Preparing a bed for strawberries. How to make beds for strawberries: examples and tips for arrangement How to prepare beds for garden strawberries

Strawberries are quite an expensive and healthy product, so all amateur gardeners who are at least minimally involved in cultivating edible crops in their summer cottages strive to pamper themselves with this delicious berry, allocating an area of ​​half a hundred square meters, or even two hundred square meters. Strawberries are quite picky in their care, so the question is: which one and how to prepare a bed for strawberries For your site - it’s worth deciding first. Perhaps your long-awaited harvest depends on this.

The paradox of this plant is that it loves moisture very much, but cannot tolerate being oversaturated with it, so beds for strawberries must be made at some elevation. The convenience of a raised ridge is not only that it looks neat and water does not stagnate there, but also that it is convenient to remove weeds and generally care for bushes, removing excess tendrils and dried leaves.

How to make raised beds for strawberries

The height of the bed can vary from 10 centimeters to 30, depending on the place where the bed for strawberries is being prepared - this may be a slope or an uneven lowland that should be leveled, preventing stagnation of water, which harms these plants. Some experienced farmers prefer higher beds for strawberries, making them out of old tires or boxes and raising the level of the working surface by 40-60 cm or up to a meter or more (structures in the form of pipes with holes or stepped boxes).

Nowadays, everyone chooses for themselves how to prepare a bed for strawberries - fertilize the plain in the old fashioned way and plant seedlings, or make the most convenient bed to use, which you don’t have to bend over and which is conveniently watered - from above (covering watering a dozen bushes). In addition, harvesting from such a bed for strawberries is a real pleasure, unlike the old methods, when the berries, when ripening, lay on the ground and were often affected by various types of rot before they were collected, or simply became dirty.

Vertical beds for strawberries

Of course, this type of beds has become the best solution for cultivating this berry, especially in small garden plots.

• Firstly, by constructing compositions from different materials (wooden boxes, metal racks with pots or clay flowerpots), you can emphasize the design of the site, complementing it with flowering and fruiting bushes, unexpectedly placed at eye level. And make the strawberry bed not only tasty, but also interesting.
• Secondly, this really makes caring for the plant easier and the strawberry bed can be placed in sunny areas if your land is occupied by garden trees or a lawn.

In addition, there is an opinion that strawberries should not be grown in one place for three years - they become smaller and lose their taste and aroma. Therefore, vertical strawberry beds that have taken root on your site can become a fresh trend in your experience of growing strawberries. They can even be built from barrels, if this is to your taste as a designer, or you can simply delve into the process of improving the strawberries themselves and try out different ways of growing this berry - in hanging bags, in lawn pots, in flower pots and other unusual containers adapted for strawberries , Victoria or strawberry. Experiment, create, create the best for strawberries and for yourself!

Preparing a bed for strawberries in the fall. How to make a bed for strawberries correctly

If your soil is poorly fertile, there is not enough humus and humus, then you must fill the strawberry beds with humus or compost. Carrion apples can be an organic fertilizer for strawberry bushes. In fertile years there are a lot of them and the best thing you can do is put them in beds and they will turn into compost.

We make a bed for strawberries in the form of a ditch, fill it with fallen apples, cover it with soil and plant strawberries. For planting, make a bed 1 m 20 cm wide and make two furrows in it; berry rosettes are planted along the edges; the middle can be left free and you can sow onions there for the summer or something else.

There are few people in the world who do not love strawberries. And indeed: how can a person exhausted by vitamin deficiency, even under the fear of possible allergies, not love this first spring berry - the harbinger of all summer abundance? That is why the prices for it in stores are so exorbitant, even despite the fact that strawberries are the most commercially cultivated berry; That’s why summer residents and residents of rural areas try to allocate at least a small piece of this crop on their plot - so that they can enjoy it to their fullest, without being scared by the prices. If the plot of an individual farmstead is large enough, then you can make good money by growing strawberries, given the constant demand for it, which is not deterred even by consistently high prices.

However, it’s no secret that strawberries (or, to be precise, garden (pineapple) strawberries) are a very capricious crop that requires careful attention. Only with appropriate efforts can you get a good harvest from it. And you should start with preparing the beds.

General requirements

Preparing a bed for planting strawberries is a very labor-intensive and very responsible task. Whether your harvest will be rich or not directly depends on the right choice and approach to its arrangement. And even if you plan to grow strawberries only for your own consumption, the choice of land and location for planting the bushes determines whether the strawberry will delight you with its berries or die in its prime.

