What kind of strawberry can you grow all year round?

Every year there are more and more people who want to taste self-grown fruits in their home garden. In addition to the usual tomatoes, cucumbers and various greens, you can grow strawberries all year round on the windowsill of the house. In winter, it is especially pleasant to enjoy homemade berries.

Features of growing on a windowsill

Having decided to grow strawberries on a windowsill, you first need to choose the right planting material. The fact is that indoors it is better to grow varieties that are unpretentious to environmental conditions.

In addition, a special microclimate must be created in the room where the containers will be located. So that the strawberries do not hurt and grow quickly, you need to set a comfortable temperature in the room. It is equally important to control the level of lighting and humidity throughout the growing season.

Which varieties are suitable for growing on a windowsill

It is necessary to choose planting material very carefully, contrary to common misconception,greenhouse strawberry varieties are not suitable for growing in an apartment... When choosing seedlings of indoor strawberries, you need to pay attention not to the appearance of the plant, but to its characteristics.

Strawberry seedlings, for growing at home on a windowsill, should be renovation, unpretentious to the length of daylight hours and temperature. The ampelous bushes that hang from hanging containers look especially beautiful in the apartment.

For year-round cultivation of strawberries on a windowsill at home, it is best to choose varieties such as Supreme, Geneva, Queen Elizabeth. The cultivation of the mustache-free variety Home Delicacy, Tristan, Selva, shows good results.

Video: how to grow strawberries (garden strawberries) from seeds on a windowsill

How to plant and grow on a windowsill - features, conditions and step-by-step instructions

To successfully plant and grow strawberries at home on a windowsill, certain rules and conditions must be followed. Let's talk about them in more detail below.

A place

The best place to grow remontant strawberries is a south- or east-facing windowsill. It is possible to grow a culture on the eastern and northern windowsill only under the condition of constant supplementary lighting.

Daylight hours

For rapid growth and ripening of garden strawberries, the duration of daylight hours should be 12-14 hours. If in the summer the bushes have enough sunlight, then in the fall and winter, when the light part of the day is very short, strawberries need supplement with fluorescent lamps. Lighting devices are turned on 2 times a day: from 8 to 11 hours and from 16 to 19 hours.

Temperature

It is important to maintain the temperature when growing strawberries at home. + 18- + 20 C. If the temperature is a few degrees lower, the plants begin to ache. To prevent such unpleasant consequences, it will be necessary to turn on the heaters in the fall and spring.

Humidity

Strawberries will feel good if the humidity does not exceed 70-75%. In the midst of the heating season, in winter, when the air in the apartment is very dry, bushes sprayed from a spray bottle with settled water at room temperature. However, even in this case, it is worth adhering to the measure: due to the high humidity in strawberries, resistance to fungal diseases decreases.

What container to plant

Suitable for planting bush seedlings small pots. Ampel species feel great in hanging pots. Seedlings, which have formed 5-6 leaves, are planted in a 3 liter pot. The seeds are planted in small cups, and as soon as they release the first pair of leaves, they are transplanted into spacious permanent containers.

You can also plant plants in long boxes with a volume of 10-15 liters... When landing in such containers the distance between the bushes must be at least 20 cm... Regardless of the size, there should be holes in the bottom of the planting container for excess water to drain.

What kind of soil (substrate)

Planting potting soil can be purchased at a specialist store or prepared by yourself. Suitable for indoor strawberries any substrate intended for growing vegetables and flowers.

To prepare the soil with your own hands, coniferous earth, sand and humus are mixed in equal parts in a container. Also, strawberries grow well in a substrate of peat and vermicompost.

The main condition that should be met when preparing the substrate isthe potting mix should be airy and slightly damp. At the end of the preparation of the substrate, phosphorus fertilizers are introduced into it.

Important! It is highly undesirable to use soil from the garden for planting strawberry seedlings at home: it can be infected with nematodes and other dangerous larvae. If there is no other option, you need to check it before using the garden soil, and then spill it with a low-concentrated solution of potassium permanganate. You can start planting bushes a week after disinfection.

