Caring for garden strawberries after harvest. Features of care for strawberries after fruiting

Pruning strawberries after fruiting and harvesting is one of the mandatory activities, the implementation of which provides not only an impressive (30 to 40%) increase in the yield of this crop next year, but also improves appearance and taste of berries.

Competent and high-quality processing of plantings guarantees the production of especially large, juicy and sweet fruits.

Pruning garden strawberries helps:

1. Without resorting to the use of chemicals, to prevent the occurrence of dangerous infectious diseases (gray rot, spotting, powdery mildew) to which this culture is exposed.
2. Significantly facilitate weeding plantings.
3. Create optimal conditions for the natural release of the surface of the ridges from pathogenic fungi due to the improvement of air circulation in bushes with bare bases. Removing diseased and old leaves contributes to the disinfection of the soil due to its good ventilation and heating by sunlight.
4. To create obstacles for the successful development of the strawberry mite, a microscopic pest that loves dampness and lives at the base of leaf petioles.

Trimming methods

Pruning strawberry bushes after harvest can be:

• complete (total);
• partial (selective).

It is better to refuse the complete removal of leaves from strawberry bushes, since total pruning contributes to the rapid depletion of plants that spend all their energy not on laying fruit buds of the future crop and storing nutrients, but on increasing green mass.

Full mowing of the leaves is advisable only if the strawberry plantings have been badly damaged by pests or fungal infections.

During partial pruning after harvest, you must first remove all (including healthy) leaves lying on the ground. After that, having carefully examined the bush, remove the old, dried up and diseased (spotted, speckled and dotted) leaves of the upper tiers.

Young and healthy leaves are best left. You should not touch the bushes of this year either: they need to get stronger and gain strength.

Cut leaves that are infected with diseases and are likely to contain pests should be burned immediately. They are not suitable for laying in compost and use as a mulching material.

If the gardener does not plan to propagate strawberries, throughout the entire vegetative period he must definitely remove its creeping shoots (whiskers), cutting them as close as possible to the middle of the leaf rosette.

Basic pruning rules

Pruning strawberries after harvest requires conscious action, as thoughtless leaf removal can harm plants:

1. Although some gardeners call it mowing, the use of a scythe, lawn mower or sickle in this case is completely unacceptable. This is exclusively handmade, requiring the use of sharply sharpened garden tools: pruner, scissors or knife.
2. In order to avoid mechanical damage to the root system of plants, it is strictly forbidden to pick the leaves manually. Damaged bushes will hurt, recover for a long time and probably will not bring a lot of fruit.
3. To prevent the entry of pathogens dangerous infections at the base of the bushes, you can not cut the leaves under the very root. The length of the petioles left must be at least 5 centimeters.
4. Pruning should only be done in dry weather. Treated bushes are watered exclusively at the root. Watering by sprinkling can be applied only after the final tightening of the wounds left after pruning.
5. Processing should begin with the beds on which healthy and young plants grow, gradually moving to older and more problematic plantings. Beds in which some bushes show signs of wilting or damage viral diseases, should be treated last, disinfecting the instrument used as often as possible, using a strong solution of potassium permanganate or copper sulphate for this.
6. Since the main purpose of pruning is to clean plantings from pests and pathogens of dangerous infections, cut leaves must be carefully collected and burned immediately. Putting them in a compost pit is not recommended (except when they fall into the deepest layers, which will not be used within the next five years).

Timing

Any pruning of green mass severely injures and weakens strawberries, however, there is a period during which its bushes are able to quickly recover, painlessly enduring the removal of almost the entire above-ground part.

This period begins 7-10 days after the cessation of fruiting (usually at the end of July). The optimal time for pruning strawberries in regions where snow cover occurs in early or mid-November expires by mid-August.

It is by this time that the gardeners of the Moscow region, the Urals, the northwestern and central parts of Russia, Siberia, the Far East and Altai need to complete the work on processing strawberry ridges. Pruning of strawberries is somewhat delayed (until high-quality planting material is obtained) only if the mustache for its reproduction is supposed to be taken from a fruit-bearing plantation.

Such tight deadlines are explained by the fact that strawberries need at least 2-3 months of active vegetation to build up a new leaf apparatus and prepare for winter, since it is the leaves that provide the process of photosynthesis that affects the development of the root system, annual horns and the laying of fruit buds.

If for some reason the optimal timing for pruning the berry was missed, it is carried out in a sparing mode, involving the removal of only the lower and affected (covered with white bloom, spots and uncharacteristic redness) leaves.

Step-by-step instruction

The method of pruning strawberries after harvesting is extremely simple: grabbing a bush with one hand, cut off its entire aerial part (including leaves, unnecessary mustaches and dead flower stalks) with a sharply sharpened tool.

As a result, cuttings of leaf petioles sticking out above the ground remain on the ridge (their height - in order to avoid damage to growth buds in the center of annual horns and hearts of strawberry bushes - should be at least 8 cm) and barely appeared young leaves.

Cardinal pruning of all foliage is unacceptable, since the bushes that have not had time to grow green mass will go to wintering weakened and, unable to endure the cold, simply freeze.

The cut leaves are carefully combed out with a rake.

The fertility of the strawberry plantation in the next season depends on the quality of processing the bushes and compliance with the optimal timing of their pruning.

