Harvesting strawberries and caring for the plant after harvest

No matter how many strawberries have grown in the garden, there will be no more berries after they are picked until the next harvest. However, for the next harvest to be no less abundant, you need to take extra good care of the strawberries after harvest. And also to ensure the correct harvest of strawberries.

The fruitfulness of strawberries depends on whether they were harvested correctly last year and whether they were subsequently looked after correctly. Timely berry picking is a guarantee of a bountiful harvest next year.

Harvesting strawberries

harvesting strawberries

Almost all summer residents grow strawberries. And now the moment comes when the berries are already big and bright - you can pick them up.

Strawberries owe such popularity not only to their taste, but also to their beneficial properties. Strawberries will be very useful for people suffering from diseases of the gastrointestinal tract, genitourinary and nervous systems, as well as vitamin deficiency.

Picking strawberries is a painstaking job. In order for strawberries to delight with berries more than once, it is necessary to approach its collection with special care, preparing the plant for rest.

So that the harvested strawberries do not lose their shape and useful properties, they should be stored cool, and collected in small containers so that the berries are not crushed.

If the purpose of the collection is to sell the strawberries later, then they need to be harvested as late as possible. Best of all - a few hours before the sale. This way the strawberries will not lose their attractive appearance.

If the strawberries are overripe, then they are well suited for making jam and compotes due to their juice.

As already mentioned, after picking, strawberries need proper care. So what rules should be followed to preserve the fruitfulness of the plant?

We provide a decent strawberry harvest: constant berry care

harvesting strawberries

If strawberries are not grown in a specially equipped greenhouse, then their yield will not last long, from two to three months.

Strawberries are whimsical enough. At the end of winter, the roots of strawberries do not have time to warm up and gain useful nutrients. This significantly affects its yield. Once ripe, it also requires careful maintenance.

As we have already found out, strawberries lack minerals. Therefore, it needs feeding. If desired, you can also create conditions for heating the plant. It is worth taking these measures not after winter, but already before it, from July to September, when the harvest has already been harvested.

These months are critical for strawberries. How she will feel during this period directly depends on her fertility in the future.

From July to September, new leaves, tendrils and buds grow on strawberry bushes. All useful elements accumulate in strawberries during this period, so that new berries appear in the next harvest.

If the strawberry does not receive enough minerals, then the bush loses strength and yields a weak harvest.

Strawberries after harvest. How to prune leaves

After picking berries, you need to remove old grass and weeds from the beds.

Old leaves must be cut off very carefully so as not to damage the new ones or the middle of the bush.

If both early and late varieties of strawberries are planted nearby, then you first need to tackle the early ones. Processing takes place only after the strawberries bear all the fruits. It is worth getting rid of excess grass in time, otherwise you risk greatly increasing the volume of your work.

Dry strawberry leaves are also cut.On such leaves, there can be various fungal diseases. Removing dry leaves protects the young from infection.

The presence of point-wrinkled leaves indicates the appearance of such a pest as a strawberry mite. It is worth treating such strawberries with the following drugs: acaricide, actellic, mite and colloidal sulfur solution.

Post-harvest strawberry care: preparing the soil

You picked the strawberries, did it carefully, and removed the old leaves and grass. It seems to be all, but no. Now the most important thing begins - preparing strawberries for rest.

First you need to loosen the soil 10 cm from the strawberry bush. If you do it closer, you can damage the roots of the bush. This is to help the strawberries absorb the food better. For every square meter, there are 30 grams of top dressing.

It is best to use ammophoska, which contains all the necessary minerals. In addition, this agent makes the soil moist and treats various diseases.

After you've fed the strawberries, water them. Maintain soil moisture until the very end of the season. If after watering cracks appear on the ground, sprinkle it with peat. In general, it is better not to allow cracks at all.

Instead of frequent light watering, it is better to choose a rare but abundant one. Loosen the soil after watering.

Also, during the whole season, you need to remember to remove the grass and strawberry whiskers.

With minerals and nutrients, everything is clear. Now how to prepare strawberries for the onset of winter cold?

Cover the strawberry beds with something. Hay and wood ash work well for this. In addition, ash contains many useful substances.

With the beginning of spring, it is necessary to loosen the ground and feed again. When warm weather sets in, abundant watering is required.

Conclusion

Strawberry picking and subsequent care is painstaking. But if you take it seriously and do everything right, the strawberry harvest will not only delight you next year, but it will be no less than in the past.