The best siderates for strawberries: description, types, types
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The article presents the best siderates for strawberries: a detailed description, types, types of siderates.
The best siderates for strawberries: an introduction
The best siderates for strawberries: photos
Experienced gardeners know perfectly well that in order to grow an excellent strawberry crop, light and fertile soil for planting is very important. But most often, if the site has been exploited for a long time, then the soil is depleted, it becomes less nutritious and, in principle, useful. Nutrients are gone, the soil becomes compacted, dry, depleted, microorganisms and bacteria begin to develop in it, which cause irreparable harm to crops.
Of course, all of this can be avoided. The soil should be very carefully prepared for subsequent planting, especially if we are talking about a crop such as strawberries. The site can be returned to its usual state, it can be healed, and for this, components that are called siderates become necessary.
In this article, we will focus on describing the very best strawberry green manures that exist in horticulture today. We will also tell you what siderates are necessary for strawberries, and how to use them so that the crop is not only incredibly healthy, but also fruitful. The article will be of interest mainly to beginners in gardening, although experienced gardeners will be able to find some useful information for themselves.
The best siderates for strawberries: what are they?
The best siderates for strawberries: photos
Siderata are a special garden crop that can include flowers and plants. They are used to feed and saturate the soil in the garden plot, and saturation occurs due to the beneficial and nutrients that are just contained in these plants and herbs. Due to the fact that green manure contains a huge amount of useful and nutritious substances, they can become an excellent alternative to expensive mineral mixtures and substances. At the same time, green manures are completely safe for plants, do not cause any harm to crops, and because of green manures, there is absolutely no accumulation of negative substances in the soil.
On the other hand, siderates for strawberries can perfectly disinfect the soil, keep it from pests, and the soil from the use of siderates only becomes more fertile and nutritious, suitable for the cultivation of some crops. Speaking specifically about strawberry green manures, they can also perform several additional tasks and functions that are very important for both soil health and planting health:
- in the autumn, as well as in the more severe winter period, thanks to green manure, all mineral and nutritive components are preserved in the soil. Thanks to green manure, they can be retained in the ground, so the components are not washed out either by prolonged rainfall or snow.
- strawberry green manures are natural ingredients that loosen the soil, make it light, ventilated
- thanks to green manure, the soil can perfectly resist attacks from pests, which are not even against settling in the soil and in some of its layers. It is these pests that can cause great harm to the root system of the plant, and it is with them that you can fight by introducing green manure directly into the soil.
How do siderates work under strawberries?
Siderata for planting strawberries: photo
Green manure is a source of nitrogen substances and components, so they can perfectly enrich the soil and, accordingly, root systems. Strawberry responds well to nitrogenous additives, it responds perfectly to the introduction of nitrogen-containing components, since thanks to them it is filled with all the necessary substances and elements. In addition, green manures in front of strawberries saturate the soil with organic substances that are so necessary for beneficial microorganisms that are located in the soil. Thanks to this, strawberries enter the stage of their active growth, the fruits are tasty and very large. Also, siderates for strawberries actively resist weeds that can germinate in strawberries and in the aisles. In general, a very intensive fight should be carried out with weeds, since various pests can develop from weeds that will cause irreparable harm to plants and strawberry bushes.
Types and types of siderates for strawberries
It is necessary not only to take care of the choice of green manure for strawberries, but also to plant the green manure in the optimal period in order to then get the most out of it.
The best siderate for strawberries are plantings such as:
- radish
- rape
- mustard
- Dill
- garlic
- peas
- phacelia and kosmeya.
A distinctive feature of these siderates over strawberries is also that they give off a very stable and strong aroma. It is he who sometimes frightens off pests, and therefore they rarely carry out vital activity or feed on those plantings that were surrounded by green manure. In general, if we talk about planting siderates on a personal plot, then this can be done throughout the year, regardless of what time it is now on the street, what season.
Features of planting siderates in front of strawberries
But nevertheless, experienced gardeners recommend planting siderates under strawberries in the fall, since the soil begins to gradually prepare for the winter season, and more substances should accumulate in it in order to feel comfortable in the future planting. Also, the planting of green manure can be transferred to the spring, just at the time when the soil is preparing for planting the very first strawberries, and it must be saturated with substances as much as possible and protected from bacteria and pests. In order for the siderates to fully reveal their properties, it is sometimes necessary to alternate them with other seed mixtures. In this case, the maximum substances contained in the additives will be revealed, and the benefits from this for the plants will be even greater.
In the spring, the siderates in front of the strawberries are planted right next to the holes in which the strawberry plantings are placed. After the green manure fully opens and develops, demonstrates maximum growth, it should not be immediately removed from the site. The fact is that it will also provide additional protection from strong gusts of wind and drafts, and then the necessary shade will fall from the siderat, which will allow the planting to perfectly survive too dry and sultry days. In addition, some siderates grow very sprawling, creating a hedge for strawberry plantings, and this is a necessary condition for additional protection of strawberries.