Care for strawberries after fruiting and harvesting

Care for Victoria in the period after fruiting includes:

1. Removal of dry and affected leaves from the ridges, as well as a layer of old mulch containing pathogens of dangerous infections and pests.
2. Careful weeding of weeds that rob plants of nutrients.
3. Pruning old foliage and mustaches.
4. Merciless destruction of bushes affected by the strawberry nematode (to prevent the spread of this pest).
5. Thorough loosening of the soil between the rows.
6. Watering plantings (during the drought period).
7. Preventive treatment of bushes from infections and pests.
8. Periodic top dressing.
9. Soil mulching.

Soil loosening

1. In order not to damage the roots of strawberries, loosen the soil on the beds only in the aisles, immersing the tool to a depth of 70 mm.
2. Having finished loosening the beds, it is advisable to pile up the strawberries, paying special attention to plants with a bare root system (as a rule, this is typical for 2-3-year-old bushes) and making sure that the soil does not fill up the growth point (the so-called "heart"), located in the very center of the bush.

Watering rules

1. In order for the treated bushes to recover quickly by increasing root system, green mass and laying fruit buds, the soil on the strawberry plantation should be wet.
2. In dry weather, strawberry beds should be watered at least once a week (watering should be plentiful). Immediately after pruning, it is necessary to water the treated bushes not by sprinkling, but by the method of overlap.
3. So that the growing leaves do not suffer from sunburn, it is necessary to water the strawberries either in the morning or in the evening.
4. After watering, the soil on the beds must be loosened, preventing the formation of a hard crust on its surface.
5. So that the ground under the bushes always remains loose and moist, it is advisable to mulch the plantation.

Mulching strawberry beds

Soil mulching is an extremely useful manipulation that contributes to:

• loosening the soil in the beds;
• accumulation of nutrients and enrichment of the soil with many beneficial microorganisms (due to the decomposition of mulching material);
• control of growth of weeds, which greatly facilitates the care of plants;
• more aesthetic appearance of berry beds.

A suitable mulching material for planting strawberries is:

• needles;
• sawdust;
• leaf humus;
• straw;
• chopped dry grass left over from mowing the lawn and previously dried in the sun.

As a mulching material, you can use spunbond (preferably black, which prevents the growth of weeds), covering them high beds intended for new plantings of strawberries.

Pest and disease control

It is advisable to subject strawberry bushes that have fruited to chemical treatment designed to destroy pests and fight all kinds of diseases, since during the fruiting period the possibility of its implementation was absolutely excluded.

Before proceeding with the chemical treatment of strawberry bushes, it is necessary to rid them of diseased, old, dry and pest-damaged leaves:

1. After removing the damaged foliage, the petioles remaining from it, as well as the soil under the strawberry bushes, are treated with a weak solution of potassium permanganate. This measure prevents the occurrence of fungal infections.
2. The infection of plantings with strawberry mites can be guessed by the presence of leaves, the surface of which resembles corrugated paper. To combat it, you can use the anti-mite preparations Actellik, Thiovit Jet, Fitoverm, Fufanon, Kemifos and an aqueous solution of colloidal sulfur, acting in strict accordance with the manufacturer's instructions.
3. Active rotting of the berries indicates damage to the bushes by gray rot. In this case, the bed must be treated with a solution of copper oxychloride.
4. The presence of yellowish leaves localized in the center of strawberry bushes, which are distinguished by unusually thick petioles, is evidence of their defeat by the nematode. As experience shows, in this case, any attempts (including spraying with chemicals) to save the plants are completely useless, so they must be destroyed. The beds on which the affected bushes grew must be shed large quantity steep boil.
5. To combat the raspberry-strawberry weevil, planting strawberries should be treated twice with a solution of the Intavir preparation. The interval between treatments should be at least 14 days. Good results are obtained by spraying the beds with a solution prepared from ten drops of iodine and 10 liters of water.
6. Availability brown spots on strawberry leaves can be the result of viral infections. You can cope with them by spraying the leaves with a solution of Bordeaux liquid.
7. Strawberry pest and disease control can be combined with foliar top dressing of bushes if fertilizers are added to the applied tank mix.

In order to prevent the development of diseases, strawberry plantings must be regularly inspected, immediately removing diseased leaves and getting rid of diseased plants, using a weak solution of potassium permanganate to irrigate the soil in the garden.

Top dressing of fertile strawberries

By the end of the fruiting period, weakened strawberry bushes, which have given all their strength to the fruits of the new crop, are especially in need of top dressing. Only with their help, plants will be able to fully recover and lay a sufficient number of flower buds.

After harvesting, experienced gardeners feed strawberries at least three times:

1. Immediately after pruning the affected leaves (in late July or early August), strawberries are fed nitrogen fertilizers. This measure will accelerate the growth of young leaves.
2. Two weeks later, a second top dressing is carried out, consisting in the introduction of organic matter enriched with potassium and phosphorus. This top dressing stimulates the laying of flower (or fruit) buds.
3. About a month later (in mid-September), the strawberries are fed for the third time, using a mullein solution for this.

Top dressings can be organic or mineral.

The most popular mineral supplements:

1. "Ammofoska" is a complex fertilizer containing four main components: potassium, phosphorus, sulfur and nitrogen. It can be embedded in the soil with a chopper, scattering dry granules over the surface of a strawberry bed (at the rate of 20-30 g per square meter), and then watering. Ammofoska can be dissolved in water ( Matchbox on a bucket of water) and water the plants from a watering can.
2. "Nitroammophoska" and "Nitrofoska" are used in the form of an aqueous solution prepared from one tablespoon of fertilizer per 10 liters of water.
3. Specialized fertilizers for garden strawberries: Ogorodnik, Kristalon, Fertika.
4. An aqueous solution of a mixture prepared from potassium sulfate, superphosphate and ammonium nitrate (in a ratio of 1:3:1).