When choosing a location for strawberry beds, you should remember that:

1. It should be sunny (strawberries cannot tolerate shade or even a hint of it), so it is best to lay out the beds in an open place, free even from garden trees - firstly, because of the shade, and secondly, because of possible spraying trees with various preparations. What benefits one person may prove fatal to another. In addition, the area allocated for strawberries should be flat and slightly elevated so that groundwater does not come close to its surface. Strawberries will not take root in lowlands.
2. The beds must be protected from the wind. If crops such as currants and gooseberries grow on the site, then there is no particular problem with the choice: strawberries can be planted between them, and they will serve as reliable protection. If there are neither currants nor gooseberries, we must look for other ways to solve this problem.
3. The best type of soil for it is sandy-loamy or sandy, enriched with humus. It can also take root in areas with acidic soil. The least suitable areas for strawberries are limestone and soiled areas, as well as those where groundwater is high.
4. An important condition for future productivity is what crops preceded strawberries. The best predecessors are all legumes (especially peas and beans), greens, corn, carrots and radishes. Undesirable precursors include all major agricultural vegetables: potatoes, tomatoes, cabbage, cucumbers, eggplants and peppers. Although in some sources you can find a statement that strawberries can bear fruit after tomatoes, and produce very large fruits. Perhaps it’s all about the variety - as you know, there are more than two thousand varieties of this berry, some of which are remontant (that is, capable of bearing fruit and blooming during one growing season) - or in how to prepare and cultivate the land after how tomatoes grew on it...
5. The plot should be large, since the bushes need to be planted at a relatively decent distance from each other.

The best location for strawberry beds is considered to be the southeastern part of the garden or yard.

How to prepare a bed for strawberries

Preparing the selected area for planting strawberries does not seem to be as difficult as the future care of this crop, and involves the following actions:

1. Complete cleaning of the area from foliage, sticks and branches - in the event that a completely new area has been chosen for strawberries, never used for anything before.
2. Digging the ground to the depth of one spade bayonet. This must be done both if the site was used for something and if it was not used.
3. Leveling the area with a rake and adding organic fertilizer - at least one bucket of humus or compost per 1 square meter. m. landing. You can lay it in specially dug trenches at the site of future beds, and sprinkle superphosphate on top according to the instructions or a mixture of it with sand and humus; You can limit yourself to distributing organic fertilizers over the surface. If the strawberries already had predecessors in the selected area, then it is recommended to treat the soil with phytosporin according to the following recipe: 1 part instant paste to 2 parts non-chlorinated (rain) water, then 1 tbsp. l. of the finished product per 10 liters. water per 1 sq.m.
4. Marking the territory for future strawberry stripes. It is best to make furrows between the beds that will not only separate them, but also accumulate rainwater, thereby limiting the access of moisture to the roots of the bushes. The height of such furrows should be 20-25 cm lower than the bed itself. In addition, during harvesting, such furrows are very convenient to move through the strawberry plantation: the risk of damaging the bushes is minimized.

The next thing you need to pay attention to is the size of the beds and how to arrange them. The most optimal width of one strawberry bed on a plantation is recognized to be a distance of 70-80 cm, on which two parallel rows can be easily placed with a distance of 30-40 cm from each other. The length of the bed depends on the capabilities of the garden plot itself and you as its owner. The distance from the edges of the bed is not particularly regulated, but, as the experience of gardeners shows, 20-25 cm is a completely normal, acceptable and generally accepted parameter. The remaining sizes are:

1. The distance between the bushes in each row and the width of the furrows for planting is 30-40 cm. It is strongly not recommended to plant bushes at a closer distance: in pursuit of the number of berries, you will get the completely opposite result, and as the bushes grow and form mustaches, the bushes will begin to tangle with each other. In addition, at a close distance there will be difficulties in weeding and risks of damage to the crop itself and the spread of various diseases among the bushes.
2. The depth of the furrows is at least 20 cm.
3. The height of the bed depends on the type of structure: for low beds it is accepted 20-40 cm, for high ones – 90 cm.

If you make the area wider, it can be difficult to care for and harvest.

As for planting methods, the most common are the following:

1. Carpet (or solid carpet), in which the bushes are planted in a checkerboard pattern at a distance of 25 cm from each other and at the same distance between the rows.
2. In rows with a distance of 70 cm from each other (that is, one row is assumed on one bed).
3. Ribbons (or nests) in two, three and five lines. A two-line tape involves planting two rows with a distance between them of 30-40 cm, between bushes - 25 cm, and between beds - 60-70 cm; a three-line tape involves planting three rows with a distance of 25-30 cm from each other and between the bushes and 60-70 cm between the beds; with a five-line tape, the distance between the rows and bushes is 15 cm, and between the beds - 60 cm.

If desired, you can fence the beds with slate or something similar. This will prevent possible encroachment of slugs on the strawberry plantation.

How to make strawberry beds

If ordinary plantations seem like a boring and monotonous landscape to you, there is always a place and opportunity to plant strawberries in your own, unusual and creative way. Amateur gardening has long stepped far forward not only in terms of developing agrotechnical techniques aimed at obtaining a good harvest, but also in terms of design of planted crops. In addition to classic horizontal beds, there are also:

1. Vertical.
2. Pyramid beds, or multi-story beds.
3. Warm (or low German) beds.

In addition to the originality that these forms and views give to a yard or garden, they also have some practical advantages. For example, the advantages of vertical strawberry beds are as follows:

1. They save space and are an excellent option for those gardeners whose garden plots are small, or for those who live in a multi-storey building (such beds are very convenient and fit well on a regular balcony or loggia, and for the winter they can be brought into an apartment ).
2. They reduce the risk of bushes being damaged by many pests.
3. They are easy to care for - for example, you don’t have to bend over every time and thereby strain your back (no doubt, for some people this is an undeniable advantage).
4. There is no total thickening in them.
5. They are decorative. Such beds are an original decoration of a farmstead.

