Repair strawberries: cultivation and care
The cultivation of remontant strawberry varieties has recently begun to gain momentum, as they produce crops in several stages per year. Due to this, the yield of bushes increases.
However, growing remontant varieties has its positive and negative sides. Plants require regular care and abundant watering. At the same time, it will be possible to repeatedly harvest.
Kinds
Remontant plants are classified into several categories.
Types of long daylight hours, or DSD. Flower stalks are formed on plants, and fruits appear when the sun's rays fall on them for at least 10 hours. Bushes begin to bloom in the first half of summer, and at the second stage, flowering begins in August. At the beginning of autumn, you can harvest a rich harvest. Berries are large, juicy and fragrant fruits. The main negative characteristics of this type of variety are the depletion of bushes with frequent fruiting, due to which frost resistance deteriorates.
Caring for strawberry varieties DSD is simple: it is necessary to regularly fertilize and control the rate of growth of the antennae.
Types of neutral light day, or NSD, give a rich harvest regardless of the light level. On the beds you can see flowers, fruits, and ripe berries at the same time.This variety produces crops throughout the year, and with careful and frequent care, it bears fruit for more than 3 years in a row. The remontant culture varieties bred by breeders are among the varieties of neutral daylight hours.
A classification of berries was also derived depending on the presence of a mustache. Plants with a mustache multiply by separating rosettes, which are subsequently transplanted into the ground. Bushes without whiskers reproduce by increasing the number of plants that have delenki.
Strawberries with a mustache at the same time differ depending on the location of the strings. In some, they appear on the mother bushes, while in others - on the child ones. Their care also differs: in some species, they get rid of the antennae, which increases the yield of the crop, while other types of this procedure are not required.
Training
Location selection
Experts recommend planting remontant varieties of plants on a prepared surface. One of the important factors for this is the optimal level of light. In poor light conditions, the bushes will not have enough light, which will lead to crop failure.
Best of all, plants will grow in those areas where potatoes, tomatoes and cabbage were previously cultivated.
Seedling selection
When purchasing seedlings, you must be guided the following recommendations:
- seedlings must be strong;
- on a branch there should be at least three leaves of a saturated shade without dark dots and punctures;
- the roots of the bushes must be longer than 6 cm;
- the middle kidney should be large and pinkish; experts say that the larger it is, the richer the harvest will be.
Seedlings can be grown using seeds. To do this, at the end of winter, boxes for seedlings should be filled with peat and sand.This substrate is treated with water, after which berry seeds are placed on its surface. Then the surface of the substrate is covered with a layer of sand. The boxes are covered with glass on top and left in a warm room with good lighting.
When shoots appear, they are sprayed with water using a spray gun and ventilated for some time. After the formation of one leaflet on the seating, the bushes are dived into new containers. Next, the seedlings are hardened.
Landing
For planting remontant strawberries in open ground, it is initially prepared. A high level of productivity is achieved in chernozems, loamy and sandy soils. In this case, it is necessary to take into account such a parameter as the level of occurrence of groundwater. This value should be above 60 cm. Also, when planting, the level of soil freezing in the cold season is taken into account.
In the garden where the culture will be planted, there should not be wireworm larvae or Colorado beetles. With the development of shoots on mother plants and the formation of seedlings, they can be moved to the ground. To avoid the appearance of larvae in the ground before planting seedlings, you can plant a lupine plant or spray the ground with an ammonia solution. It is also necessary to dig and loosen the soil. It is recommended to plant strawberries away from potatoes.
It is necessary to plant a berry in previously dug holes where the roots of the plant are placed. Planting should not be done in sunny weather, otherwise the seedlings will wither. You can plant strawberries that have a root system no longer than 10 cm long, maybe even cut off a little extra length. To adapt strawberries to a new garden bed, you can spray its roots with Kornevin.
A culture grown from seeds, or ready-made seedlings in the garden, is recommended to be staggered. The distance between two plants should be more than 70 cm. At the same time, the earth should be slightly moist. Before planting seedlings, weeds must be removed from the garden.
Large bushes and trees should not grow next to strawberries. For better adaptation of remontant large-fruited climbing species, it is recommended to plant seedlings on a cloudy day.
