A clear answer to the questions - why and when to cut strawberries after harvest - no. Opinions gardeners on this subject are different. Someone is for, someone is categorically against. Why cut the leaves, why do it, if it seems to be known that the foliage nourishes the root, they say, the more foliage, the stronger the bush? Yes, it is, of course, correct. But. .. Harvest - prepare for the next one! Sounds like a slogan for a gardener. So, caring for strawberries after harvest is the preparation of the plantation for the harvest of the next year. A pruned strawberry leaves, one of the stages of this care.
- Why trim mustache
- strawberries when you need to feed, fertilize
- Hilling strawberries
- reasons,
- leaf crop timing How to conduct crop of strawberries, if the plants are affected by the disease,
- pests Can I mowed all strawberry leaves
- How to care for the beds of strawberries aftertrimming or mowing
We all love this berry. In the spring a lot of time and effort is spent on leaving before flowering, during it, during the formation, ripening of berries. We want strawberries to be bigger, bigger, juicier, tastier. So, just after the harvest, you need to make every effort to improve, increase it next year. Strawberries need special care after harvesting. This is the most important time for her and for us.
Why trim the mustache in strawberries
Surely, during the harvest you noticed that strawberries( strawberries) give a lot of mustaches. Of course, it depends on the variety. Some varieties form many mustaches, some are few, and some may be generally waxless.
Collected all the berries - carefully inspect the entire plantation. It is necessary to loosen the garden strawberry beds, weed them from the weeds, remove the mustache.
Mustache required strawberries for reproduction. If you do not want to get new outlets, new plants for reproduction, then you should immediately pick them off after the appearance.
Usually there are several whiskers on one bush, we collect them in one bundle and cut as close as possible to the base of the bush. By the way, this procedure for cutting the whiskers will have to be repeated more than once per season. If we launch, do not do it in time, then the plant will spend all its forces on the growth of whiskers and sockets - the future harvest will get less, there will be less flower buds, which means fewer berries, they will be smaller.
All unnecessary for the future harvest must be cut.
In addition, it is necessary that the strawberries are not thickened, since thickened plantings are more difficult to care for.
содерж to content ↑When you need to feed, fertilize
Some gardeners do not do the right thing, feeding the strawberries vigorously before harvesting. This leads to the fact that it is strongly affected by gray mold, this is, firstly. Secondly, although the berries become large, they are watery, less sweet, and have a shorter collection period.
Early in the spring before flowering, we feed nitrogen fertilizers. But remember, the main fertilizer application should be after harvesting. This is top dressing with full mineral fertilizer and organic. Many make manure for strawberries. This, of course, is good - manure not only nourishes the plants, but also cares for the root system of strawberries.
содерж to the content ↑Hilling of strawberries
The fact is that strawberries are a perennial berry plant. Over time, it increases the air root system and begins, as it were, to stick out of the ground. Every year, especially after 3-4 years of cultivation in one place, we are forced to pour mulch, earth, compost, rotted manure into the aisle, thus covering strawberry roots. Mulching, hilling helps the roots to develop well.
Causes, time for leaf pruning
The budding of fruit buds in strawberries( garden strawberries) occurs in June( Krasnodar region) - July( middle lane) after harvest. Here by this time it is necessary to coincide with the first pruning of whiskers and leaves.
The fact is that the strawberry leaf lives only 60-70 days - 2-2.5 months. And after that, various spots appear on the leaves - whitish, rusty, red. These are signs of leaf aging, the development of various diseases on them.
That is, cutting the leaves of strawberries( strawberries) is necessary in order to protect the future crop from diseases.
Trim the leaves or whiskers with shears or scissors. Tools must be sharp. Do not tear them off with your hands - this can damage the root system. The plant instead of increasing the leaf mass will long regain their strength.
The process of chlorophyll production 2-2.5 months after picking berries stops - even in healthy plants, the leaves can turn red. 
Advice: reddened leaves should be removed all in order to prevent the pests that remained on them from rest in peace. Plantation process preparations for pests. Only it had to be done much earlier: the picture was taken in the month of September. There is a danger that young leaves after pruning will not have time to grow - bare bushes may not survive the frosty winter.
So, after a month and a half after collecting the last berries, we inspect the strawberry plantation( garden strawberries) and remove all the leaves with specks and holes, not forgetting to remove the flower stalks. We leave only the young leaves.
When to do it? In Kuban, this is the end of June and the beginning of July, in the middle lane - the first half of August. I will not say the exact date - it is not so important. Most importantly, calculate the dates so that in the winter your strawberries are gone with the already grown young leaves.
содерж to content ↑How to prune strawberries, if plants are affected by diseases, pests
In case the bush or bushes of strawberries are affected by strawberry mites, there is a strong spot on the leaves, all leaves, even young ones, should be removed. Cut the leaves with signs of disease should be as close as possible to the base of the bush, as the spores of diseases can persist on the petioles. Try not to touch the heart of the bush when trimming - the plant will be able to recover faster. By doing such pruning, you will not harm the bush, as the strawberries very quickly increase the green mass. Cutting off the old leaves, you will immediately see where you can loosen the ground, where you need to remove weeds.
Of course, removing all the leaves from the strawberries, you do not remove all pests, diseases. They will remain on the stumps of the leaves, the earth. Simply, such a bed is easier to treat with drugs for diseases and pests. This treatment is more effective.
Now you can feed the "rejuvenated" garden bed. At this time, as I have already said, fruit buds are laid - the basis of the future harvest, so do not forget to water your strawberries periodically. And if there is no rain, keep the soil moist.
Top dressing, watering at this time required. It is at this time that the strawberries will build up the leaf mass, which in winter, covered with snow, will protect the root system from freezing. That is, the more foliage your bushes go into the winter, the better they will spend the winter, the more harvest you will get.
If during the harvest period you notice berries affected by gray mold - after harvesting the last berries, treat the entire plantation with a fungicide - this can be bordeaux liquid, Topaz or Horus.
содерж to the content ↑Can I mow all the strawberry leaves
Not so long ago, walking along my country street, I saw friends mowing strawberry leaves with a scythe. They have a large berry area - a few hundred square meters - they can’t do without a spit. At first I decided that they had thus decided to get rid of the old strawberries, they say, it was time to plant a new plantation. But it turned out that everything is wrong. The hostess of the dacha said that they mow the leaves of strawberries every year three or four weeks after the last harvest. And this year, some circumstances prevented them from making it on time and they mowed in mid-August. The strawberry harvest, they say, is good all the time, it hurts less.
If you have a large plantation and it is more than 3-4 years old, then you can follow the example of my friends.
There is another reason for the complete cutting of leaves of strawberries with a scythe or shears( scissors) - this is a strong defeat for planting diseases and pests. After complete cutting( mowing) of the leaves, the plantation should be treated with a fungicide or a pest preparation. Be sure to feed your strawberries - help her to quickly build up the sheet mass.
You do not need to mow on young healthy strawberry plantings, it depletes the bushes and you deprive yourself of the harvest.
↑ to content ↑How to care for strawberry beds after pruning or mowing
I repeat a little, but this is very important.
- Rumble the ground around the bushes.
- Remove Weeds.
- Treat the plantation from diseases and pests.
- Feed mineral and organic fertilizers.
- Water regularly if there is no rain during this period.
- It is very important that the ground on the garden bed is wet all the time - this is very important for the growth of young foliage.
That's all some simple rules. Now you know how and when to cut the strawberries( garden strawberries) after harvest. Good harvest in the coming year, you provided!