Among the disadvantages inherent in such structures, we can only mention the need for frequent watering and fertilizing (fertilizers should be applied almost weekly) and the need for shelter for the winter (in such containers the soil quickly freezes). True, if you add hydrogel to the soil substrate, then the frequency of watering can be significantly reduced, and if you also solve the problem of covering for the winter, almost all obstacles to their installation will be overcome.

The material from which a gardener can make vertical beds is as creative as the form itself. It can be:

1. Car tires. Flower beds made from them are also called “high German beds.” The basis of it is the rubber of a heavy-duty vehicle, smaller tires are used for the second tier, and tires from passenger cars are used for the top. The bottom is covered with a mesh, holes for berries with a diameter of 7-10 cm are cut out in the tires themselves using a chisel at a distance of 15-20 cm from each other, and the base is filled with earth with humus or a prepared substrate. Before planting bushes, the soil must be watered with water - plain or with the addition of potassium permanganate. However, such material should be approached very carefully: it is not environmentally friendly and can release toxins, which is why you will have to change the soil at least once every two years.
2. Metal or PVC pipes. Usually two pipes with a diameter of 120-150 mm are used. and 20 mm. Holes are cut out in a wide pipe in a checkerboard pattern, a narrow pipe wrapped in burlap, used for irrigation, is inserted into it, the remaining space is filled with a ten-centimeter layer of gravel and earth or substrate. There is another option using one metal or plastic pipe of large diameter (about 10 cm): holes with a diameter of 10-12 cm are made in it in a spiral at a distance of 20-30 cm from each other, the internal cavity is filled with already fertilized soil , then bushes are planted in it. An option is also possible in which the upper part of the pipe is completely removed and an open bed is equipped in the remaining part.
3. Sacks of sugar or flour. You can use them as a whole, or you can make hanging flower beds. If a whole bag is used, then it is filled with a mixture of fertilized soil and humus, then cuts are made in it in a checkerboard pattern (no more than three or four), and the distance between them depends on the selected variety and its spreading nature, and bushes are planted in them. The bag itself can be hung on the sunniest wall. Watering such a bed is done through the top, and excess moisture always leaves through the bottom.
4. Any air- and water-permeable strong material from which you can sew a stand with pockets for individual bushes. For a stand, a piece of one and a half to two meters high of any width is usually selected, onto which pockets are sewn in an even layer and fastenings are sewn. This piece is hung on a wall or on a fence, the pockets are filled with substrate, and strawberry bushes are planted in them (one in each pocket). The complexity of this design is that each bush separately needs to be watered and fed, but this is compensated by its original appearance, which will certainly benefit the decoration of the yard.

The role of designer decoration of a farmstead is played not only by vertical beds, but also by pyramid beds, which also accommodate many bushes. Their shape can be either square or triangular: the first option is practical and easy to work with, the second is original in terms of design. They are made in this way: first, a frame is prepared, then a fine-mesh mesh is placed at the bottom of the pyramid, a cushion of sawdust is formed on it, and only then the whole thing is covered with fertile soil. Each tier of the pyramid is made in a similar way, but each time it must be smaller than the previous one. In such beds, as well as in vertical beds made from tires, varieties like Brighton, Elsanta or Elizabeth II are most often planted.

Pyramids can be made not only from a wooden frame, but also from the same tires of different sizes. It's done like this:

1. The tread is cut off on one side of each tire.
2. The largest tire is installed at the base.
3. A mesh or geotextile is laid at the bottom, and soil is poured on top. In this way the second tier is arranged.
4. When the pyramid is erected, holes are made in the soil for the strawberries.
5. The soil is moistened and bushes are planted in it.

High (aka raised) beds are good because:

1. They provide good drainage, which prevents root rot.
2. The soil on them warms up faster (that is, the berries ripen faster), is not trampled down and always remains loose, which means that the strawberry roots receive more oxygen and other nutrients.
3. They can be given any shape, even twisted, which, without a doubt, will serve as a decoration for your personal plot.
4. For their arrangement, you can use purchased soil, famous for its balance. In addition, the construction of such beds does not seem overly complicated.

High beds have only one significant drawback - the soil dries out quickly. However, this difficulty can be partially overcome if they are deepened about 20 cm into the ground.

If you decide on such a design and garden experiment, it doesn’t hurt to take into account the following recommendations from experienced gardeners:

1. For areas with a harsh climate, beds with a height of 20-25 cm are best suited - at this height they will be under the snow, and the strawberries will easily survive the winter. A higher structure will lead to the fact that its sides will not be covered with snow, and the plantation will freeze.
2. When choosing the length of the bed, you should proceed from the size of the plot. It is important that it looks not only original in design, but also in harmony with the surrounding area.
3. If the approach to the plantation is possible only from one side, then its width should not exceed 60 cm, if from both sides, then 1-1.2 meters.