Preparation of planting material

Experienced gardeners recommend growing strawberries at home on a windowsill with seedlings, since growing seedlings from seeds on their own is quite a long and troublesome business. Planting material can be purchased in nurseries or taken from your site, if there are remontant varieties.

Preparing strawberry seedlings for planting at home is carried out as follows:

1. From the available sockets, only the the largest and healthiest.
2. Planting material separated from the mother plant and planted in a pot.
3. To give the strawberries a dormant period, the container is placed in a cool place for 14 days - basement or cellar.

Direct landing

Since strawberries do not like stagnant water and compacted soil, pebbles, expanded clay, small pieces of slate or brick are covered at the bottom of the pot before planting.

Saplings strawberries are planted at home like this:

1. A drainage layer and a little substrate are poured into the pot.
2. The rhizome is dipped in a weak solution of potassium permanganate for a few minutes.
3. Plants are placed in a pot and the roots are spread. The root must be full-grown in the pot. The rhizome must be shortened if the tip has to be strongly bent during planting.
4. In order for the trimmed bushes to recover faster, they are immersed in a weak solution of heteroauxin for 3-4 hours. To prepare the mixture, a crushed tablet of the drug is dissolved in 5 liters of water.
5. Fill up the missing soil to the point of growth and crush it a little.
6. To improve the survival rate, the bushes are moderately watered with a solution of heteroauxin

You can grow strawberries at home on a windowsill using seeds.Despite the fact that the harvest will have to wait longer than when planting seedlings, this does not scare off gardeners who do not see their life without their favorite business.

In order for the seeds to sprout together, they need to be hardened. The planting material is laid out on a damp cloth, then it is folded in half and placed in a bag. The bookmark is then sent to the top of the refrigerator for 30 days.

The sequence of planting strawberries at home on the windowsill seeds:

1. A shallow box is covered with prepared soil for most of it and slightly moistened.
2. Keeping a distance, the seeds are laid out in rows.
3. The planting material is sprinkled with a thin layer of soil.
4. The seedling container is covered with polyethylene or glass and placed in a warm place.
5. As soon as the seedlings germinate, the shelters are gradually removed, and the container is placed on a light windowsill.
6. Plants with a pair of real leaves are transplanted into a spacious pot.

The optimal time for planting strawberry seedlings in an apartment is early spring or the period from August 15 to September 20.

Video: how to care for and grow strawberries at home in a pot

How to care after planting and before harvest

Watering. For watering strawberries, like other indoor plants, use only settled water at room temperature. In order not to wait for the chlorine to settle to the bottom of the container, water can be passed through a filter.

Adhering to the technology of cultivating strawberries at home on a windowsill, the soil in containers is moistened 2 times a week. It is best to moisturize the soil in the afternoon. After watering, the soil in the planting container is loosened.

Important! Despite the fact that the growth of strawberries after the next moistening is activated, it is impossible to get carried away with watering. Overflowing plants is fraught with the appearance of rot on the roots and fungal diseases. Stagnant water is especially dangerous for bushes.

Top dressing. It is recommended to feed indoor strawberries once every 14 days. As fertilizer, you can use conventional houseplant feed or special strawberry nutrient mixtures. Top dressing is applied in accordance with the manufacturer's recommendations. They begin to be brought in after the 5th leaf appears on the bush.

If you do not want to use industrial mixtures, you can prepare food for indoor strawberries yourself according to this recipe:

1. A 3-liter jar is covered by a third of crushed eggshells.
2. Then 1 glass of ash is poured and the jar is filled to the top with slightly warmed water.
3. At the end of 5 days of infusion, the solution is filtered.
4. Before making the top dressing is diluted with water 1: 3.

You can also fertilize strawberries on the windowsill with weak solutions. mullein, chicken droppings.

Note! It is impossible to overfeed strawberries with fertilizers: a large amount of nutrients stimulates the active growth of leaves and has a bad effect on the setting and formation of fruits.