After the flowering of the strawberry green manure begins, the tops can be cut off and the soil around the strawberry can be mulched with it. You should not add green manure too deeply, as oxygen must enter the soil, and the tops, thanks to this, will soon turn the process into a full-fledged organic fertilizer. In general, even a novice gardener who does not yet have a particularly rich experience in grooming activities, but who still wants to protect the plantings as much as possible, without using a huge amount of chemical and expensive substances, can cope with this process.
A lot depends on the gardener in planting siderates for strawberries.So, for example, he must carefully choose the right time and period for planting green manure on the site. For example, if the autumn period comes, it is recommended to plant winter types of plants so that in winter, under the influence of low temperatures, they not only do not die, but also reach their strength. For this, rapeseed is ideally suitable, as well as mustard. These plantings adapt perfectly, they are not afraid of minimum temperatures, frost or sudden temperature changes, it is for this reason that it is recommended to plant them in the fall.
But if we talk about spring plantings, then you can plant a radish at this time. Although the radish does not contain in its composition a huge amount of useful and nutritious substances, but thanks to it, the soil becomes looser and lighter. Buckwheat is another green manure that is an excellent and abundant source of potassium. It can also be an excellent option for spring planting, and also has another incredible property - buckwheat fights well against weeds, which can be too much on the site, and from this not all plantings can feel as comfortable and easy as possible.
There is another subspecies of siderates that are great for planting near strawberries - these are leguminous siderates. They should be planted only with the onset of spring, and often experienced gardeners say that green manure legumes are an excellent alternative to manure, which is not always so easy to find or purchase. You can even make green manure mixtures. For example, lupine and any seed mixture of vetch and oats must be laid in the soil already in March, at the very beginning. When the first beans appear, they are immediately removed and crushed. The resulting substance mulches the soil around the strawberries. Legumes are also excellent sources of nitrogen, which is why both green manure and mulch have excellent qualities in relation to the strawberry crop, which in no case should be forgotten.
Of course, a wide variety of advice can be obtained from more experienced gardeners. For example, if a gardener has the opportunity and patience before planting crops, in particular strawberries, to wait about a year, then for this year it is recommended to plant the entire plot with green manure only. Thanks to this, the soil will be saturated faster, and the soil will become more nutritious and fertile. When a year has passed, you can safely plant the main character - strawberries - on the site, since thanks to aging in a year and planting siderates, you can grow excellent and healthy strawberry bushes, on which very tasty and large berries will then be tied up in large quantities.
Siderata for strawberries: methods and specifics of planting
We will also pay attention to several ways by which you can effectively grow green manure for strawberries directly. For example, this is an inter-row method that speaks for itself. It is one of the most effective, and for strawberries it is generally incredibly useful, since during the period of active growth of green manure, strawberries, bushes and deciduous parts will be protected from the scorching sun, and in such partial shade it will be much easier for it to develop and set fruits. In general, if a gardener wants to make a natural "umbrella" for strawberries, then he can plant phacelia and cosmea next to it. When these plants grow, then an excellent and large shadow falls from them, which at the same time is openwork, that is, it shades the strawberries in moderation. In principle, in planting siderates, the gardener is best off relying on the features of the site, on the specifics of the strawberry variety, as well as on the purpose for which he generally decided to plant siderates - so that they are natural fertilizers, or in order to additionally protect the plant from sunlight or too strong wind.
Of course, it should be noted that not all plants can become siderates, since some of them are not suitable for this role, and some may even be very dangerous siderates for strawberries.
Strawberries are a fruit crop and therefore need to be grown as part of a crop rotation. This is due primarily to the fact that after about two or three years, the soil begins to deplete, loses useful and nutritious components, becomes very dense. In addition, because of all this, it becomes an excellent breeding ground for pests and bacteria that can provoke the formation of fungi and diseases. In order to bring the soil back to life and restore productivity, it is necessary to very carefully select green manure, which will only benefit planting.
But at the same time, some types of crops should not grow on the site before that. For example, nightshades, which include vegetables such as potatoes and eggplant, tomato and peppers, and cucumbers. The danger of nightshades is that they have a common group of diseases that affect strawberries as destructive as possible. For example, if a strawberry becomes infected with Fusarium wilt, then this fungus will lead to the very death of strawberries on an industrial scale. The pathogen is transmitted from nightshades, lives in the soil, and from there it is almost impossible to simply etch it out. Therefore, it is not recommended to plant strawberries on the site, since they are incredibly susceptible to such a fungus, and it will not work to grow them on the site. In general, observing all these elementary rules, the gardener can achieve incredible success in understanding siderates, as well as in creating such a strawberry plantation that will amaze the imagination of any other gardener and gardener.
Siderata for strawberries: video