Another type of beds is warm. By and large, they are almost no different from raised beds with the difference that they have several layers: drainage, a heat-generating layer and the soil itself. They can most often be found in areas where there is a threat of return frosts until mid-June. There are three types of warm beds:

1. Frame. This type, in which all the lower layers and topsoil are placed in a special box, is suitable for regions with high humidity, waterlogged soil or frequent rain. The frame is made of boards, slate or metal profiles.
2. Bulk. In its form, it is nothing more than a raised bed-hill with an insulated lower part. It's done like this:

• For a bed width of 40 cm or more, a trench is dug to a depth of one spade bayonet.
• a fine metal mesh is laid on top of each other at the bottom, which will protect the structure from voles, chopped large and small dry branches (the thickness of this layer usually does not exceed 20 cm), and on top - sawdust, small wood shavings, any dry or fresh plant debris (withered grass, leaves), compost or humus. You can also place a layer of cardboard and newspapers between branches and sawdust.
• everything laid is carefully compacted and watered with warm water.
• Fertile soil is laid on top - for example, chernozem - so that a small mound is formed - this will prevent complete subsidence of the earth. If desired, you can protect the edges of the bed with boards or make them flat.

This type is most relevant for those places where groundwater runs far from the surface, and the beds are not threatened by flooding or stagnant moisture.

1. Combined. This type combines elements of the first two: the lower layers are placed in a trench, and the upper layers are placed in a box measuring 60 cm in height and 90 in width.

Watering high and warm beds is mandatory, since their design does not allow roots to access groundwater. To do this, use different types of drip irrigation (systemic or using plastic bottles) or standard using a hose or special sprinklers.

Another type of bed is the so-called. mobile or portable, attractive for its versatility, decorativeness and ability to be installed anywhere. The material for it can be anything: a bathtub, a metal/wooden barrel, an old wheelbarrow, a bucket, a flower pot - in general, you can try to make a mobile strawberry bed out of anything that has not been used. Plastic or wooden perforated vegetable boxes are especially convenient. The beds from them are obtained in this way:

1. The inside of the box is covered with several layers of cellophane.
2. The container is filled with earth and humus.
3. Two strawberry bushes are planted in each box, and improvised flower beds are placed in a sunny place. To protect the beds from frost, they can be installed on logs or bricks.

Galvanized boxes can also be used to create beds. Despite its lightness, this design is strong, durable and wear-resistant, and the low thermal conductivity of the material does not allow it to heat up when exposed to the sun. It is not necessary to remove such boxes for the winter, but if necessary they can be easily disassembled.

Some features of the material for strawberry beds

As we have already said, anything can serve as material for strawberry plantations. Most often, experienced gardeners use:

1. Boards.
2. Slate.
3. Tires.

We have already talked about the features of tires and working with them. Slate is good for its durability, ease of construction and availability, but with all this, the asbestos cement it contains is harmful to the soil. If this does not bother you, then when using slate to arrange strawberry beds, it is advisable to adhere to the following recommendations:

1. The sides should be deepened by 10-20 cm.
2. It doesn’t hurt to reinforce the fences with metal corners and tighten them with crossbars.
3. Two sheets of slate can be connected by a welded plate with a reinforcing leg.
4. If you use corrugated slate, it can be mounted on a wooden or metal frame.

When working with boards, it is best to use wood that is not susceptible to rotting: ash, oak, cedar or larch. If you choose pine boards, then they need to be treated with a special protective coating.

Wooden boxes are arranged in the following way:

1. The selected area is marked and the turf is removed from its perimeter.
2. Trenches are dug, boards are installed in them and adjusted to the same level, then they are tacked to each other and fixed with self-tapping screws. The average height of the box is 15 cm, but if necessary, the sides can be extended with an additional row.
3. The bottom is covered with geotextile and filled with drainage - pebbles, crushed stone, fragments of stones - soil is laid on top and bushes are planted.

The shape of the boxes can be very different - rectangular, triangular, trapezoidal, with beveled sides... The main thing is that your strawberries should be comfortable and free in it, and that it will be easy for you to care for them. The area near such beds can be improved - for example, laid out with tiles and equipped with a passage.

What and how to cover the beds

When arranging beds, it is very important what and how you cover. There are two types of covering material: organic (sawdust, pine needles, straw, etc.) and inorganic. The first type attracts with its availability, but quickly decomposes and requires periodic replacement. And if in rural areas there are usually no difficulties in getting it, then for those who live in the private sector of a big city, this can pose a big problem.

The second type includes modern polypropylene materials such as Spunbond, Agrotex, Agril, Agrospan and Lutrasil. They are good because they do not react with liquids and chemical compounds. If you decide to use them, then you will probably find the following tips useful:

1. Two weeks before covering, the plantation should be prepared for this: level the surface, moisten and feed the soil.
2. If using double-layer fiber, be sure to ensure that the moisture-repellent side is on the bottom. This will prevent the soil from drying out.
3. When covering, the following scheme for distributing the beds is recommended: the distance between the rows is 45 cm, between the bushes - 40 cm. The film is laid on the plantation, and cross-shaped holes are cut out in it. If the bushes have already been planted, then cover the beds with film, then feel the bushes under it and make holes.
4. Before fastening, be sure to check the tension - it should be free, but not develop. Only after checking does it make sense to fix the film, which is fixed around the entire perimeter with metal pins, boards or sprinkled with earth. At the same time, it is important to ensure that no holes are formed - this will lead to the material beginning to shift and swell.