Gardeners should be aware that fertilizers containing chlorine, which is detrimental to this crop, cannot be used to feed strawberries.

The most popular organic fertilizers used to feed strawberries include:

1. Biohumus. It is poured directly to the roots of strawberry bushes.
2. A solution of mullein, prepared from one part of manure and ten parts of water and infused for a day, after which it is used to apply under strawberry bushes. To enrich the infusion with additional trace elements, experienced gardeners add one part of wood ash to it.
3. Infusion of bird droppings. It is not recommended to apply bird droppings under growing bushes in a dry form: this is fraught with a burn of the roots and death of plants. To prepare an infusion, bird droppings are diluted with water (in a ratio of 1 to 10) and infused for at least 48 hours. After that, diluting one liter of the finished infusion with ten liters of water, they use it to water the strawberries.
4. An herbal infusion prepared from nettles and other weeds left over from weeding. Having laid the grass in a large barrel (approximately to the middle of its volume), add a little wood ash to it, add water to the very brim and leave it in a sunny place for fermentation for ten days. To speed up fermentation and enrich the infusion with beneficial microorganisms, you can add 200 g of yeast to the barrel. The finished herbal infusion is diluted with water (in a ratio of 1 to 1) and used for watering strawberry beds. It not only feeds strawberries, but also helps deoxidize garden soil.
5. Wood ash, rich in trace elements and used to reduce the acidity of the soil in the beds. After pruning strawberries with wood ash, sprinkle the soil (based on: a two-liter jar for each square meter), after which it is watered and loosened. Since wood ash is incompatible with fresh manure, the simultaneous use of these fertilizers is unacceptable.

When fertilizing strawberry beds, you should remember about the inadmissibility of overfeeding it. Otherwise, she will begin to "fatten", actively increasing the green mass and refusing to lay flower buds. Experienced gardeners say that underfeeding strawberries is better than overfeeding them.

Preparing plantings for winter

1. Preparing strawberry beds for winter consists in adding mulching material (peat or sawdust) under the bushes. The thickness of the mulch layer should be at least 5 cm. The use of straw or hay as mulch should be avoided, as they can attract mice that can gnaw on the roots.
2. In order to reduce the pressure of the snow cover on the plants, at the end of November they are covered with raspberry branches or spruce branches.
3. You can protect strawberries from severe frosts by covering them with a thick layer of dry foliage.

In mid-August, the last remontant varieties of strawberries and wild strawberries, growing in open field. Many gardeners miss the fact that after harvesting, it is necessary to continue caring for the plant, otherwise next year the fruits may be crushed, and the bushes may be infected with pests and diseases.

Strawberries after harvesting what to do with the bush

Knowing when to prune strawberries after harvest is easy enough as the second wave of fresh foliage growth is coming. The old green is fading. Sometimes there is a reddening of the cutting, which indicates the desire of the bush to get rid of the leaves on its own. To help the plant, gardeners remove them. Usually strawberry pruning is carried out no later than July 20th. Otherwise, negative consequences for the kidneys are possible (damage when caring for the plant, illness).

Strawberries in August begin to actively produce mustaches. The first two rosettes (the processes with which it reproduces) can be left, the rest can be cut off. The left sockets are added dropwise without cutting the antennae that connect them to the mother bush.

At the moment when all the strawberries are harvested, the leaves and tendrils are trimmed with a pruner or scissors. This is necessary to prepare the plant for wintering: it will not spend its energy on feeding foliage and will provide itself with a supply of trace elements to survive the cold.

Novice gardeners often ask when to prune strawberries after fruiting. It will be correct to clean up on the second or third day, especially if the plant is sick. Such a tactic will help reduce the risk of the occurrence or spread of infection of healthy plants with various diseases.

Pruning as close as possible to the base of the bush is considered correct, since disease spores can persist even on cuttings. The tool must have sharp and clean blades so as not to cause the spread of infections. Do not tear off the antennae and leaves with your hands - this can damage the roots.

How to mow strawberries in the summer and why you need to do it

If novice gardeners doubt whether it is necessary to cut strawberries after harvesting, then experienced gardeners are sure that the procedure is necessary.

Pruning strawberries after fruiting is a special mowing method that has its own characteristics:

• a high yield increase is possible if the foliage is mowed on the second or third day after harvesting in order to prevent the spread of possible diseases in the area;
• mowing and cleaning the removed leaves will help protect the plant and the entire plantation from pests and diseases;
• immediately after mowing, fertilizing and watering the bushes are performed.

It is better for young plants to carry out individual pruning with scissors or secateurs with special attention. Bushes from three years old may well be processed with a scythe or trimmer with a fishing line (you need to work at low speeds), especially if you do not intend to get new sprouts from them for breeding. Mowed three-, four-year-old and strawberries after harvesting will certainly please you with healthy fruits next season.

Handling strawberries after harvest

As well as during the ripening period of the berries, and after harvesting, it is important that the soil in the garden is constantly moist - this will ensure the rapid growth of young foliage. Knowing what to do with your strawberries after harvest will help increase your plant's yield for next season.

