Peat as a fertilizer for strawberries: how and when to apply?

We have a small dacha, we grow mostly greens and strawberries on it. However, a good harvest of berries is very difficult to obtain, because the soil is heavy, clayey. Neighbor advised to make peat. Tell me, how to fertilize the peat beds with strawberries?

Peat is a decomposed remains of vegetation and animals and belongs to natural organic fertilizers. However, it also contains useful mineral elements( sulfur, nitrogen), due to which peat is actively used in horticulture and horticulture. Especially well responds to the introduction of peat strawberries.

Peat is recommended for growing strawberries on clay and sandy soils. Fertile soil does not need it.

High-quality peat is brown, moist to the touch and crumbly. Humidity is a prerequisite, otherwise the soil after its introduction will be bad to retain moisture. It should be noted that the maximum effect of peat dressing will be noticeable only in the second year after application.

Features of the use of peat in strawberry beds

Peat is used for fertilizing strawberries both in spring and in autumn. But it is necessary to understand that it is permissible to use a pure product only for the purpose of mulching strawberry beds, having previously aired it and mixed it with sawdust. To neutralize the acidity of peat, it is also necessary to add wood ash to the mixture( 5 kg per 50 kg of peat).

For application to the soil, it will be necessary to prepare compost on the basis of peat to enrich the composition of microelements. When laying the compost heap, peat layers should be alternated with manure. You can also add green mass remaining after weeding the garden, and household kitchen waste. Pile periodically watered with a solution of superphosphate( 100 g per bucket of water).

There are two ways to fertilize strawberries with peat compost:

1. When planting, put a layer of peat into each well before planting a peat no more than 5 cm.
2. During tillage, scatter between kilograms of 30 kg per square meter.m. and dig.

If there is no desire or opportunity to mess around with compost preparation, ready-made peat-based products can be purchased at specialized stores that sell fertilizers:

1. In the form of granules. Used for planting by adding to the hole.
2. In the form of a liquid solution .Used for root dressings.

The effect of peat as a fertilizer

As a result of fertilizing plants with peat:

• , the soil structure improves - it better allows moisture to pass and “breathes”;
• activates crop growth;
• plant root system receives ideal conditions for development;
• increases the quantity and quality of the crop.

Already in the second year after fertilizing the soil with peat manure, strawberries will actively develop and bear fruit.

How to fertilize strawberries - video