Conclusion

As we have already said, strawberries are a very capricious crop that requires careful and attentive care, even if you do not plan to make money from it. However, experience shows that with due persistence and perseverance it can be successfully grown even where the climate seems to be generally unsuitable. In addition, all the efforts spent on it will be more than repaid by the strawberries. True, you will have to put in a lot of effort, and arranging the beds is not the most difficult stage of the work.

First of all, you should choose the right place. The best soil for strawberries is loamy or sandy loam - moderately or slightly acidic. An excellent place for strawberries, care and cultivation is loamy chernozems, the acidity of which is neutral. Preparation of a bed for strawberries should be carried out where there is no accumulation or lack of moisture. What does it mean?

Strawberries are less responsive to fertilizer application than other berry crops. It also does not tolerate high salt content in the soil, so fertilizers should be applied before planting. It is better to pay them in advance. When planting strawberries in the spring, the soil must be prepared in the fall. If planting strawberries is planned in the fall, then prepare the soil for two weeks. When digging the soil, it is necessary to add six to eight kilograms of rotted manure or compost, if the soil is poor, the dose is doubled.

To have a good harvest, strawberry plantings must be carefully weeded, protected from pests and diseases, fed, and all tendrils on the plants must be promptly removed. If the weather is dry, strawberries need to be watered. Something special should not be missed with watering in August, when the process of laying and forming flower buds for next year’s harvest occurs. The soil around the strawberry plants and between the rows is mulched with sawdust or straw. In this case, there is no need for weeding and the soil remains loose and does not evaporate moisture. Mulch protects strawberry roots from overheating and drying out in summer, and from freezing in winter.

The straw is raked to the edge of the ridge, because it will still be useful. When planting strawberries, old leaves are cut off, leaving only young and green ones. Strawberry plants and row spacing should be treated with drugs against diseases, or a dark solution of potassium permanganate. Sow the row spacing with Shrovetide radish or rapeseed. By October, a large mass of them grow green, thereby preventing weeds from growing. Late in the fall, apply this excellent fertilizer to the soil with a hoe. Before a long cold spell, strawberry bushes and row spacing are covered with leftover straw.

The main measure to combat viral diseases is the use of healthy planting material. Strawberry plantings suffer most from leaf spot. This disease manifests itself in the second half of summer, most often on old leaves, where the fungus overwinters. Mandatory removal of affected leaves is the main treatment for this disease.

Nowadays, everyone chooses for themselves how to prepare a bed for strawberries - fertilize the plain in the old fashioned way and plant seedlings, or make a bed that is as easy to use as possible, to which you have to bend down and which is conveniently watered - from above (including watering a dozen bushes). In addition, harvesting from such a bed for strawberries is a real pleasure, unlike old methods, when the berries, when ripe, lay on the ground and were often surprised by various types of rot before they were collected, or simply became dirty.

In addition, there is an opinion that strawberries should not be grown in one place for three years - they become smaller and lose their taste and aroma. Therefore, vertical beds for strawberries, having taken root on your site, can become a fresh trend in your experience of growing strawberries. They can even be built from barrels, if this is to your taste as a designer, or you can simply delve into the process of improving the strawberries themselves and try out different ways of growing this berry - in hanging bags, in lawn pots, in flowerpots and other unusual containers adapted for strawberries , Victoria or strawberry. Experiment, create, create the best for strawberries and for yourself!

The paradox of this plant is that it loves moisture very much, but cannot tolerate being oversaturated with it, so beds for strawberries must be made at some elevation. The convenience of a raised ridge lies not only in the fact that it looks neat and water does not stagnate there, but also in the fact that it is convenient to remove weeds and generally care for bushes, removing excess tendrils and dried leaves.

If your soil is poorly fertile and lacks humus and humus, then you must fill the strawberry beds with humus or compost. Carrion apples can be an organic fertilizer for strawberry bushes. In fertile years there are a lot of them and the best thing you can do is put them in beds and they will turn into compost.

The amount of fertilizer required for application is determined for each individual case and depends on the fertility of the soil. On soils where fertilizers are regularly applied to the previous crops in crop rotation, and also after a single application of humus, phosphorus and potassium fertilizers to the soil under the predecessor, strawberries produce consistently high yields. Increased doses of organic and mineral fertilizers (as experience has shown) are not always advisable. Adding a large amount of humus and growing strawberries in one place for many years contributes to the accumulation of weeds.

Such areas are unsuitable for planting industrial plantings. The middle part of the slope is most suitable for planting strawberries. But with good drainage, which ensures water flow, strawberries can be grown at the bottom of the slope. The direction of the slope is practically irrelevant. However, on the southern slopes the snow melts much faster, which can lead to freezing of the leaves and root system in early spring. On northern slopes, snow melts more slowly, so such damage is less common.

Gardeners go to great lengths to minimize the effort they put into it while still getting the maximum yield. Such subtleties include planting strawberries in the spring under a black film. For those who are interested in this method of processing this beloved berry, it will be very useful to read this article.