During fruiting, the bushes need a lot of iron. According to the reviews of experienced gardeners, in order to enrich the soil with a chemical element, a rusty nail must be driven into the pot a few centimeters. Admirers of the use of commercial mixtures spray the plantings with solutions containing iron compounds.

After harvesting, the bushes are rarely fed or not fed at all.

Pruning. Many will be surprised, but strawberries need to be pruned in order to increase yields. How to prune strawberries grown at home on a windowsill?

1. On seedlings grown from seeds, the first few flowers are plucked. It is not necessary to cut off the flower stalks on strawberries, divorced from seedlings.
2. If further expansion of indoor plantings is not planned, and it is not necessary to replace adult bushes, the antennae must be cut off. Also, cropping is recommended when there is a lack of lighting. As a result of shearing, the plants will not be wasted on the formation of unnecessary outlets, but will direct all the nutrients to the fruits.

Pollination. In order for berries to set after flowering, the strawberries need to be pollinated.There are several ways to artificially pollinate at home:

1. By the blossoming flowers one by one holding a paintbrush throughout the entire flowering period.
2. A fan is directed at the plants. Under the flow of air, pollen from one flower is transferred to another and the strawberries are pollinated.

Video: growing strawberries in winter

Diseases and pests

During fruiting, strawberries are affected gray rot and spider mites. To get rid of the worst enemies of sweet berries, plantings are sprayed garlic tincture. To prepare a solution, 2 vegetable slices are crushed and 100 ml of water is poured. The mixture, infused for 2 hours, is filtered, poured into a spray bottle and the plants are treated.

Terms of germination and harvesting

Strawberry seeds planted in an apartment sprout for a rather long time: the first seedlings make their way to the surface 20-30 days after sowing.

Repaired strawberries, grown at home on a windowsill, bloom in 30-35 days, and ripe berries begin to be picked 60-65 days after planting.

Video: strawberries on the windowsill in winter

The year-round cultivation of remontant strawberries on the windowsill is an exciting activity that does not require so much time and effort. All troubles and difficulties will pay off a hundredfold with ecologically clean and tasty fruits.

Just the word "strawberry" in the mouth feels its amazing sweetness, and pleasant images float before your eyes: ripe strawberries on a bush, warmed by the sun; strawberries with cream; delicate dessert decorated with strawberries ...

The main secrets and subtleties of year-round strawberry cultivation

In summer, this delicious berry is quite often present on our table, but imagine how surprised guests and households will be if you delight them with fresh strawberries in the “off-season”! And not that imported berry that is on the shelves of supermarkets, raising doubts about its usefulness, but the most real homemade strawberries, juicy and aromatic.

Nowadays, anyone who has such a desire can do strawberry cultivation all year round. To do this, it is not at all necessary to have a heated greenhouse; you can also grow a berry in an ordinary flower pot on the kitchen window. All that is required of you: stock up on seedlings, earth, containers for strawberry seedlings and, of course, patience, because strawberries are a rather capricious plant.

Anyone who has such a desire can do strawberry cultivation all year round.

How can you get strawberry bushes to bear fruit in autumn, winter and spring? The secret is simple: in a dormant state, strawberry seedlings dug from your site in the fall can be stored for up to nine months, for this you just need to keep it in the refrigerator or in a cool basement. In their natural environment, strawberries "wake up" after the snow melts, and when storing at home, you can "wake up" the seedlings at the moment you want. Thus, taking out alternately the bushes of seedlings from the basement or refrigerator and planting them in the ground, you can get the desired result - strawberries will bear fruit all year round without interruption.

Video about growing strawberries all year round

Another important point that you will definitely need to take into account is that strawberry seedlings need a long day of light (up to 14 hours a day). In the autumn-winter period, the days are very short, so you will have to use artificial lighting. Any of the technologies for growing strawberries all year round is based on the fact that the plants are provided with additional illumination using fluorescent lamps.

Pollination of flowers will also be artificial, regardless of which strawberry varieties you have chosen for year-round cultivation. If you have planted several strawberry bushes at home or in a greenhouse, you can pollinate them with a simple soft brush, touching each flower with it daily.In large greenhouses, a bee hive can be placed to ensure natural pollination.