After shearing, warm water should be used to irrigate the bushes. Watering should be done at sunset or in the morning to avoid sunburn. After irrigation, the soil is loosened and mulched. If strawberries are constantly watered, despite the absence of fruits, then by spring they will give much more flower buds.

What to do with strawberries after fruiting: insect protection

Every experienced gardener knows how to treat strawberries after cutting the leaves to protect them from insects. The first prevention of plants is carried out during the growing season before flowering. When all strawberries are harvested, processing after fruiting is carried out again, no later than mid-August.

Usually, the Aktelik preparation is used to protect plants (15-20 ml per 10 liters of water, if there are many pests, the procedure can be repeated after 8-10 days). The tool will effectively cope with a transparent strawberry mite that eats young leaves. Spraying with a solution of iodine (5-10 drops per 10 liters of water) will save you from the weevil.

Processing strawberries after harvesting from pests includes a complex fertilizer with urea in the proportion of 30 g per 10 liters of liquid or infusion: 2 tbsp. l. nitroammofoski, 10 liters of water and 1 glass of ash.

Many are interested in: how to feed strawberries after cutting the leaves without the use of expensive products. For this, nettle is used. She is poured into a bucket of water and insisted for a week. Water the bushes after harvesting, mowing and at the stage of bush formation to protect it from pests.

Processing strawberries after fruiting: disease prevention

After harvesting, and also to reduce the incidence, it is better to use Fitosporin (against fungal diseases in the proportion of 1 tablespoon of liquid solution per 10 liters of water per 2 sq. M of plot) or Fitop (prepared similarly).

How to feed strawberries after harvest

Complex fertilizer with mineral substances is considered universal (Shungite, Elegy, Buisky fertilizers "For strawberries", etc.). However, feeding with organic matter gives a good result. Therefore, having chosen how to fertilize strawberries after harvesting: with manure or bean siderites, start cultivating the land.

How to process strawberries after fruiting and pruning:

• remove weeds and loosen the soil;
• water the beds with organic matter dissolved in water (mullein, horse manure);
• mulch the area with peat or pine needles;
• irrigate through mulch.

How to process strawberries after pruning to bookmark flower buds

You can use universal fertilizers (for example, Ammophoska, Nutriflex S), which are available in assortment in any specialized store. Usually the solution is in the proportion of 10 grams of the product to 10 liters of water. But you can feed the berry with a combination of nitrogen substances with ammonium nitrate.

Strawberry leaves live for about two months. When withering, various spots appear on them: faded white, red and even scarlet. These are signs of aging foliage, the development of a variety of diseases on it.

It is not at all worth thinking about whether it is necessary to cut strawberries after fruiting, since it is the pruning of strawberry (strawberry) leaves that helps protect future fruits from diseases.

Pruning and processing strawberries after fruiting

Knowing how strawberries are processed after harvest is very important. After 3-4 years of growing berries in one place, it is necessary to fertilize the soil with compost, rotten manure, mulch the ground with sawdust and ash. This will help to cover the strawberry roots that are visible from the ground. For those who are interested in how to care for strawberries after harvest, it is worth noting that mulching and hilling will ensure good root development.

Outcome

Applying tips on how to properly handle strawberries after harvest will help you keep your plant free of infections and prepare it for overwintering. Keep an eye on the bushes, provide them with proper care and prune them after fruiting, as a result, the next year you will expect a large and bountiful harvest.

The term "leaf mowing" refers to a whole range of activities in the first-year strawberry bed.

There is no definite answer to the questions - why and when to cut strawberries. Opinions of gardeners on this matter are different.

Some are for it, some are vehemently against it. Why do this if it seems to be known that the foliage feeds the root, they say, the more foliage, the stronger the bush? Yes, this is certainly correct.

But ... Harvested - prepare for the next! Sounds like a slogan for a gardener.

So, caring for strawberries after harvesting is preparing the plantation for next year's harvest. And pruning strawberry leaves is one of the stages of this care.

We all love this berry. In the spring, a lot of time and effort is spent on care before flowering, during it, during the formation, ripening of berries. We want more strawberries, they were larger, juicier, tastier.

So, just after the harvest, you need to make every effort to improve, increase it next year. Strawberries need special care just after harvesting. This is the most important time for her and for us.

Why trim your mustache

Surely, you already noticed during the harvest that strawberries (strawberries) give a lot of whiskers. Of course, it depends on the variety. Some cultivars have a lot of whiskers, some have little, and some may be completely hairless.

We collected all the berries - carefully inspect the entire plantation. It is necessary to loosen the beds of garden strawberries, weed them from weeds, remove the mustache.

Mustaches are required for strawberries to breed. If you do not want to get new rosettes, new plants for propagation, then you need to cut them off immediately after they appear.

Usually there are several mustaches on one bush, we collect them in one bunch and cut them as close as possible to the base of the bush. By the way, this mustache trimming procedure will have to be repeated more than once per season. If we start, we don’t do it on time, then the plant will spend all its energy on growing mustaches, rosettes - the future crop will get less, there will be fewer flower buds, which means there will be fewer berries, they will be smaller.

Everything superfluous for the future harvest must be cut off.

In addition, this is necessary so that the strawberries do not thicken, since thickened plantings are more difficult to care for.

