Juicy and fragrant strawberries are always among the garden leaders. Her with pleasure eat both adults and children. And thanks to the appearance of new high-yielding repair varieties in one season, you can harvest several harvests of useful and tasty berries. But in order to ensure a stable annual fruition, one must know about the rules for caring for strawberries not only in spring and summer, but also in autumn, after harvesting. After all, it is during this period that the plant prepares for wintering and lays fruit buds for the next garden season.
In this article we will talk about how to care for strawberries in the fall.
Autumn strawberry - care, top dressing
After harvesting berries, strawberries should be fed with complex fertilizers . It is desirable that in the fertilizers used in the second half of the summer and in the autumn, the amount of nitrogen is reduced. But potassium-phosphorus fertilizers are very useful in this period. Do not forget that fertilizers should only be applied to moist soil - after rain or copious irrigation.
In the middle of September, it is possible to cut damaged and yellowed leaves and treat bushes with insecticide-acaricide.
Complete removal of green leaves is not necessary, this is important only for very old bushes that need rejuvenation.
Repaired strawberries should feel the frost several times in autumn, so the plant will begin to prepare for the rest period. However, leaving it without shelter to severe frosts is undesirable.
Until the middle of October, it is desirable to cover the rows of strawberries with peat, dry sawdust or wood shavings, lapnik or other covering material that is capable of passing air. The roots of the strawberry bushes are very close to the surface of the soil, and are easily affected by frost in the snowless winters. Mulching helps to avoid this.
However, in spring mulch is important to remove in time - excess moisture, especially in combination with a lack of fresh air (during the winter, the mulch is caked) often causes fungi and rot. Reduce the likelihood of this will help the processing of inter-row antifungal agents before mulching.
How to plant strawberries in autumn?
The question of whether it is possible to plant strawberries in the autumn, has long been resolved - all gardeners agree that the autumn planting is permissible. But opinions about the expediency of autumn planting diverge. Some gardeners believe that the early planting of strawberries in the fall allows the plants to take root sufficiently until the onset of a persistent cold, which means that the wintering will pass without problems. In addition, so we thin out the plantations and leave the bushes with more living space, which positively affects the viability and yield.
The second group of strawberry lovers, on the contrary, considers autumn planting ineffective. In this case, they say, the plant can not form a sufficient number of fruit buds, which means that the yield will be 2-3 times less.
The terms of the strawberry transplantation in autumn vary depending on the geographic-climatic zone of cultivation. On average, from the time of transplantation to the onset of stable colds, it should take at least 40-60 days.
Before planting, the roots are slightly shortened, and the bulk of the leaves is removed (leaving only a couple). Plant better after dinner or in the evening (or in cloudy weather), so that the sun does not burn freshly transplanted bushes. Deepen the core can not - it leads to decay.
Now you know how to care for strawberries in autumn to ensure a successful wintering of bushes and a plentiful harvest for the next year.