If you have planted several strawberry bushes at home or in a greenhouse, you can pollinate them with a simple soft brush.

Strawberries bear fruit best of all year round, varieties of which are distinguished by high yields and the ability to set berries several times after the first fruiting. These are varieties such as:

• Marmolada,
• Maria,
• Selva,
• Darselect,
• Tristar,
• Elsanta,
• Yellow miracle
• Polka,
• Sonata,
• Tribute,
• Mount Everest,
• Darkness,
• Queen Elizabeth.

What is the best way to grow strawberries in winter?

There are many ways to grow strawberries all year round: some are based on the principles of hydroponics (growing without soil), while others involve the use of plastic bags. You can choose any method that you consider the most effective and acceptable.

The growing popularity is gaining year-round cultivation of strawberry seedlings in bags.

The growing popularity is gaining year-round cultivation of strawberry seedlings in bags on the balcony and on the loggia. Substrate is poured into ordinary long bags of dense polyethylene, slots are made on the surface for strawberry bushes, and seedlings are planted. Having chosen this option, do not forget to constantly ventilate the room in which the bags with growing strawberries are located, otherwise the roots of the plants will rot.

The strawberries that we can see in the supermarket in winter are grown using Dutch technology. In fact, this technology is very similar to the one described above, only it is used mainly in greenhouses. If you live in a city apartment and do not have a greenhouse, but really want to get strawberries all year round, a practical guide to the Dutch method will help you achieve a high yield at home.

Video about growing strawberries all year round in bags indoors

You can plant strawberries one bush at a time in flower pots, using rosettes harvested in the fall or growing seedlings from strawberry seeds yourself. If you follow the basic rules for caring for strawberries at home, delicious berries will blush on your windowsill throughout the year.

Another option is to use a hydroponic system. In this case, strawberry seedlings are planted in an organic substrate (for example, coconut fiber) or in an aquatic environment, and a nutrient solution is supplied to the plant roots. As a result, strawberries bear fruit all year round - the video will allow you to make sure that a sufficiently large berry ripens in a hydroponic installation without using a substrate on strawberry bushes.

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Strawberries are one of the most popular berries. That is why it is grown in the country, in the garden. I especially want to eat berries in winter. You can buy them at the supermarket, however, self-grown strawberries have excellent taste and do not contain nitrates. The berry has some characteristics that must be observed when growing.

Pros and cons of greenhouse cultivation

The main advantage is that it is possible to get a harvest of your favorite berry throughout the year. Thus, the gardener will have strawberries all year round, and they can not only eat but also sell them. In winter, she uses a lot of millet, and the prices are several times higher. There is an opportunity to make good money by selling berries.

Weather conditions do not affect the yield of strawberries in the greenhouse, because they are in optimal conditions for normal growth and development. If it grows in the open field, the crop yield is reduced by 25%, in contrast to growing in a greenhouse.

Another plus in saving space on the site.In addition, it is much easier to care for the berry when it grows in a greenhouse. Homemade strawberries do not contain harmful substances for human health, unlike the dubious berry sold in supermarkets. It is better not to take risks, but to grow tasty and healthy strawberries on your own.

The only disadvantage of obtaining berries in this way is the cost. To obtain a good harvest, you will need to increase the daylight hours using the additional lighting method. Also, the culture requires artificial pollination.

Types of greenhouses

Greenhouse structures are divided into several types:

• wooden structure with plastic wrap;
• aluminum construction covered with polycarbonate sheets;
• metal structure with glass.

The most common type is a wooden frame covered with a dense film. Its widespread use is due to several positive aspects, including: the simplicity of the device and the cheapness of the necessary materials. The disadvantage is that this method is not suitable for growing berries all year round in a greenhouse. The foil greenhouse will be the ideal solution from March to October.

A polycarbonate greenhouse is the best option for this. It is durable and reliable. Perfectly retains heat and moisture, perfectly transmits sunlight. This type of greenhouse has an affordable price.