When to feed, fertilize

Some gardeners do the wrong thing by overfeeding strawberries before harvest. This leads to the fact that it is strongly affected by gray rot, this is, firstly. Secondly, although the berries become large, they are watery, less sweet, and have a shorter harvest period.

Early in the spring before flowering, we fertilize with nitrogen fertilizers. But, remember, the main fertilization should be after harvest. This is top dressing with complete mineral fertilizer and organic matter. Many bring manure under strawberries. This, of course, is good - manure not only nourishes the plants, but also takes care of the strawberry root system.

Hilling strawberries

The fact is that strawberries are a perennial berry plant. Over time, it builds up an aerial root system and begins, as it were, to bulge out of the ground. Every year, especially after 3-4 years of growing in one place, we are forced to add mulch, earth, compost, rotted manure into the aisles, thus covering the roots of strawberries. Mulching, hilling helps the roots develop well.

Reasons, timing of pruning leaves

The laying of fruit buds in strawberries (strawberries) occurs in June (Krasnodar Territory) - July (middle lane) after harvest. By this time, it is necessary to coincide with the first trimming of the mustache, leaves.

The fact is that a strawberry leaf lives only 60-70 days - 2-2.5 months. And after that, various spots appear on the leaves - whitish, rusty, red. These are signs of leaf aging, the development of various diseases on them.

That is, cutting the leaves of strawberries (strawberries) is necessary in order to protect the future crop from diseases.

Trim leaves or whiskers with secateurs or scissors. Tools must be sharp.

Do not tear them off with your hands - this way you can damage the root system. The plant, instead of building up leaf mass, will recover its strength for a long time.

The process of chlorophyll production stops 2-2.5 months after picking the berries - even in healthy plants, the leaves may turn red.

Advice:

reddened leaves should be removed to prevent the pests remaining on them from wintering quietly. Treat the plantation with pesticides.

There is a danger that young leaves will not have time to grow after pruning - bare bushes may not survive the frosty winter.

So, a month and a half after picking the last berries, we inspect the plantation of strawberries (garden strawberries) and remove all the leaves with specks, holes, while not forgetting to remove the flower stalks. We leave only young leaves.

When to do it?

AT middle lane- the first half of August. I will not say the exact date - it is not so important. Most importantly, calculate the timing so that your strawberries leave in the winter with young leaves already grown.

How to prune strawberries if the plants are affected by diseases, pests

In the event that a bush or bushes of strawberries are affected by a strawberry mite, there is severe spotting on the leaves, it is necessary to remove all leaves, even young ones.

Leaves with signs of disease should be cut as close to the base of the bush as possible, since disease spores can also persist on petioles. Try not to touch the heart of the bush when pruning - the plant will be able to recover faster.

By doing such pruning, you will not harm the bush, as strawberries grow green mass very quickly. By cutting off the old leaves, you will immediately see where you can loosen the ground, where you need to remove the weeds.

Of course, by removing all the leaves from strawberries, you will not remove all pests and diseases. They will remain on the stumps of leaves, the ground.

Simply, such a bed is easier to treat with drugs for diseases and pests. This processing is more efficient.

Now you can feed the "rejuvenated" bed.

At this time, as I said, fruit buds are laid - the basis of the future harvest, so do not forget to periodically water your strawberries. BUT

if there is no rain, keep the soil moist.

Top dressing, watering at this time are required. It is at this time that strawberries will increase their leaf mass, which in winter, covered with snow, will protect the root system from freezing.

That is, the more foliage your bushes go into the winter, the better they will winter, the more harvest you will get.

If during the harvest period you notice berries affected by gray rot - after harvesting the last berries, treat the entire plantation with some kind of fungicide - it can be Bordeaux mixture, Topaz or Horus.

Is it possible to mow all strawberry leaves

The term "leaf mowing" refers to a whole range of activities in the first-year strawberry bed. Some gardeners take the word "mowing" so literally that they go out into the garden with a scythe and even with a lawn mower, and not in July, but in August, and ignore all other methods. The results of such leaf mowing are always deplorable.

In fact, this most important stage in the care of strawberries includes not only the removal of leaves, but also loosening, treatment for pests and diseases, removal of mustaches, replanting fallen plants and preparing seedlings for a new garden bed.

Not so long ago, walking along my dacha street, I saw that my acquaintances were mowing strawberry leaves with a scythe. They have a large berry plot - several acres - they cannot do without a scythe, as they believe. At first I thought that they decided to get rid of the old strawberries in this way, they say, it's time to start a new plantation. But it turned out that everything is not so. The owner of the dacha said that they mow the leaves of strawberries every year, three or four weeks after the last harvest. And this year, some circumstances prevented them from doing it on time and they mowed in mid-August. The strawberry harvest, according to them, is good all the time, it gets sick less.

If you have a large plantation and it is more than 3-4 years old, then you can follow the example of my friends.

There is another reason for completely cutting strawberry leaves with a scythe or secateurs (scissors) - this is a strong defeat of plantings by diseases and pests. After complete cutting (mowing) of the leaves, the plantation should be treated with some fungicide or pesticide. Be sure to feed your strawberries - help her quickly build up leaf mass.

It is not necessary to carry out mowing on young healthy plantings of strawberries, this depletes the bushes and you deprive yourself of the harvest.

How to care for strawberry beds after pruning or mowing

I will repeat myself a little, but this is very important.

Loosen the ground around the bushes.

Remove weeds.

Treat the plantation for diseases and pests.

