Strawberries bear fruit fairly early, and already in the first half of July it can be argued that the harvest is fully assembled. After that, strawberry bushes are weakened and require additional feeding. This is necessary in order to help her recover, get stronger and in the next season again please us with delicious berries.
With what to start top dressing of a garden strawberry?
Top dressing of strawberries, as a rule, begins immediately after harvesting. And before direct fertilizing, you need to do a few more manipulations. It:
- removal of dry and diseased leaves;
- replacement of weak and poorly fruit bearing bushes with new ones;
- loosening of the earth.
And only after this, when the last gathering of berries and preparatory measures are made, you can begin to fertilize strawberries.
The better to feed strawberries after harvesting?
Young bushes can be fertilized with a specially prepared solution of mullein and ammonium. For this, 2 tablespoons of ammonium and 2 cups of Mullein must be dissolved in 10 liters of water. You need to pour under each bush.
In the second year, small adjustments are made to the feeding process. As a basis, you can take all the same solution, but before that the ground under the bushes is fluffed and sprinkled with ashes. Ashes will need at least 2 glasses per square meter of soil.
Another good and proven method of fertilizing is fertilizer from the nettle . To do this, cut and hot water nettles should be infused for several days. This biofertilizer helps both during the ripening period and after harvesting strawberries.
A universal fertilizer, and perhaps the best fertilizer for strawberries, is a complex fertilizer. This is filling the soil with manure and siderates from beans. In early spring and after harvest, it is important to feed the bushes with nitrogen fertilizers.
How to properly fertilize strawberries ?
Top dressing should be poured or poured directly under each bush. Start fertilizing after harvesting organic and mineral fertilizers only after removing the dry leaves. Annual fertilizing in August contributes to an increase in the harvest of strawberries next year.
Loosen the soil between the rows to a depth of about 10 cm. Just near the bush, do not go too far, so as not to damage the root system. At the same time, try to soften the bushes during the loosening, so that the roots are under the layer of the earth.
In order to ensure that the strawberry is saturated with useful mineral substances for the next crop, it is necessary to apply mineral fertilizer with special microelements in the calculation in the calculation of 20-30 g per square meter. Today, ready-made mineral fertilizers are available, in which all mineral elements are contained in a balanced proportion.
Alternatively, ammophos can be used, in which, in addition to basic nutrients, such as phosphorus, potassium and nitrogen, magnesium, sulfur and calcium are contained. However, avoid chlorine-containing fertilizers, because strawberries can not tolerate chlorine. Significantly improves soil structure and fertilizes its application of humus.
After applying fertilizers, it is necessary to seal them in the soil with the help of special tools. And to avoid appearance
After applying a dry fertilizing bushes need to be watered abundantly. Do it right - using a watering can with a scattering tip. Until the end of the summer season it is important to constantly maintain a garden bed with strawberries in a wet condition. In this case, watering is not often, but abundant. After watering, loosen the soil and remove the weeds. New mustaches should be cut off to prevent the development of new rosettes that will only weaken the main bush.