A metal frame with glass floors is considered the most expensive of these. The greenhouse maintains the necessary microclimate, warms up quickly enough. Heat loss in a metal greenhouse with glass ceilings is minimal.

Preparation of containers

They grow a dugout in a greenhouse right on the beds. To save space, you can plant the berries in containers that are placed on the shelves. Thus, several tiers of containers are obtained. To ensure normal development and fruiting, the bushes require lighting. So that there is enough light for everyone, the distance between the tiers is kept at least 50 cm. Some gardeners hang pots for this purpose.

Cereals are considered the best predecessors. That is why it is recommended to install the greenhouse in the place where they grew. You can take the land from the garden and deliver it to the greenhouse. In this case, it is not recommended to use the soil on which tomatoes, potatoes and peppers were grown.
Soil preparation

To obtain a rich harvest, special soil is used. To prepare it, you need to mix chopped straw with chicken droppings, gypsum, chalk and urea. The process looks like this:

1. Chicken droppings and straw are laid out in layers in a container.
2. The contents of the container are poured over with warm water and left for a month.
3. During this time, the fermented mixture is stirred twice.
4. Chalk, gypsum, urea are added to the resulting dark brown mixture. The resulting substrate is rich in calcium, nitrogen and phosphates. Thus, the culture will grow well, it will not need a large amount of fertilizing.
5. The last stage is warming up. It is essential for sterilizing the substrate.

How to improve yields?

We are constantly receiving letters in which amateur gardeners are worried that due to the cold summer this year there is a poor harvest of potatoes, tomatoes, cucumbers, and other vegetables. Last year we published TIPS on this matter. But unfortunately, many did not listen, but some still applied. Here is a report from our reader, we want to advise plant growth biostimulants that will help increase the yield up to 50-70%.

We advise you to prepare in advance for the summer season, pay attention to this biological product. There are a lot of positive responses.

Read ...

It is important to monitor the temperature, it should not exceed 60 ° C. Otherwise, it will overheat and lose its useful qualities.

How to care for a berry in a greenhouse

To get a rich harvest of tasty berries, it is important to maintain all the conditions necessary for growth and development. Strawberries require timely watering, a special temperature regime, good lighting and top dressing.

Watering mode

The berry is watered in different ways. The following methods are used: drip irrigation, sprinkling. To grow a rich harvest of strawberries, before they bloom, they are watered only by sprinkling. After that, greenhouse berries must be watered at the root between the rows so that water does not get on the flowers and leaves. This measure is necessary in order not to knock down the flow of flowers from the plant.

Strawberries are watered about once every 8-10 days. When the fruiting period comes, water as needed. You also need to focus on weather conditions. It is recommended to water the bushes in the early morning, about once or twice a week. It is impossible to fill the bushes. This will lead to the fact that fungal diseases may occur. After watering, it is necessary to carefully loosen the soil so as not to damage the roots. Thus, they are saturated with oxygen, this contributes to an increase in yield.

Lighting

When growing berries in a greenhouse in winter, additional lighting is required, since the sun's rays do not pass well through the coating. In addition, daylight hours are not enough to get a good harvest. For this, additional light sources are installed in the greenhouse. In autumn and winter, daylight hours should be at least 13-15 hours.

The best option for light sources are high pressure sodium lamps. For 3 square meters of greenhouse, one lamp with a power of at least 400 watts is required. If the crop is illuminated for more than 13-14 hours a day, the yield will increase.

Optimum temperature and humidity

To successfully harvest strawberries, a certain air humidity and temperature regime are required. For this, equipment is purchased. From January, the optimum temperature is + 10 + 12 ° C. As the daylight hours increase, it must be increased to + 20 ° C. The temperature is maintained at about +8 ° C at night. When the plants begin to bloom, increase to + 25 ° C. However, it cannot be increased sharply. Otherwise, the plant may not withstand sudden warming.

As for the air humidity, during the disembarkation period and for several more weeks it is 85%. Only after that the level is reduced to 80%. Reduce the humidity again when the plant blooms.