Feed with mineral and organic fertilizers.

Water regularly if there is no rain during this period.

It is very important that the soil in the garden bed is wet all the time - this is very important for the growth of young foliage.

That's all the simple rules. Now you know how and when to prune strawberries (garden strawberries). A good harvest next year is guaranteed!

Leaves by season

The leaves of garden strawberries are updated three times a year: in spring, summer and autumn. They work actively from 40 to 80 days. Regrown in the spring feed the bushes from April to June inclusive, and then, having grown old, gradually die off. After fruiting, spring ones are replaced by summer ones.

The former are important for the fruiting of the current year, the latter for laying flower buds and accumulating nutrients for the future. Then the so-called autumn leaves that go into the winter. With good and stable snow cover, most of them remain until spring. Each gardener must decide for himself whether or not to mow old leaves. Much depends on the condition of the beds and how much time you are willing to devote to caring for strawberries.

I mow because I think they carry a lot of infection. But not at the end of summer, but immediately

after harvest. Timely removal of leaves from the plantation (before the spores fly) significantly reduces the harm from disease, and also prevents re-infection. And it is also important for me that this technique greatly suppresses the growth of mustaches. I do not mow leaves only on strawberry beds of the first year of use.

The procedure itself does not take much time: we take a benzoko-su and mow a bed at a height of 5-7 cm. At the same time, old leaves are almost completely removed and neither the horns nor the growth points are damaged.

The mowed mass is usually sent to compost. Strawberry beds are well watered and fed with a solution of chicken manure (1:15). strawberries good

reacts to it and immediately begins to actively recover. For top dressing, you can use any complex fertilizers (15-20 g / sq.m), it is better if they are with trace elements.

No bare roots!

A good technique is the hilling of strawberry bushes, especially from the 3rd year of life. I also do it after mowing the leaves, combining it with loosening the soil after watering and liquid top dressing. At the same time, I make sure that the heart is not covered with earth.

At the end of August, I pour a 3-4 cm layer of mulch around each bush. I use leaf humus for this. It serves not only as a fertilizer, but also is a heater for the winter, and in the spring it does not allow the roots to become bare.

Strawberry drones - out!

Weed varieties are often found on strawberry plantings.

They either do not produce a crop at all, or bring low - small and non-marketable berries. Such bushes, not burdened with a harvest, throw all their strength into reproduction. Like weeds, they suppress a large-fruited variety. Therefore, it is important to notice the appearance of these weeds in time and destroy them.

On a note

Removal of strawberry leaves is indicated for early and mid-season varieties. It is undesirable to mow the leaves of the later ones, they may not have time to grow them before frost, which will significantly reduce the yield next year. It is also not used for remontant and day-neutral varieties of strawberries, which will have a second fruiting in the fall, lasting until late autumn.

Practical advice

Do not leave overripe or damaged berries on the beds. Usually they serve as a source of clogging of plantings with seedlings.

How often to renew a strawberry plantation

I have been using fruit-bearing strawberry bushes for no more than three years, not counting the year of planting. I update my plantation usually no later than the second half of August. Young rosettes planted at this time manage to form not only well-developed roots and leaves before winter, but also lay flower buds under short day conditions.

I plant strawberries in the garden in one line. In the first year of growing on the bushes, I remove all the whiskers, except for one or two. In the second year, I repeat the same. I send young sockets to free places. Of these, independently rooted, the most productive bushes grow. The result is long ribbons of strawberries. If I don’t plan to replace varieties, then I use second-year sockets to create new beds. If there is another planting material, I remove all the formed mustaches after harvesting the second crop. On the 3rd and 4th year of cultivation, I remove all the whiskers.

With a mustache!

So that my favorite varieties of strawberries do not degenerate, during fruiting I plan the most fruitful bushes, in the future I take mustaches for laying a future plantation only from these “mothers”. I separate the sockets immediately after rooting and plant them on a separate bed. Those that were aged for 10-12 hours in a solution of zircon (1 ml per 2 liters of water) are very well accepted.

Note

The most powerful rosettes in the garden usually give bushes lightly loaded with berries. In abundantly bearing fruits, they grow more modestly. Therefore, to obtain high-quality seedlings, it is better to plant queen cells on a separate bed and remove flower stalks from them. Or take sockets only from the intended copies.

Who disfigures strawberry bushes

Strawberry transparent mite is the most dangerous pest of strawberries. Most often damages leaves, especially young ones.

As a result, they curl and acquire a yellowish-oily hue, flower stalks become dwarfed, and berries become small. The more pests, the uglier the bushes. Mite breeding is facilitated by warm and humid weather.

It is good to use an infusion of onion peel against strawberry mites: pour 200 g into 10 l warm water and insist for 4-5 days, after which the infusion is filtered and used for spraying.

You can also prepare an infusion from the onion itself: chop 100 g of onions, place in a tightly sealed container, pour 10 liters of water and insist for 6-7 hours.

Another method is reliable: weed the affected plantation, removing excess mustaches and diseased leaves (you need to remove them from the plants along with the petioles, it is at the base of the leaf petioles that adult female ticks overwinter), then sprinkle the bushes abundantly with an infusion of crushed garlic 0.5 kg pour 3 l of water, use 300 g of extract per watering can.

After harvesting, chemical treatments are also carried out. The plantation is sprayed after mowing the leaves with one of the preparations: Fufanon, Kemifos, Fitoverm.

