Growing strawberries in bags: step by step instructions, technology nuances
Strawberries are popular all year round. But there are obstacles on the way to strawberry paradise: the seasonality of the berry, the lack of space in the summer cottage. A new way of growing strawberries in bags saves space, increases the number of crops, and also opens up the possibility of additional income. There will always be buyers for fresh, environmentally friendly goods. You just need to familiarize yourself with the landing technique and the rules of care.
Features of the method
The original garden requires a separate room, soil substrate and a strawberry variety that is suitable for growing all year round.
What the gardener gets as a result:
- fresh strawberries any time of the year;
- compact garden without weeds and pests;
- extra income.
Difficulty growing:
- limited selection of varieties;
- material costs;
- labor-intensive care.
Growing strawberries for sale requires a large room and equipment to maintain a favorable microclimate.
Choice of varieties
Planting material is ordered in nurseries and propagated vegetatively. But the usual variety that grows in the country in the ground is also suitable. You need to choose a strong first mustache of the mother bush with developed roots.
For commercial cultivation, choose varieties with the following qualities:
- unpretentious care;
- long fruiting;
- high yield.
The following varieties meet the selection criteria:
- Marshal - produces sweet berries, drought tolerant, fast growing.
- Albion, Honey - cold-resistant, high disease resistance.
- Geneva is a prolific variety, one bush produces up to 3 kilograms of berries.
- Gigantella is a large-fruited species, bears fruit well with abundant watering.
For planting in confined spaces, small bushes are suitable that do not shade each other. Varieties with different ripening periods will ensure continuous strawberry production.
To harvest in winter and summer, you need to plant self-pollinating varieties. Otherwise, you will have to pollinate the flowers manually.
Preparatory work
First you need to decide on the purpose of cultivation. If strawberries go for personal needs, 2-4 bags are enough to fit in an apartment.
Strawberry plantation locations:
- greenhouse;
- garden;
- attic.
In the greenhouse, compact beds are arranged and hung on hooks and trellises. It is necessary to maintain a distance between them so that the light falls evenly. The sacks placed on the ground need cover.
Non-residential premises are suitable for growing strawberries: a garage, a barn. The main requirements for the place are air circulation, the right temperature and lighting.A large room should be equipped with a heating system, ventilation. On the street, the bags are laid out in sunny areas. For the winter they need to be put away in the cellar.
Selection of bags
The material should be tight. Suitable reinforced or greenhouse film. Bags just sew by yourself:
- cut two pieces of 200x30 centimeters;
- solder or sew along the edges.
Seams and material should not let the ground through. For planting strawberries, ready-made bags of flour, compound feed are suitable.
Preparation of soil and planting material
Slightly acidic or neutral soil is preferred for strawberries. The substrate is prepared from peat and perlite, which are mixed in equal proportions. The second version of the soil mixture consists of turf, sand, sawdust and humus. Self-collected soil must be calcined.The heat will kill the insects.
Buying ready-made soil will save effort and time for preparation. Choose soil that retains moisture and air well.
Before filling the soil substrate, the bottom of the bag must be laid with drainage from gravel, crushed brick, pebbles.
Placement methods
Sacks of strawberries are placed vertically or horizontally. The choice depends on the size of the room.
Vertical fit
The convenience of vertical placement is in saving space. The beds can be placed on the floor, hung in a checkerboard pattern. 7-8 bushes are placed in one bag. If they are small, more will fit. There will be enough room for the roots.
Horizontal fit
The bags are laid out on the floor or racks are mounted under them in several levels. Strawberries grow like they would in normal soil. The advantage of the horizontal growing method is that the soil does not need to be covered with mulch. The role of the coating is performed by polyethylene, and the fruits do not get dirty.
The process of planting strawberries in bags: step by step
The technology of growing strawberries in bags is similar to the usual growing in the garden.
Planting instructions:
- Soak bushes with an open root system in water an hour before planting so that the roots do not dry out.
- Pour the soil into the bag.
- Tie with twine.
- Place vertically or lay horizontally.
- In the walls of the bags, cut holes crosswise or 9 centimeters long, retreating between them 25 centimeters.
- In the ground, through the slots, make holes according to the size of the roots.
- Put the outlet in the hole, straighten the roots, cover with soil.
- Tamp the earth.
- Water seedlings.
A vertical bag installed on the floor, you can not tie it, but put a couple more rosettes on top.
When planting strawberry bushes in open ground, the growth point should be at ground level. This rule also works when planting in a bag. Otherwise, the roots on the surface will dry out, and a bush that is too deep will rot.
To grow large fruits, you need to place the bags at a distance from each other. Vertical beds are placed every 25 centimeters in a row. Between the rows recede 80 centimeters. In a greenhouse, 3 bags of seedlings are placed per 1 square meter.
Care tips for bagged strawberries
Water, fertilize and propagate as usual. With year-round cultivation indoors, you need to maintain a constant temperature and humidity. Outdoor mobile beds need to be moved to shelter or wrapped for the winter.
Humidity and temperature
The optimum temperature for flowering and fruiting strawberries is 20-22 degrees. If the temperature in the room drops below, it is necessary to install heaters. At a higher temperature, the roots of the plants are hardened.
The air must be 90% humid. Ventilation will prevent the development of fungus. Large greenhouses should be equipped with automatic climate control systems, steam generators, exhaust hoods.
Lighting
Strawberries need 8-14 hours of sunshine a day. If there are several windows in the room or a panoramic roof is installed in the attic, daylight is enough. But since there are few clear days in winter, additional lighting with fluorescent lamps or ultraviolet lamps is needed. To ensure that the light falls evenly, the vertical bags need to be rotated.
Water and fertilize
The earth must not be dry. Roots rot from excess moisture. Drip irrigation should be installed when the bags are placed vertically to distribute moisture evenly.
Plastic bottles are hung upside down over the bag. Tubes of different lengths are attached to them, which are lowered into bags. Moisture-conducting channels are placed every 50 centimeters in depth. A 30 liter bag uses 2 liters of water per day.
Horizontal beds are watered as usual. If the seedlings lie on the street, watering occurs naturally during rain. But in heavy rain, the bags must be covered with polyethylene or removed under a canopy. Excess moisture threatens plants with rot.
Fertilizer is used in two types:
- liquid potash;
- chicken manure solution.
Nutrients are applied once a week after fruit ripening. The solutions are added to the water, and the fertilizer is evenly distributed between the plants when watering.
Cutting
After picking the fruits, dry leaves should be removed. The bush is cut, leaving 10 centimeters from the ground. After pruning, the plant will sprout more new shoots, and they will get enough light.
Mustache appears after flowering. Their active growth begins after the appearance of fruits. Stolon shoots should be cut with scissors so as not to damage the bush. Old bushes are removed after 2 fruiting seasons, and young rosettes are planted in fresh soil. The waste soil is poured out in the garden.
Protection from diseases and pests
Indoor strawberries are rarely attacked by parasites. Insects can appear from garden soil with insufficient heat treatment. Slugs and snails can crawl on the strawberries if the bags are lying on the street.
To prevent the appearance of strawberry mites, seedlings are heated before planting in hot water at a temperature of 48 degrees for 15 minutes. You can get rid of pests with a 1% solution of colloidal sulfur and Bordeaux mixture, which are mixed in equal proportions.
Growing strawberries in bags allows you to harvest a large crop from a small area. Under favorable conditions for growth, fragrant berries will decorate the table all year round.
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