Before planting strawberry bushes, dig up the beds, clear the rhizomes of previous cultivated plants and weeds, and destroy the larvae of the May beetle and wireworm. After digging, level the beds with a rake and sprinkle with sand, which serves as a good preventative against slugs, centipedes, snails and other pests. After this, water generously and treat the soil with a solution of copper sulfate. To prepare the solution, dilute two tbsp in ten liters of water. spoons of copper sulfate. After this, you can plant the seedlings in the prepared soil.

I turn away the edges of the cuts, make a hole with a spatula and plant the strawberries. I carefully straighten the roots in the hole so that they are not distorted and do not curl up. Lightly sprinkle with soil and water, holding the strawberry bush so that the growth point (heart) is flush with the surface. If the growing point is too high, the roots will be exposed after the soil settles, which will lead to the bush freezing in winter. If the heart gets too much sleep, it will rot.

Strawberries, especially garden ones, are a fairly unpretentious plant. It is quite capable of growing and bearing fruit “savage” in almost any soil. Nevertheless, every gardener dreams of getting as much quality harvest as possible. And you need to start with properly preparing the soil for planting.

Immediately select large roots, and carefully discard all plants. You can mix the top and bottom layers of soil so that the roots of the weeds from the bottom layer are on the surface, and the normal top layer is below. However, growing strawberries on agrofibre will be a more reliable weed control and does not require good physical preparation.

An equally important point in preparing the soil is its moisture. Before planting, it needs to be well moistened for several days, but without fanaticism, otherwise the berry will have to be planted in a swamp. In subsequent days, the amount of watering should be reduced, maintaining humidity until the plants take root.

Before fertilizing the soil, you need to dig it up; instead of a shovel, a pitchfork is ideal for better loosening the soil. You need to start preparing the soil for planting strawberries several weeks in advance, then the soil will have time to compact. Otherwise, the strawberry rhizomes will be exposed, which is detrimental to the plant. If planting is carried out in early spring, then it is better to simply loosen the soil so as not to touch unheated layers.

The ridges are formed in the spring, shortly before planting seedlings of garden strawberries (strawberries). There is no need to rack your brains over the shape of the beds and come up with new options; a more practical one is a rectangular bed: it is convenient to maintain.

Strawberry beds are best placed in the warmest and sunniest part of the garden. Avoid lowlands, because even in late spring the soil in them can freeze, which will ruin your delicacy. There is one more little secret, if you plan to make jam or otherwise prepare strawberries, but they are not fresh - choose warm, but not too sunny places, so the berries will become very fragrant. But strawberries grown in the sun are more tasty and sweet, but not as aromatic.

After planting, water (but do not flood!) the bushes so that the soil at the roots settles a little. Then, in most cases, you don't need to do anything. But still, if you feel that your strawberries will still lack moisture, you can sprinkle the ground with a little mulch, this will prevent all the moisture from evaporating. This is done only in cases where it is very hot outside.

When planting strawberry seedlings, you need to be careful. All stems should be on the surface, while the roots should be tried to be deepened. Take your time doing this job! By covering the roots too heavily, or compacting the soil too tightly, you risk destroying them, dooming them to rot without moisture escaping. And if you don’t deepen the roots enough, they will simply dry out. Achieving the right balance when planting strawberries is important.

Another very serious problem is that agrofibre is black; under the current abnormally hot climatic conditions, the earth is very overheated, and even more so under a black cover. Straw is better and is only needed for one season. After the end of fruiting, it is proposed to sow the bed with strawberries with oats. It manages to grow before frost, then dies, covers the strawberries with a “blanket,” collects snow, and in the spring it becomes mulch. The authors of the idea are the Bubliki spouses, they have a good book “Your city. An unusual approach to familiar things.”

Probably every person who works on a personal plot has tried to grow strawberries at least once in their life. And many abandoned this idea as soon as they encountered a number of problems typical for a strawberry patch. This article will tell you how to make the process of growing strawberries easier with the help of modern technologies.

I blew up strawberries that year. firstly, the canvas broke through very quickly, and secondly, the ground underneath was just stone, although it was very soft before landing. thirdly, the ground was covered with a green coating under this agrofibre. I don’t know what it depends on, but I realized that I won’t use it for planting anymore!

For such a bed, paths are needed not only for direct use, but also as an additional fixation of agrofibre to the ground. If there are joints in the fabrics in the garden bed, it is better to lay the path along these joints. For a rectangular bed without joints, we can recommend placing several paths diagonally.

A prerequisite for obtaining a rich strawberry harvest is proper preparation of the bed and soil for planting. At the same time, it is important not to miscalculate the timing of planting work, and also to provide the strawberries with proper care.

Strawberries are a very demanding crop when it comes to growing conditions. The area for growing berries must have the following characteristics:

• be level or have a slight slope;
• well illuminated by sunlight for most of the day;
• located in the southwest of the site;
• be high, without prolonged stagnation of moisture.

Strawberries will not grow and bear fruit well when planted in lowlands and in areas flooded in spring. When placing berry beds in shade or partial shade, the quantity and quality of the harvest suffers greatly: the berries become noticeably smaller and the taste becomes sour. Planting in places with groundwater levels higher than 60 cm from the soil surface threatens strawberries with frequent fungal diseases. The northwestern part of the site is also unfavorable for growing strawberries.