You can finally get rid of the pest by laying beds in a new place. All seedlings (after washing the roots from the soil and tying them in bunches) are immersed in a container with water heated to 45’C before planting.

It is kept in it for 13-15 minutes, after which the sockets are immediately cooled in cold water.

The first two weeks, strawberry plantings will look ugly, but then they will noticeably cheer up.

N. SOLONOVICH, scientist agronomist

I met different opinions about whether it is necessary to cut off the mustache and leaves of garden strawberries after they have fruited. Please advise how to proceed?

D. Dymova Lipetsk region

The post-harvest period requires special attention, because it is very important in the life of strawberries. At this time, the growth of leaves, horns, roots resumes, flower buds are laid, i.e. next year's crop is being formed. Therefore, timely and high-quality plant care is now needed (weeding, top dressing, watering, removal of whiskers, loosening the soil, pest and pathogen control).

When the harvest of strawberries is harvested, it is best to remove the mustache from the bushes so that they do not deplete the mother plant and do not interfere with the laying of flower buds. However, the mustache with rosettes with which you are going to propagate the variety must be left, and remember that the first and second rosettes closest to the mother plant are considered the strongest.

Whether to remove leaves along with the mustache is an ambiguous question.

In the southern regions, the removal of leaves immediately after harvesting berries is an agricultural technique that increases yields. This is due to the fact that in the conditions of the south the post-harvest period is long and favorable for the development of plants.

If you cut the leaves before July 15 and feed and water the plants well, then leaves and roots will begin to actively form, and flower buds will be laid. By autumn, such plants will develop a strong aboveground and root system, which will positively affect the next year's harvest.

In the northern regions, mowing strawberry leaves during this period gives negative results, as the plants do not have time to prepare well for the next year's harvest. So in the middle lane this technique should be carried out only if the plants are badly damaged by the strawberry mite.

Then mow and burn the leaves as quickly as possible, right after picking the berries. If the strawberries are not damaged by a tick, then the leaves should not be removed after harvesting in the central regions of the non-chernozem zone, otherwise the plants will not have time to develop a sufficient leaf apparatus and lay flower buds before the onset of cold weather.

All gardeners and gardeners begin the development of their plots with the planting of garden strawberries (colloquially called strawberries). Strawberries open the fruit season, they are tasty and fragrant. They are loved by adults, but especially by children. Growing strawberries seems to be a simple, but troublesome business.. The plant needs constant care, especially attention should be paid to strawberries after harvesting.

With the harvest of the last berries, the time for preparing strawberry bushes for the next year's harvest immediately begins, since with the advent of spring, strawberries take strength for the growth of young foliage, flowering and fruiting from the accumulated stocks of last year's season.

So the struggle for the future harvest must begin immediately after the harvest of the current and it consists in the fact that before winter the strawberry bushes have time to grow a good root system and stock up on nutrients.

To do this, immediately after harvesting, you must:

• if the beds with strawberries were covered with mulching material(straw, sawdust) it is better to remove it now, as diseases and pests could accumulate in it;
• to weed the beds with strawberries to remove weeds, because they take food from the soil;
• soil loosening under the bushes and between the rows, it is necessary to perform for better air exchange of the roots, this must be done carefully, trying not to damage the root system, and at the same time, it is necessary to spud the strawberry bushes, sprinkling the growing roots with earth (the main thing is not to fill up the heart);
• remove old leaves and extra mustache;
• make timely watering beds of strawberries;
• carry out top dressing plants;
• do some processing strawberries to avoid plant diseases and pest control.

Autumn top dressing of garden strawberries

Foliage and mustache removal, pruning scheme

In garden strawberries, leaf renewal occurs three times per season.: spring, summer and autumn. On average, the life span of strawberry leaves is 60-70 days, after which they age and die.

Spring regrowth of foliage plays a major role in fruiting. In the period after fruiting, the second stage of the formation of new foliage begins - this is the period of laying flower buds and the accumulation of nutrients for the future crop. Autumn foliage is important for a good wintering bushes.

Signs of leaf aging are the appearance of whitish, red or red spots on them. While the leaves die naturally, they take extra nutrients from the plant and deplete the plants. So it is desirable to remove old leaves from the fruiting bushes 2-3 days after the end of fruiting without damaging the growing young leaves and hearts.

At the same time as the leaves, we also remove the extra whiskers. If needed planting material to increase the strawberry plantation or replace old bushes with new ones, you need to leave the first outlet from the mother bush. She is the strongest and most productive. We remove all other regrown mustaches so that they do not deplete the mother bush, already weakened by fruiting.

As a result of mowing foliage, we partially get rid of diseases and pests., which are populated by aging foliage.

All cut foliage should be removed from strawberry beds. You can’t use it as a mulch, so lay it in compost heaps can.

Pruning is done with secateurs if the strawberry beds are not large. If the size of berry plantations exceeds the ability to process them manually, the trimming process will help to complete electric trimmer or lawn mower.

The cutting height should be 5-7 cm, the growth point (hearts) should not be removed. Pruning of old foliage is performed on bushes older than 2 years; on one-year-olds, only dried and diseased leaves are removed. After pruning, berry plantings must be loosened and watered.

Do I need to water in the fall?