The most common is the film planting method, as well as mulching remontant crop varieties. Seedlings are placed under black polyethylene to provide the necessary conditions for rapid growth and fruiting. Moisture will linger under the film for a long time, so you don’t have to worry about daily watering the beds. A film with a thickness of at least 0.05 mm is placed on the strawberry bed, which is covered with earth. When planting seedlings, holes are made on the film.
The timing when it is necessary to transplant remontant strawberries depends on the climatic conditions of a particular region. The root system of the bushes actively grows twice a year - in spring and summer. Therefore, most often planting seedlings is carried out either in spring or in the second half of summer.
In spring, seedlings are planted in the ground if its surface has warmed up more than 12 degrees. In summer, it is recommended to plant plants before August 15.
Remontant varieties adapt best when planted in the spring. At the same time, their root system is well strengthened. When planting plants in late spring, the fruits can be enjoyed already in the last months of summer or early autumn.
There are several varieties of landing schemes for the remontant variety of "Iago".
When planting in order, the seedlings are seated in one row at a distance of at least 30 cm from each other. The row spacing should be at least 70 cm. This method is recommended for those types of plants that grow in breadth and let out a mustache.
The carpet planting method is recommended for beardless plant species. Between two bushes there should be a distance of at least 25 cm for bushes with medium-sized berries, and for bushes with large fruits, the distance should be more than 40 cm.
How to care?
In order to get a good harvest regularly, it is necessary to adhere to the following rules when caring for a culture.
- Carry out regular and abundant watering to ensure soil moisture during fruiting.
- Loosen the soil when the surface dries to aerate the soil. To avoid the rapid drying of the earth, mulch or agrofibre is located near the bushes.
- Remove tendrils from bushes if they do not form fruits and do not reproduce.
- Mulch the soil with freshly cut grass, hay or sawdust. Thanks to this, frequent watering of beds, loosening can be avoided. After precipitation, there will be no splashes on the berries.
- It is necessary to periodically fertilize the beds for regular fruiting. The first stage of fertilization begins after the initial collection of berries in June, and the second time it is necessary to feed the seedlings in July when flower stalks are formed. Experts recommend fertilizing, which include mullein or bird droppings.
- When planting remontant varieties of berries, it is not recommended to remove the leaves after fruiting. It is necessary to remove only dried leaves.
- After harvesting the last crop and drying of the plants, it is necessary to cut the leaves.In harsh climatic conditions, the procedure is carried out in the spring after the snow melts.
- In the cold period, strawberry beds are covered with agrofibre, which is removed immediately after the cold weather recedes.
- It is not recommended to violate the rules of agricultural technology in order to avoid the invasion of pests and various diseases.
- After harvesting, it is necessary to reduce abundant watering, carry out treatment for preventive purposes.
Watering
Since the roots of remontant strawberry varieties are located superficially, they are not able to take the necessary moisture from the depths. Therefore, it is recommended to take care of the regularity of watering the beds. It is made with warm water in the early morning or evening. After transplanting seedlings into open ground, it is recommended to water the beds daily.
During the period of elevated temperatures and fruiting, it is also necessary to water the plants every day. At any other time, the bushes need watering every 4 days.
Irrigation of the beds is done with a watering can, hose or sprinkler. Large areas should be watered through a hose or drip. You can irrigate the plants with herbal infusion. Most often, yarrow and nettle are used for these purposes.
After heavy watering or rainfall, the earth hardens, so it is recommended to periodically loosen it.
top dressing
Top dressing of beds with strawberries is carried out to increase productivity. During the growing season, the bushes are fed up to 3 times within 30 days. The frequency of this procedure depends on the fertility of the soil and the level of soil preparedness for planting seedlings. Feeding is carried out with organic and mineral fertilizers. In the spring, fertilizers with a high nitrogen content can be applied.In summer, during flowering, plants are fed with phosphorus and potassium compounds.
reproduction
Remontant berry varieties can breed:
- seeds;
- rosettes located on the mustache of the mother bushes;
- dividing bushes that do not have tendrils.