Fertilizers

Like all plants, strawberries need fertilization. They are introduced in liquid form once every 7 days. It is imperative to water the plants before applying top dressing. This will prevent the roots from getting burned. Ammonium nitrate, superphosphate, potassium salt are used as top dressings. Sometimes chicken droppings are used. The plants are fed only before the formation of ovaries.

To avoid the appearance of various diseases, you must adhere to the following actions:

1. Plant plants at optimal spacing.
2. Stick to a watering schedule.
3. Always check the ground. It should not be waterlogged.
4. Remove weeds in a timely manner.
5. Choose the right fertilizers and use them on time.
6. Monitor the condition of the plant and, if necessary, use pest control products.

All year round greenhouse strawberry varieties

Growing berries throughout the year requires certain knowledge. Before doing this, in the absence of experience, you need to familiarize yourself with the intricacies of the culture and the peculiarities of its cultivation.
Which varieties are suitable for growing all year round

Thus, it will be easier to decide which kind of strawberry is more suitable for obtaining a large harvest throughout the year.

The following varieties are considered popular:

• Crown;
• Sonata;
• Elsanta;
• Honia.

Did you know! Some varieties of berries require pollination. To do this, treat each bush with a brush.Experienced gardeners also install hives with bees in a greenhouse where strawberries grow. Bees help pollinate plants.

Repairing strawberry varieties

When grown in a greenhouse, it is recommended to use remontant strawberries. They do not require pollination. Another positive quality is that the berry bears harvest several times a year. Among the remontant varieties, the most popular are:

• Albion;
• Queen Elizabeth;
• Temptation F1;
• Lyubava.

The berry of the Albion variety is high-yielding, the berries are tasty and aromatic. A distinctive feature is that the variety does not form a mustache. Fruiting in strawberries is early and abundant.

The popular variety Queen Elizabeth is distinguished by its berry size. Some of them reach the size of 125 g. Up to 5 kg of berries are harvested from one bush. The berries are incredibly beautiful, dense and red. The berry needs regular renewal.

Variety Temptation F1 allows you to grow berries of a unique taste and aroma. The berries are dense and juicy. Reach the size of 40 g. Fruiting early - the harvest is harvested within a month and a half after planting. Each bush gives one and a half kilograms of berries.

Strawberry Lyubava is very aromatic and tasty, but not large. Differs in high yield, reaching two kilograms per bush. Plants take root immediately and begin to bear fruit very early.

Strawberry cultivation methods

There are several ways to get a strawberry harvest in a greenhouse all year round. They differ depending on where the berries are grown in the greenhouse. Strawberries are planted in beds, containers. Not so long ago, another method appeared - the Dutch cultivation technology.

Growing method in soil

For planting in the ground, antennae of the 1st and 2nd order are used. Seedlings are purchased in the store. It is also possible to grow it yourself. First you need to prepare the beds. The optimal width is about 100 cm. They are usually located from north to south. This arrangement will provide the bushes with the maximum amount of heat and light.

At the bottom of the beds, it is necessary to pour fine crushed stone with a layer of 6 cm. You will also need sand with a layer of 10 cm and chernozem - 10 cm. The holes are dug 10 cm deep, it is recommended to arrange them in a checkerboard pattern. In order for the bushes to grow strong and healthy, fertilizers are suppressed in each hole.

Seedlings are carefully placed in the holes and covered with earth. Be sure to pay attention to the location of the outlet, it should be located at ground level. In no case should it be buried in the soil. Also, do not plant it high above ground level.

Growing in bags, or Dutch technology

This method is considered quite new. It allows you to get a large harvest of strawberries every 2 months. Remaining varieties are used. The berries are planted in plastic bags. They are placed horizontally or vertically in the greenhouse. The room must be provided with good ventilation. The fact is that when growing berries in a greenhouse, a sufficiently high temperature and high humidity can provoke the ground in bags to rot.

Berry bushes are placed in bags. The distance between them should be about 20 cm. This is done in order to provide each bush with the necessary amount of light. Plastic bottles are often used for watering. Their volume is not less than 2 liters. Place such a bottle of water over each bag. Several holes are made in the lid and droppers are inserted into them. Two to five is enough. The ends of the droppers are placed at the roots. Such an irrigation system assumes a water consumption for one day per bag of berries equal to 2 liters.