Land on strawberry beds should be wet, because after fruiting and pruning the foliage, the plants should recover as soon as possible, lay fruit buds, and grow the root system. Watering should be plentiful, at least once a week during dry periods.. To avoid sunburn of the leaves, water in the morning or evening hours. After watering, it is necessary to loosen the beds in order to prevent the formation of a crust on the soil surface. To keep the soil under the berry bushes in a wet and loose state, it is best to mulch the beds.

Mulching is the best way to retain moisture

The mulched soil becomes looser. In the process of mulch decomposition in the soil, nutrients are accumulated and enriched with beneficial microorganisms. Mulching inhibits the growth of weeds, which makes it easier to care for plantings.. Berry beds look more aesthetically pleasing.

Garden strawberries under black covering material

As mulch, you can use sawdust, straw, chopped dry grass(if there is a lawn, then after mowing it, dry the grass in the sun and spread it between the bushes and in the aisle), compost or leaf humus, needles. You can cover the ground under the bushes with spandbond(preferably black, weeds practically do not grow under it) or lay new plantings of strawberries immediately on high ridges covered with black covering material.

Feeding after fruiting

In the period after the harvest, the strawberry bushes are weakened, all the forces are spent on fruiting. To restore plants, stimulate growth processes and lay flower buds during this period, top dressing is especially necessary.

Experienced gardeners recommend feeding three times. Immediately after pruning leaves in August, fertilizing with nitrogen fertilizers should be given to stimulate the growth of young foliage. Two weeks after the first fertilizing with organic matter with the addition of phosphorus and potassium, it will contribute to the laying of flower buds. In mid-September, the third top dressing is performed with a solution of mullein.

There are many options for top dressing, the choice is yours. E it can be mineral supplements or organic.

mineral

1. Ammophoska- contains in its composition nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, as well as magnesium, calcium, sulfur. Consumption of 20-30 grams per 1 m 2 in dry form is scattered on the beds, then covered with a chopper in the soil and watering is carried out. You can water the bushes with a watering can by preparing a solution at the rate of 20 grams (matchbox) of fertilizer per 10 liters of water.
2. Nitrophoska and nitroammophoska at the rate of 1 tablespoon per 10 liters of water.
3. There are also special mineral fertilizers for strawberries, containing all the fertilizers necessary for it.

It is impossible to apply fertilizers containing chlorine under strawberries, it is contraindicated for it.

Water-soluble fertilizer Crystalon for strawberries and wild strawberries

organic

1. Mullein.

It can be worn both dry, used for mulching between rows, and in the form of an infused solution.

To prepare the solution, one part of the mullein is poured with 10 parts of water., insist the mixture for a day, after which the solution can be applied under the plants. In this infusion, to enrich it with trace elements, you can add one part of the ash.

1. bird droppings.

In dry form, it is better not to apply it under growing bushes, as you can burn the roots and destroy the plantings. To prepare the infusion, 1 part of bird droppings is diluted in 10 parts of water. and insist at least two days. Then 1 liter of the solution is diluted in 10 liters of water and the plants are watered.

1. herbal infusion.

Up to half the volume of grass (weeds from weeding, nettles cut from the lawn) is placed in a barrel or other large container, ash is added, everything is filled with water to the full volume and left to wander in the sun for 10 days. You can add 200 grams of yeast to the barrel, they will speed up the fermentation process and enrich the infusion with microorganisms. The finished infusion is diluted in a 1: 1 ratio with water and strawberry bushes are watered.. The infusion not only fertilizes the plants, but also contributes to the deoxidation of the soil.

It is useful to add wood ash to strawberry beds, which is rich in potassium-phosphorus fertilizers and trace elements, and helps to reduce soil acidity. Ash is added after pruning the leaves, watering and loosening the soil.

The main thing is not to overfeed the strawberries so that they do not begin to fatten (to increase the green mass of the leaves, and not to lay flower buds). Better to underfeed than to overfeed.

Disease and pest control

After harvesting, it's time to start the fight against diseases and pests, because this cannot be done during fruiting. After pruning the leaves, strawberries are treated with a weak solution of potassium permanganate in order to disinfect the remaining petioles and treat the soil under the bushes from fungal diseases.

If a weevil wound up on strawberries, then berry plantings are treated with Intavir twice with an interval of two weeks. You can prepare an iodine solution: 10 drops of iodine per 10 liters of water and process the plants.

To avoid damage to strawberry plantations by strawberry mites, plantings are treated with broad-spectrum insecticides ("Fitoverm", "Fufanon", "Aktellik", "Kemifos") immediately after harvest and in the fall.

When processing strawberries, it is desirable to add fertilizers to tank mixes, thus combining foliar top dressing with the fight against diseases and pests.

Autumn care for garden strawberries, preparation for winter

Caring for strawberries in the fall consists in removing weeds and loosening the soil, mulching bushes and row-spacings with humus and foliage. Single diseased and old leaves are removed from the bushes.. It is impossible to drastically cut the foliage, the bush will not have time to grow foliage, it will go into the winter weakened, it may not endure the cold and freeze.

The exposed roots of plants need to be covered with earth or well spud, but the heart (growth point) cannot be covered.

From frost, the beds are covered with branches, dry foliage, spruce branches. It is not worth covering with hay or straw - mice can get under them and gnaw on the roots.

If you properly care for strawberry plantations after harvesting, do not leave them to their fate, then next year you will definitely have a bountiful harvest of sweet, fragrant berries. This will bring joy and pleasure not only to you, but also to your children and grandchildren.

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