Top dressing strawberries in spring

Feeding strawberries in spring: what time

How much strawberries you harvest depends not only on the weather conditions in which they are grown, but also on what kind of care you provide them. It is feeding strawberries in the spring that affects what kind of harvest you get. The quality and quantity of the strawberry harvest depends on it. The first fertilizers should be applied when the soil temperature warms up to +10 degrees. If the soil is cold, the fertilizer may not be absorbed well. Approximately the first feeding falls in April. For the first feeding, nitrogen fertilizers are best suited, since it is nitrogen that affects the growth and development of fruits and the bush as a whole. The second feeding is carried out when budding begins, the third feeding occurs during the fruit offering. Fertilizers that contain potassium and phosphorus are best during these periods. You can also apply nitrogen fertilizers, but in a smaller amount. If you fertilize at the right time or choose the wrong fertilizer, this can negatively affect the development of both the bush and the berries.

Feeding strawberries in spring: fertilizers

The same types of fertilizers are suitable for strawberries that are used for other crops.

· Mineral fertilizers. This is a convenient fertilizer because you can easily apply it to each plant by dissolving it in water. Before the culture begins to bloom, you can use the following types of fertilizers: nitrate, urea (nitrogen fertilizer), superphosphate (phosphorus fertilizer), potassium sulfate, potassium magnesium (potassium fertilizer), you do not need to use chlorine fertilizers. Complex fertilizers are also well suited, which contain a large amount of trace elements that are necessary for the development of strawberries. You can use ordinary ash as fertilizer. To do this, take 0.5 kg per 1 sq. m. beds with strawberries.

· Organic fertilizers. If you don't want to use chemical fertilizers, you can use organic. On the other hand, many gardeners believe that organic fertilizers are most suitable for strawberries. As organic matter, it is quite good: livestock manure, compost, bird droppings. It is not recommended to use fresh manure, as it contains a high content of nitrogen and harmful microelements. Fresh manure can be applied in the fall, so that it has time to decompose before spring, and it will also perform a good function of heating the soil and root system. Composting is not that difficult. It just needs to be placed around each bush, while you need to step back a little from the center, in a thin layer - up to 5 cm.

Folk recipes

Watering can of strawberry in the garden

In addition to the above fertilizers, there are fertilizer recipes that have been tested by more than one gardener and have proven themselves well.

· Herbal infusion. Suitable for him: mowed grass, weeds, tops of vegetables, nettles. Cut the grass into small pieces, fill the barrel with it in half, leave for 10-11 days, filter, then add water (1:10) and pour 0.5-1 liters of the resulting infusion on each strawberry bush.

· Yeast infusion. For such an infusion, you need to take: Yeast (50 g) Sugar (50 g) 1 liter of warm water. Mix all the ingredients and then add another 5 liters of water. Add 0.5-1 l of fertilizer. But it is known that yeast is able to flush potassium from the soil, therefore, after such feeding, after a week, you need to add potassium fertilizers. More about feeding with yeast here.

· Iodine.Using iodine as a top dressing, you can also take preventive measures against infections with various diseases. You need to take a bucket of water and add 5-10 drops of iodine there. Mix everything thoroughly and apply as a spray before flowering begins. But you should not exceed the dosage, so as not to harm the bush.

How to apply fertilizer

You can start feeding strawberries from 2 years after planting a bush. You can apply both mineral and organic fertilizers. Top dressing can be applied both under the root and on the leaves. As for root feeding, you can take saltpeter, infusions of herbs and yeast for watering under the root. Infusions work well for young plants, as they improve the quality and speed of harvesting, and also have a good effect on the taste of strawberries. Also, you can not water with solutions, you can take fertilizer granules and simply sprinkle them on the soil. they themselves will get inside when you water the bushes. Foliar dressing is well suited when you begin to notice that the bush lacks a specific fertilizer. Since fertilization through the leaves serves for quick assimilation and quick delivery of the desired element. But this does not mean that they can replace root feeding. Foliar dressing can be applied between root dressings. Spraying is best done in the morning or evening. It is not worth spending the day, since the remaining droplets can cause burns under the influence of direct sunlight.

You can use the following foliar feeding recipes:

· First feeding: 2 tbsp. mullein, 1 tbsp. ammonium sulfate per bucket. The resulting solution is treated with 1 bush of 1 liter.

· Second feeding: take 1 bucket of warm water, add 1 tsp there. potassium nitrate. It is used for 1 bush of 0.5-1 l of solution.

· The third feeding. complex fertilizers, which have a good composition of microelements, are well suited for this. Before flowering begins, you can fertilize with boric acid. But it must be diluted with water (2 tablespoons boric acid per 10 liters of water), also add a little manganese (2 g) and ash powder (1 glass) to this solution.

Top dressing for remontant strawberries in the spring

The time and type of dressing for this type of strawberry is different.

Terms of feeding:

· The first feeding - after the snow melts. Take urea (1 matchbox for 1 bucket of water) - 0.5 liters of fertilizer per 1 bush.

· The second feeding is the appearance of peduncles. Spray 1 glass of ash per 1 sq. m. beds.

· The third feeding is the beginning of flowering. take boric acid (5 g per 10 liters of water). If you carry out spring feeding of strawberry lice at a certain time and in the right dosage, then you can get good yields for a long time.