Crop rotation rules and choosing neighbors for strawberries

When choosing a place for planting, one should not neglect such an important agrotechnical technique as crop rotation. Well-planned crop rotation allows you to obtain abundant harvests of berries every year. The best predecessors for strawberries:

• green manure (rapeseed, mustard, buckwheat);
• greenery;
• legumes;
• garlic;
• carrot;
• radish, radish.

• all nightshades;
• cabbage;
• cucumbers, zucchini;
• pumpkin, Jerusalem artichoke.

As for neighboring plants, strawberries cannot be considered particularly capricious in this regard; they are friends with many crops. It will be especially comfortable for berry bushes to grow next to:

• flower beds: with marigolds and nasturtiums;
• herbs (basil, sage);
• greens (lettuce, spinach, sorrel);
• garlic and onions.

Nightshades are not a very pleasant “company” for strawberries. They quickly extract all useful substances from the soil and are also distributors of late blight. It is dangerous to place berry beds near raspberries and rose hips. Insect pests of these crops will quickly spread to strawberry bushes. There will not be a good harvest next to cabbage, since it claims the same nutrients and requires more frequent watering.

Soil preparation

Suitable for berry crops is soil that is light in composition and does not accumulate moisture. Such properties are typical for loamy and sandy loam soils. On soils with a different composition, the situation can be corrected by adding additional components:

• coarse river sand in the amount of 2-3 buckets per 1m2 - on heavy and clay soils;
• humus in the amount of 2-3 buckets per 1m2 - on light, sandy soils.

To increase fertility in any areas except black soil, the following components must be added additionally per 1 m2:

• humus - 1 bucket;
• superphosphate – 2 matchboxes;
• Potassium sulfate – 1 tablespoon.

Distribute the substances evenly over the surface of the site, dig up the soil and leave to rest for 14-20 days. During this time, the soil will settle, and the fertilizers will completely dissolve and take on a form that is easily digestible for strawberries.

Soil characteristics such as acidity are also important for berry bushes. The ideal soil would be with a slightly acidic reaction, that is, with a pH of about 5.5-6.0. To make acidic soil suitable for planting, a liming procedure is carried out. For this purpose, dolomite flour or fluff lime is used.

Lime application rates for various soil types

Liming is carried out 4-6 months before planting, because newly limed soils negatively affect the condition of strawberry roots.

Advice!

To determine the acidity of the soil, you can use litmus indicator strips, which are widely available on the market. From available means for this purpose, you can use table vinegar. Acetic acid should be dropped onto the surface of the soil being tested. The reaction in the form of the formation of small bubbles means that the soil is neutral acidity. If there is no reaction, we can conclude that the soil in the area is acidified.

How to prepare beds for planting strawberries in August

Depending on the characteristics of the site and the wishes of the gardener, strawberries can be grown in beds that differ in the way they are formed. Each design method has its own advantages and features.

Easy way to plant

The “out of the blue” planting method is suitable for high and dry areas. Planting holes are placed in one or two rows. In the first case, the row spacing is left 65-70 cm wide. With a two-line planting scheme, the width between the lines is 80 cm, and the interval between the rows is 40 cm. The distance between the bushes is determined depending on the varietal characteristics of the strawberries.

Regardless of the planting pattern, it is necessary to dig dividing grooves about 15-20 cm deep between the rows. Such furrows are necessary to collect excess rainwater. This will significantly reduce the risk of spreading diseases and pests.

Low bulk German bed for strawberries

A German bed is a mound framed with boards or other material. This option is great for low-lying areas and wetlands. The height of the sides depends on the wishes of the gardener, on average it is 20-25 cm.

The area under the garden bed must be cleared of weeds and the top fertile layer must be removed. After installing the box in the prepared place, begin filling it in the following order:

• protective mesh against rodents;
• drainage layer (broken brick, dry branches, expanded clay);
• nutritious soil.

The width of the ridges can be different, but in order to make it convenient to care for the plantings, it should not exceed 80 cm. The planting pattern in such ridges can be either single-row or double-row.

Growing strawberries in German beds has a number of advantages:

• convenient to care for plants;
• the soil is not washed away by rain;
• weeds cannot move from one bed to another;
• drainage ensures good soil aeration, which significantly increases productivity and reduces the risk of the spread of fungal diseases;
• give the site an aesthetically attractive appearance.

Advice!

In order for “German” beds to last for several years, carefully treat the boards with special antiseptic agents.

High beds made from barrels or tires

To design such beds, wooden or plastic barrels, as well as tires from various cars, are suitable. Ideal for tires from combine harvesters, VAZ and MAZ cars. The containers should be dug a little into the ground and filled with fertile soil. To increase the usable area of ​​the tires, the inner part is cut out. To give future beds an aesthetic appearance, you can paint the tires.

Such beds have many advantages:

• it is convenient to carry out agricultural work (no need to bend low);
• durability;
• compactness and mobility (can be moved);
• no material costs.

The only drawback when choosing such beds will be the small volume of plantings; even the largest tire will only fit 5-6 berry bushes.