Did you know! For better illumination of each bush, special reflectors are installed in the greenhouse.

Growing strawberries takes effort, but with the right approach, it is quite possible to get a rich harvest. In addition, in winter, the berry is in demand and you can earn extra money selling it.

Growing strawberries in a greenhouse all year round

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To grow strawberries at home on the window, it is enough to allocate space on the windowsill, prepare a flower box, and know the basic rules of care. We will tell you about the choice of variety, dressing and technology for growing strawberries at home all year round.

To grow your favorite seasonal berries, it is not necessary to equip a greenhouse, it is enough to select a windowsill on the sunny side and take care of the plants, providing conditions for full growth and fruiting. At the start, you need to decide on the variety of berries, on which the subsequent result depends.

Variety selection

For home cultivation of strawberries, you need to choose remontant varieties. They bear fruit more than once a year, like ordinary ones, but two or more, moreover, abundantly. However, both nutrition and care must be relevant, that is, appropriate.

Repair strawberries are divided into several categories, depending on the length of daylight hours. It is called that, only in an abbreviation: DSD - long daylight hours, and NSD - neutral daylight hours, which is more typical for most regions.

Varieties where flower buds are born with long daylight hours bear fruit twice a year: in early summer and early autumn. Also, DSD varieties are characterized by predominant fruiting for the second harvest. Its share is 60–90% of the total mass of berries.

The second category of remontant strawberries is able to bear fruit continuously all year round. This species is not whimsical to care for, it is resistant to variable humidity, lighting and unstable temperature conditions. These features are key when choosing a variety for home cultivation and regular fruiting.

Light-loving remontant strawberry varieties include: "Inexhaustible", "Autumn fun", "Crimean", "Garland". The unpretentious neutral species include: "Queen Elizabeth" I and II, "Brighton", "Roman F1", etc. It should be noted that the variety "Queen Elizabeth" surpasses other varieties in terms of the number and size of fruits, the frequency of fruiting.

Seeds or seedlings

If you decide to speed up or facilitate the process and buy ready-made seedlings, pay attention to the development of the plant. A good sign of a healthy bush is the presence of 3-5 developed leaves and an embryo (buds for ripening future berries). It is better to buy seedlings in a specialized store, then you can count on compliance with the declared variety and the proper quality of the planting material. Ready-made seedlings can be planted in separate pots or long flower boxes at a distance of 15 cm.

Seed planting

Seed preparation

The seeds should be worked a little. To sow seeds and get healthy seedlings at home, you need:

1. Soaking the seeds will speed up the germination process. To do this, take a transparent plastic container with a lid and punch holes in it with a sewing needle. This is necessary for air circulation.
2. Cover the bottom of the container with gauze or cotton pads. Dampen material and spread seeds. Cover them with damp cotton pads on top.
3. Close the container with a lid and place in a warm place for 2-3 days. If you are soaking multiple varieties, be sure to mark the containers accordingly.
4. Now proceed with the stratification (hardening) of the seeds. This is necessary to simulate winter weather conditions, in order to accelerate the awakening of seeds and get fast germination. Place the container with cotton pads in the refrigerator. Remember to control the humidity level. Open the container lid every 1-2 days and moisten the cotton pads.

After two weeks, the seeds are ready for sowing in the ground.

Soil preparation

To grow strawberries at home, you can use garden soil or purchase a multipurpose mixture at the store. The earth should be crumbly. The best option: mix in equal proportions forest soil, garden soil, and sand. Soil preparation should be started in conjunction with seed stratification.

Disinfect the soil by heating it in the oven for 20-30 minutes. However, beneficial bacteria are destroyed along with the parasites. Allow the earth to cool down for 2-3 weeks to restore nutrient balance. During this time, the seeds will go through the stratification stage and will be ready for sowing.

