When and what fertilizer to use for strawberries

A rich harvest of sweet and juicy strawberries, it is impossible to obtain from year to year without any fertilizing. Even if a berry is planted in fertile soil, the additional power is still needed, only in smaller amounts.

Cultural large-fruited strawberry varieties require attention. To get each of the high Bush berries, it is not enough only to plant and to water well-established brand. Without feeding and appropriate care berries sooner or later will be crushed and will lose its inherent sweetness.

How much and often you need to fertilize

The most frequent fertilizing require young strawberry bushes are just getting ready to first fruiting. Before planting them in soil it is recommended to make 20-30 g per square meter of complex fertilizer designed for strawberries. This is done by digging, generally in the fall: from late August to early October.

Depending on growing region, the first spring feeding the berries can fall on the beginning or the end of April, when the leaves have not yet blossomed to the end. This time you need to use to remove unwanted seedlings left over from the autumn, the old dry leaves.

If the soil on the plot is extremely poor, fertilizing will be needed throughout the growing season: at planting, early spring, during the appearance of stems during flowering, fruiting and after it. When the soil is sufficiently fertilized, and strawberries have repeatedly made the harvest can be confined to three main dressing in April, July (after fruiting) in September.

How and what you need to fertilize

The industry today produces a variety of complex fertilizers, but none of them compares to organics. Berry need and mineral, and organic supplements. It is only important to know what their time to contribute to the benefit of the plant. So, at the beginning of the growing season, for growth and flowering strawberries need nitrogen. Additional introduction in the fall will allow you to get a good harvest next year. Phosphorus, potassium fertilizers also contribute twice: fall deeper (digging), but spring closing up them finely. Potassium contributes to the sweet berries and superphosphate are necessary for the full development of the root system.

As a replacement of the potash mineral fertilizer (urea) can be successfully used wood ash. It is permissible to mix ash with nitrogen fertilizer immediately before the making, but keep them in a mixed state harmful. This will lead to the destruction of nitrogen. Any fertilizer can be replaced by manure or chicken droppings which get divorced water. Poultry manure dilute 1:10, and cow 1:4. At low levels of organics, it is possible to strain the berries, which is a symptom of boron deficiency.

During the period of active flowering and fruiting mineral supplements completely useless. At this time, you should promptly remove his mustache, which take the lion's share of nutrients from berries, weeding, loosening the soil and water. Better if during the period of vegetation strawberries watered at the root. Irrigation leads to the disease Botrytis. From the top you can spray the bushes 2% solution of Bordeaux fluid. It will relieve or prevent the invasion of pests.

It is important to observe the norms of fertilizer because excess nitrogen in the fall may impact adversely on winter hardiness of strawberries, and the excess of potash fertilizers may contribute to the increase of chlorine in the soil, which is also detrimental to the berries.