Planting under agrofibre

The most common method of planting strawberries among gardeners. Agrofibre can be used both on a regular bulk bed and on a “German” type bed. In both cases, it is necessary to carefully dig up the soil and apply the necessary fertilizers. Then you should spread a cloth over the soil and secure it with wire pins.

The canvas is available in standard sizes, 1.6 m or 3.2 m wide. This must be taken into account when planning the length and width of the bed to avoid joints. As a rule, landing holes in agrofibre already exist. If you purchased a continuous agricultural canvas, then make markings in accordance with the desired planting pattern. In the marked places, cut the fabric crosswise with a sharp knife, take the corners out. Plant strawberries in the resulting holes.

The use of agrofibre has a number of advantages:

• the material perfectly allows moisture and air to pass through, but does not allow weeds to germinate;
• the berries do not have contact with the ground;
• the harvest ripens 1-2 weeks earlier due to the rapid heating of the soil in the spring;
• Excellent aeration is ensured (the soil surface does not dry out and a crust does not form).

Decorative vertical beds

Vertical structures for planting strawberries are very popular among owners of small garden plots. The most common planting methods:

• wooden pyramid bed

This design is made from several tiers of square wooden boxes. The sizes of the boxes can be different, but each tier should be 30-35 cm smaller than the previous one. First, prepare the desired number of boxes. Then, starting with the larger ones, stack them on top of each other, filling each with fertile soil. The bed can have from three to nine tiers.

• into metal or plastic pipes

Pipes with a diameter of at least 15 cm are suitable. Holes must be cut in a checkerboard pattern along the entire height of the pipes at a distance of about 20 cm. It is best to concrete the pipe in the soil or attach it in several places to a support, for example, to a veranda or gazebo. Fill the installed structure with nutritious soil mixture and plant strawberries.

• in plastic bottles

Fill cut plastic bottles with soil and secure with ropes on any vertical surface. One bottle contains one bush.

Advantages of vertical beds:

• save space;
• decorate the site;
• contact of berries with soil is excluded;
• ease of care (no weeds).

You should know!

The soil in vertical beds dries out very quickly, so watering must be done every 2-3 days.

Regardless of which method of gardening you choose, in order to obtain a good and high-quality harvest, you need to know some of the features of caring for and growing this crop.

When to plant

Both spring and autumn seasons are suitable for planting strawberry bushes. Seedlings grown independently from seeds are transplanted into the ground in May-June. The guideline is to set the average daily temperature at 15 degrees Celsius.

When propagating strawberries with mustaches, planting can be done from early August to mid-October. It is important to complete planting work a month before the onset of the first night frosts. Agronomists consider August the best month for planting strawberries. Plants planted at this time have time to get stronger and practically do not freeze out in winter. The harvest from such beds can be obtained as early as next year.

Selection of planting material. Which mustache to take for planting

For propagation, they use mustaches from bushes that are healthy and produce excellent yields. In order for the children to be stronger in early spring, all flower stalks should be cut off from the mother bushes. The very first rosettes located from the “mother” have a more developed root system, so they are considered the best planting material. The remaining shoots are not suitable for further propagation, so they are removed.

The rosettes can be buried next to the mother bushes or planted in separate pots. After the children grow up a little and are able to absorb moisture from the soil on their own, they are separated from the adult bushes and transplanted to a new place.

Is it possible to plant different varieties of strawberries next to each other?

Planting different varieties of strawberries in the same bed is quite acceptable. Since the strawberry is an overgrown receptacle and not a fruit, there is no need to be afraid of cross-pollination of varieties. Confusion in overgrown mustaches is the only drawback of mixed plantings.

Experienced gardeners advise separating neighboring varieties with several rows of garlic or onions. Pieces of slate dug in the bed between the bushes work well as a separator.

Caring for berry beds

In order to receive good harvests every year, berry beds need to be properly cared for. It consists of the following agrotechnical practices:

• Watering

Irrigation of the berry garden is carried out based on weather conditions. In dry summers, watering is carried out 1-2 times a week. With regular rainfall, watering can be reduced or stopped altogether.

• Mulching

To retain moisture in the soil for as long as possible, cover the beds with a mulch layer. Straw, agrofibre, and cardboard can be used as mulch. The covering is laid between berry bushes in early spring, immediately after the snow melts. On the eve of the winter season, the mulch layer is replaced with a new one - dried humus.

Spring mulch prevents the growth of weeds, maintains good soil aeration and prevents contact of berries with the ground. Winter covering will protect strawberry roots from freezing and additionally fertilize the soil.

• Feeding

They begin to fertilize the berry garden from the second year after planting. Agronomists recommend feeding the crop according to the following scheme:

• in early spring - apply nitrogen-containing fertilizers;
• during the period of bud formation, potassium nitrate is used;
• in the autumn, phosphorus-potassium fertilizers are used.

And finally, we’ll give a few more tips to get a new, larger harvest every year:

• the berries will be larger and sweeter if the beds are placed in a sunny place in the direction from east to west;
• renew plantings every four years (with the exception of some varieties that can bear fruit well for a longer period of time in one place);
• if your garden plot is located on a slope, then place the berry bed across it, so the plantings will not be washed away by precipitation;

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