Sowing seeds

For sowing seeds, you can use improvised containers: plastic boxes, flower pots, cardboard boxes. The height of the sides should be at least 10 cm. Fill the container with earth and start sowing seeds:

1. Use a pencil to make shallow grooves of 0.7–1 cm with a distance of 3–4 cm.
2. Since the germination rate of seeds is about 40%, it is necessary to sow the seeds often.
3. Gently grind the grooves with soil, no more than 0.5 cm.
4. Cover the container with plastic wrap and place in a warm place for 4-5 days.

After the first leaves appear, remove the film and transfer the container with seedlings to a well-lit place. Better if it is a windowsill on the south side.

When the seeds have released several pairs of leaves, the seedlings can be dived into separate permanent containers.

Take a spacious wooden or plastic box, pour a thin layer (1–2 cm) of expanded clay or fine gravel on the bottom for drainage. Pour a second layer of fertile soil. The depth of the earthen "cushion" should be 10-15 cm.

Make holes 8–12 cm apart and plant the seedlings. Moisten the soil regularly.

Knowing how to grow seedlings from seeds, you can choose any variety of strawberries and gain invaluable experience and a bountiful year-round harvest. If the strawberry grows, transplant the newly formed bushes into separate containers.

A few tips:

1. Mature plants do not tolerate transplanting well. When planting seedlings, choose a spacious container in which the plant will live for a long time.
2. The capacity can be any, if its volume is not less than three liters per one bush. If you take, for example, long balcony boxes with a volume of about 15 liters, then you can plant 5-7 strawberry bushes, at a distance of at least 15 cm. This need is associated with the active growth and development of the plant.
3. The bottom of the tank must be laid out with a layer of drainage (you can take expanded clay, pebbles or broken brick).

Care and feeding

Strawberries are not whimsical to care for. Growth stimulants should not be used - with a sufficient amount of ultraviolet radiation and optimal humidity, the plants will regularly bear fruit.

Microclimate

It is better to place pots with plants on windowsills facing the east or south-east side. The quality of the fruit directly depends on the amount of sunlight. To circulate fresh air, it is sufficient to leave the window sash in the ventilation position.

If the climate in your region does not often pleases with sunny weather, then it makes sense to buy the simplest ultraviolet lamp that will promote photosynthesis all year round. Remember to keep the soil moist.

To prevent plants from drying out during your absence, resort to the greenhouse effect method.To do this, moisten the soil well, and cover the container with the plant with a plastic wrap or plastic bag. Do not forget about the "breath" of plants: make holes for air circulation.

Top dressing

Strawberries must be nourished with nutrients. To do this, you can use mineral and organic complexes: nitrophoska, potassium nitrate, potassium sulfate, wood ash, etc. The first feeding should be carried out during the growing season, with the formation of a couple of real leaves. Choose your favorite top dressing recipes, and alternate their use 4 times a year, excluding the fruiting period:

• 1 tsp nitroammophos for 5 liters of water;
• 1/2 tsp boric acid, 15 drops of iodine, 1/2 cup of wood ash per 5 liters of water;
• Soak a liter jar of crusts and slices of rye bread in two liters of warm water, soak for 7 days in a warm place. Add three parts of warm water to one part of the sourdough, and add top dressing to the plant;
• Dilute 1 part of sour milk or whey with 3 parts of water;
• mix a tablespoon of nitrophosphate with a teaspoon of potassium sulfate in 5 liters of water;
• 1 tbsp. l. Dissolve potassium nitrate in 5 liters of water;
• 50 grams of wood ash per 5 liters of water.

Top dressing should be carried out during the growing season and flowering, as well as after picking berries. At this time, new roots are formed, buds are formed for the next fruiting season. It is important at this time to pay maximum attention to the strawberries.

As a rule, strawberries at home are not susceptible to disease. The only feature is the lifespan of plants. Since strawberries of the NSD varieties bear fruit more abundantly and more often, which means it ages faster, its lifespan is 1 year. As for the varieties of DSD, the fruiting of which is several times poorer than NSD, then their lifespan will increase proportionally and is 2-3 years.

rmnt.ru

06.03.16