Our garden strawberry is covered with flowers and berries very early. For a very short time from the descent of the snow and to the middle of the first summer month, she manages to please us with her fragrant berries.
Where does the plant take so many nutrients that the strawberries are large, sweet and juicy? All wisdom is that the future harvest is laid in the period of summer and autumn of the previous year. So the care of strawberries after harvest is very, very important and is actually the basis of the next year's harvest.
How to care for strawberries after harvest?
The main procedures for caring for the berry are:
- Pruning. Inexperienced gardeners often do not know what to do with strawberries after harvest. First of all, you need to remove from the beds all the weeds, mustaches and old, withered leaves of the plant. It is convenient to use for cutting a small garden pruner. Only leaves need to be removed, leaving long stems. Try not to damage young leaves - they are needed for photosynthesis and plant strengthening for the next year.
- After pruning, loosen the soil to a depth of about 10 cm (in the aisles). Remember that the roots of strawberries are near the surface, so that in the immediate vicinity of the bushes it is impossible to deeply loosen the soil.
- Top-dressing of strawberries after harvest. As already mentioned, in the summer-autumn period, strawberries gather strength and store nutrients for the next year, so it must be supplemented. Suitable is a complex mineral fertilizer (30 g per each m2 of the bed). It is better to buy special fertilizers for garden strawberries - they contain all the necessary substances. In addition, you can make humus - it simultaneously fertilizes the soil and improves its structure. After that, you need to wrap up the beds with peat.
- Processing strawberries after harvest. In order to avoid the spread of fungal diseases and wintering of insect pests in the soil, you need to pour strawberries with manganese solution or sprinkle with ashes. This will reduce the risk of development of seasonal spores and egg parasites discarded during the season.
- Watering. Until the end of the warm season, you need to keep the soil under the strawberries in an important condition. Water should be seldom and abundantly. Frequent and small watering for this culture does not bring benefits. After each watering, loosen the bed.
- Mulching for the winter. Before the onset of cold weather, cover the strawberry with a layer of pine needles. It will help to winter better and withstand the hard frosts.