The most difficult is propagation by seeds. With improper care of the beds in the next season, you can not wait for the berry harvest.
Reproduction using rosettes and division provides rejuvenation and renewal of the bushes. You can plant new bushes in empty areas and expect a rich harvest this season.
Each gardener must decide for himself which method of reproduction suits him. Strawberries can be planted in both spring and autumn. Many prefer autumn and do it before the cold, because when planting in spring, the crop can only be harvested next season.
With the seedling method of growing remontant varieties of berries, seedlings can be purchased or grown from seeds. The plant prefers more moist, fertilized and loose soil. Please note that the soil should be slightly acidic or neutral. Seeds will germinate only if the moisture level in the soil is more than 70%.
If it was decided to plant strawberries in the spring, its seeds must be sown at the end of winter. During this period, the sun's rays will not be enough for seedlings to grow and nourish, so you need to take care of special fitolamps.
Reproduction with the help of a mustache implies their rooting. For these purposes, only the primary antennae will be needed, the rest must be destroyed. When rooting the second crop in the current season, you should not expect.
At the end of summer, all flower stalks are removed from plants, otherwise the bushes will die.Holes are made from the edge of the bed, where the primary antennae are planted. After the appearance of the shoots, it is necessary to remove all shoots, with the exception of 2-3 rosettes. Small rosettes should not be touched, they should grow on the mother bush to gain strength.
The division of the bush as a method of propagating remontant varieties is extremely rare, since the plants are already weak due to multi-stage fruiting. But in the event that there are not enough seedlings, you can use this method.
Initially, it is necessary to determine the strongest and most overgrown bushes. It can be perennial plants with powerful and branched roots. Strawberries at the age of 3-4 years have numerous branches on which rosettes are formed.
With the advent of spring, the bush is dug up and divided into horns. Then each plant is transplanted individually into the dug furrow.
Diseases and pests
Violation of agrotechnical rules leads to the formation of various diseases in plants. To treat infected bushes, it is necessary to treat the beds with fungicides. Insects also love to eat sweet fruits. Pests include strawberry mites, aphids, thrips and weevils. You can get rid of parasite pests through preventive measures and spraying with insecticides. With abundant watering, slugs may appear on the bushes, which can be eliminated by mechanical processing.
Remontant strawberry varieties, like other varieties, are subject to the invasion of various pests and diseases: powdery mildew, black, gray and white root rot, wilting, mosaic disease.
Thanks to timely and regular prevention, you can not worry about these problems. Prevention measures include periodically moving bushes and planting strawberries next to crops that repel insects and pests. You should also get rid of damaged plants so that healthy bushes are not attacked by parasites.
Also in the spring-autumn period, it is recommended to carry out spraying to prevent diseases and invasion of parasites.
Bushes are sprayed with copper chloride oxide during the formation of gray rot. The disease manifests itself during cool weather and an abundance of precipitation. In the event that the fruits of plants are affected, they should not be eaten.
Manganese solution will help get rid of powdery mildew. The disease manifests itself as follows: the leaves on the bushes twist into tubules and acquire a brown tint.
Potential Growing Problems
The most significant problems that may arise when growing these varieties of strawberries are mainly associated with violation of the rules of agrotechnical conditions.
If strawberries do not bloom a second time and do not form fruits, the causes of this problem can be attributed.
- Degeneration, that is, after a couple of years, strawberries stop blooming. Therefore, every few years the bushes need to be updated.
- Late transplanting into the soil in autumn, as a result of which the seedlings cannot adapt until frost. In the following year, there will be few flower stalks, and the fruits will be very small.
- Planting too deep into the ground also reduces the yield by several times.
- Lack of mineral fertilizers containing nitrogen. As a result, the foliage of the bushes weakens. To prevent this problem, it is necessary to spray the plants with ammonia diluted with water.
- The lack of lighting precedes the weakening of the culture and a sharp decrease in yield. You need to grow the berry under bright light.
In case of sharp frosts, for example, in Siberia, at the end of spring, in order to avoid unnecessary problems, it is necessary to cover the beds with film material.
For information on how to grow remontant strawberries, see the following video.