a healthy rosette before the onset of cold weather. They will only weaken the mother bush. If you want in the future transplant strawberries, then leave the first outlet on each bush.
Leaves should be trimmed correctly, since they are the main vegetative organs of strawberry bushes, through which the process of photosynthesis takes place. So why should you prune old leaves? This is because old strawberry leaves are a favorite habitat for pests and diseases. And timely pruning will protect the strawberries from them.
When spots of the so-called rust begin to form on the leaves, they must be cut off. So, space will be freed up for the growth of healthy, young leaves.
To make sure that pruning has a positive effect on the yield of strawberries, do a little experiment: remove old leaves and tendrils in one bed, but not in the second. In this case, you can definitely say what is good and what is bad for your beds with your favorite red berry.
Fighting ticks
Sometimes at the end of summer, soft-bodied mites appear on strawberry bushes. They are so microscopic in size that they cannot be detected with the naked eye. The main sign of mite damage to a plant is the condition of the leaves. Young leaves develop poorly and have a dark green matte color, while the petioles remain short.
Unfortunately, to date, a remedy has not yet been developed to combat soft-bodied mites, therefore, damaged bushes must be immediately removed from the garden and burned.
When and how to hilling and transplanting
The preparation for winter does not include hilling bushes in the fall. This is done a little earlier, namely at the end of August. This is due to the fact that in the process of hilling, the root system is injured and the strawberry may not overwinter if the roots do not have time to recover.
The transplant is carried out every 5-6 years. In poorly fertilized soil, you need to transplant the bushes every 4 years. Those bushes should be removed in which the root system began to rise above the ground.In this case, young bushes will develop better, as a result of which you can update the planting. During the transplanting process, it is important to loosen the topsoil. So, you will provide the root system with enough air, so that the bushes will take root faster and easier. In addition, digging will make it possible to remove the roots of perennial weeds. Loosening will allow root feeding.
Fertilization
Since strawberries lose all their strength during the fruiting period, they must be fed after harvest. If the weather is hot outside, then the bushes need to be watered.
Strawberries are a crop that is sensitive to a high concentration of salts, therefore, it is impossible to oversaturate the soil in the beds with this plant with fertilizers. Before wintering, the culture must go to a dormant state. The fact that strawberries have entered a dormant period can be judged by the leaves on short petioles, from which a winter leaf rosette is formed. This takes place in November.
Rotted manure, compost or straw can serve as fertilizer for strawberries. This plant needs to get enough minerals. Strawberry beds should not have weeds, as they absorb nutrients from the soil, as a result of which the bushes will lose strength and be less fruitful.
Soil mulching
Strawberry care in autumn also includes mulching soil... This activity must be carried out if you want to transplant young animals. Rosettes with roots are formed from the whiskers and so that they are prepared for wintering and take root, they need to be sprinkled with earth mixed with peat. However, you cannot cover the growth point with soil. Otherwise, young growth will slow down.
Mulching can also be carried out with a mixture of soil and humus. Under such circumstances, this layer will serve as a fertilizer for bushes and covering material. The bushes prepared in this way will survive the winter cold. Mulching requires the utmost care. It is important not to cover leaves and bushes with soil with humus or peat, only the soil around the bushes is used.
Covering the beds
In the late autumn period, the first frosts occur, and it is at this time that the strawberry bushes need to be covered. The best cover is mulching and snow. In warm winters and with an abundance of snow, additional shelter for strawberries is not needed.
However, if in your area there is little snow and severe frosts, then the strawberries need to be covered. Spruce branches can serve as a covering material. Youngsters need to be covered completely, and mother bushes - in a circle. In this case, pests and rodents will not start in the strawberries.
If you take good care of the plant, it will reward you with a bountiful harvest in the coming season. Also, many gardeners use tops / leaves of plants and straw as a covering material. Often mice start in the straw, and the tops and foliage sag, as a result of which air access to the bushes is limited, and delights appear.
Strawberry and strawberry bushes also use special materials such as spandbod and agrotex to shelter bushes. The density of the material should be 60 g / m22... The covering material is stretched over pre-prepared arcs or a frame installed on the beds. It is worth noting that such material allows air to pass through well, so the bushes do not deteriorate and do not shrink. In places where the covering material will come into contact with the soil, the ground will freeze even deeper. Therefore, the presence of a frame is required.
If you care for strawberries all year round and properly prepare them for wintering, then next year's harvest will delight you and your family. In addition, we invite you to watch the accompanying video material:
