The rules for growing strawberries include periodic dressing. They are necessary for the growth and development of plants, obtaining a large and high-quality crop, protection from diseases and pests. Top dressing must be carried out in stages. The choice of fertilizers is very large.
When is strawberry nutrition needed?
It is necessary to feed strawberries in the spring season. Otherwise, you can get too small or low-quality crops.
A crop can be dispensed with in the first year of planting, provided that a sufficient amount of fertilizer has been applied during it. From the second year, the plant must be fed.
The next year after planting, organic and mineral fertilizers are suitable for strawberries. In the third year of planting, it is better to limit oneself only to minerals. In the fourth year, you can add organics again.
Additional fertilizing may be required for the culture with a lack of any substances. This can be detected by the appearance of the plant:
- Calcium deficiency is manifested by the darkened tips of the leaves, which become brown. In this case, you can lose the crop.
- Without enough potassium, the leaves begin to turn pale, dry around the edges. Due to uneven development, the leaf blades become wrinkled.
- Lack of nitrogen is expressed in weak flowering, small pale green leaves, fruiting retardation.
- Phosphorus deficiency is manifested by the slow growth of leaves and the acquisition of a reddish-green color.
- The lack of magnesium culture is shown by replacing the green color with red or purple.
- With a lack of manganese, drying and dropping of leaves is observed.
Calcium (Ca) deficiency: leaf tip burn and deformation
Insufficient potassium (K): blanching of leaves, edges dry out
Strawberry leaves with a deficit of nitrogen (N) become light green (no bright green veins). Healthy strawberries have saturated green leaves.
Phosphorus Deficiency (P): Dark green leaves with a bluish or red tint
Magnesium (Mg) deficiency: leaves turn pale, areas between veins brighten and dry
Manganese deficiency (Mn): yellowing between the veins, leaves mosaicly dotted with green and yellow dots
Varieties of feeding strawberries
The main dressings are root and extra root:
- Fertilize the root method after rains or watering. After applying the nutrient solution, the soil must be watered repeatedly.
- The foliar version of top dressing usually involves spraying. For them, it is better to choose cloudy weather. On sunny days, spraying is best done in the evening or in the early morning. Foliar top dressing should be resorted to in the case of a high level of soil acidity, problems with the root system, and signs of a deficiency of any element on different parts of the plant. Fertilizing in this way implies a lower concentration.
The composition of the fertilizer is divided into
- Organic This variety is of animal or plant origin. This group includes compost, manure (including bird droppings) and ash.
- Mineral Can be made on the basis of nitrogen, potassium or phosphorus.
- Complex formulations. They mean a combination of various micro and macro elements.
What can be fed strawberries in the spring?
As a top dressing for strawberries, various means are used. This is mainly organic and mineral fertilizers. You can also use folk recipes and remedies from the pharmacy - they are no less effective.
Mineral fertilizers
In early spring, you can use nitroammophoskos to feed. You need to breed 1 tbsp. l remedies in a 10 liter bucket of water. This volume is enough for 20 bushes.
In the second half of April, urea can also be used as top dressing. Such a tool is appropriate if the air temperature is not lower than 16 degrees. To prepare a solution for feeding, you need to dilute in a bucket of water 1 tbsp. urea. Distribute the resulting volume to 20 bushes.
During flowering, the plant needs potassium. For such top dressing, potassium nitrate (1 hour per 10 liters) is added to the water and plants are watered (1 liter per 2 bushes). A similar solution can be used for spraying. For feeding during flowering, nitrophosphate can be added to potassium (2 tbsp. L.)
When planting strawberries or a week before, superphosphates should be added. You need 30 g of the product per square meter, potassium sulfate or calimagnesia is also added to it (the volume is 2 times less than superphosphates).
When using mineral fertilizers, the dosages indicated by the manufacturer must be adhered to. Otherwise, you can be left without a crop, as it will not be suitable for food.
Organic fertilizer
Such top dressing is attracted by its natural origin. The following options are good for strawberries:
- Green tea. To prepare such a product, you need to fill the bucket with nettle and pour it with warm water for several days. Root dressing is carried out after dilution of the composition in 10 parts of water. For spraying, the infusion is filtered and diluted with 20 parts of water. One bush needs no more than 1 liter of solution.
- Chicken droppings. Such organics must be soaked in 20 parts of water and insisted for several days. Under each bush make half a liter of fertilizer.
- Mullein. The feeding solution is prepared according to the same principle as the chicken litter product. It can be used for feeding in early spring, as well as at the beginning of flowering.
- Compost. This fertilizer is attractively mild. You need to lay out a layer of about 5 cm around the bush, leaving a little free space near its base.
- Ash. For strawberries, the best source of such fertilizer is wheat and rye straw, birch, coniferous trees. It is enough to place a handful of ash under each bush in early spring and repeat the procedure after trimming at the end of the season. Spring top dressing is also carried out with ash infusion. If yellow spots appeared on the leaves or they began to rot, then ash is used for dusting. Enough 2 tbsp. funds for one bush.
Nettle green tea dressing
Chicken Manure Fertilizer
Feeding with mullein solution
Compost fertilizer
Feeding with ash
Do not allow an overabundance of organic matter. The plant should receive most of it at the beginning of the growing season.
Fresh horse or cow dung for strawberries should not be used. Such fertilizer must be stale.
Complex formulations
Strawberries are often fertilized with a mixture of organics and minerals. For the first feeding, it is good to use ammonium sulfate and mullein. For one bucket (10 l) you need 1 tbsp. granules and half a liter of organics. This volume needs to be distributed on 10 bushes.
For fertilizing strawberries, you can use other complex fertilizers from the store. These include Rastvorin, Hera, Kemira, Ryazanochka, NutriFayt.
The advantage of complex fertilizers is a balanced composition and versatility. One remedy is usually suitable for several crops. Use it in accordance with the instructions.
Watch the video with the recipe for a comprehensive composition of effective fertilizer for strawberries:
Pharmacy products
To feed strawberries, you can use some medicinal formulations. Most of them can be found in the house of any person:
- Iodine. This tool is a good fertilizer and disease prevention. It is better to use it before flowering in the form of sprayings. To prepare the solution, just add 4 drops of iodine to a bucket of water. Processing should be repeated two more times with an interval of 1.5 weeks.
- Boric acid. Such a tool is effective at the beginning of flowering as a spray. To prepare the solution, 5 g of the product are diluted in a bucket of water (10 l). To boric acid, 30 drops of iodine and a glass of ash can be added to such an amount of water. Under each bush make no more than 1 liter of solution.
- Boric acid and potassium permanganate. This mixture stimulates the formation of ovaries. It is enough to add 2 g of each product to a bucket of water, in addition, you can use a glass of ash, previously sifted. The solution is used for spraying.
- Ammonia (10%). This tool is useful for the growth of strawberries, increase yield, prevent the appearance of pests. For the first feeding in a bucket of water (10 l) add 40 ml of ammonia and a liter of soap solution. With this solution, water the earth, trying not to get on the plant itself. Repeat feeding should be at the flowering stage. Once again, you can feed the plant after harvest. To do this, instead of a soap solution, add 5 drops of iodine.
Folk remedies
Over several centuries of growing strawberries, people have identified many ways to feed it. The following options are especially effective:
- Infusion on bread crusts (rye). It is enough to soak the bread in water and dilute the resulting infusion in 10 parts of water in a week.
- Spoiled milk. Such a tool is effective to use if the soil is weakly acid. It is necessary to dilute the product in 2 parts of water and spill the earth in a circle, 10 cm back from the bush. Such dressing can be carried out three times a season - in early spring, after harvesting, in September. The acidified product has a positive effect on productivity, activates crop growth, and provides protection against certain diseases and pests.
- Yeast. You must use a live product. In half a liter of water, dilute 200 g of yeast and leave for 20 minutes. Pour the resulting composition into a 10-liter bucket of water. With this solution you need to pour plenty of strawberries.
Straw dressing steps
Feeding strawberries is a certain pattern. Additionally, the culture needs to be fertilized if there are signs of a lack of a substance.
In standard situations, top dressing is performed as follows:
- The first time fertilizer is applied in the middle of spring, when the snow is falling, and the leaves have not yet blossomed. Feeding is better to combine with pruning bushes. This allows you to not injure the plant once again.
- The next feeding is necessary for the culture at the flowering stage. Applying the right fertilizer will make the berries more sweet, and they will be stored longer.
- Top dressing can be done at the stage of ovary growth. This will positively affect the volume of the crop and the size of the berries. Fertilizer should be applied in a non-root way.
- Another important spring top dressing is carried out during the formation of fruits.
- The plant needs to be fed when fruiting is completed. At this stage, the application of fertilizers activates the formation of new roots, the laying of flower buds.
- The last bait is carried out in the fall in order to prepare the culture for wintering.
Common mistakes
Many gardeners by inexperience make mistakes when feeding strawberries. Usually they are as follows:
- The introduction of a large amount of organic matter. In this case, the green mass grows, rot may begin in the soil. Excess organic matter prevents the formation of berries.
- If you use a lot of bird droppings or mullein, you can cause a burn of foliage. As a result, plants can finally die.
- Incorrect calculation of fertilizer concentration. If you use an insufficient amount of funds, then feeding will be ineffective. An excess of fertilizer can adversely affect the plant and make the berries inedible.
- Ignoring the need for spring spraying. This stage is important to protect the plant from diseases and pests. If you skip it, you can lose most of the crop or even be left without it.
When working with various fertilizers, personal protection should be taken into account. Certain products may cause an undesirable reaction in contact with skin. Fertilizers should be kept out of the reach of children, since if the composition gets inside, the risk of poisoning is high.
It is necessary to feed strawberries in the spring. Fertilizing is important for the normal development of the crop, its yield, and protection from diseases and pests. Top dressing should be carried out according to a certain scheme. The lack or excess of any substances can be detrimental to the plant.