How to prepare strawberries for winter: processing and shelter rules, material selection

In the summer, thinking summer residents and gardeners face the question - how to properly prepare your favorite strawberries for winter? Yes, you can, relying on "maybe", let everything take its course. Not the fact that the bushes will necessarily die. But the probability is quite high. It will be very disappointing to dig up dead, frozen plants in the spring, at a time when everything around begins to rapidly come to life and prepare for fruiting. And I just don’t feel like, headlong, preparing beds and urgently looking for seedlings for spring planting.

What are strawberries afraid of in winter? Do I need to mow the leaves?

In winter, sudden changes in temperature are dangerous for garden strawberries, when mild thaws are abruptly replaced by a serious minus. Even if the entire bush does not freeze out, then a strong freezing of flower buds is possible. And this will already have a negative impact on the future harvest.

Dangerous and icy winds in winters with little snow. Bare soil is subject to severe freezing and cracking. And, of course, lowering the temperature below -20 C degrees. This can already lead to the complete death of plants, regardless of the variety. Enough for one night with such a minus. Plants with trimmed "to zero" leaves will die first. In no case should you mow the leaves in autumn.

What should be done in the garden in autumn?

In autumn, a number of agrotechnical activities must be carried out in the garden. These are sanitary cleaning, loosening, weeding, top dressing and processing of strawberries and shelter.

Cutting

Complete mowing of all leaves in the fall can simply kill the plant. Lush he althy leaves of strawberries are, first of all, protection. Protection of the root system, heart and flower buds located in the axils of the upper leaves from the harmful effects of low temperatures.

But sanitary cleanings are a smart choice to maintain overall plant he alth and prepare for a successful winter. If the leaves are partially spotted, then it's okay, you can leave it. But twisted, dried, sick, rotten should be removed. As well as old flower stalks, mustaches and the remains of dried fruits.

Feeding

It is important that strawberries get enough nutrition before wintering. It is necessary to fertilize strawberries at the right time. This will help to gain strength to deal with negative factors in the winter and build up a powerful root system. It is worth abandoning drugs with a high content of nitrogen, and focus on phosphorus and potassium. Well suited Master, Plantafol (Planter).

Hilling

Another technique for protecting the root zone is hilling. After shallow loosening, the soil is raked directly to the bushes. In frosty and snowy winters, this technique allows you to save the root system of plants.

Mulching

To protect the root system and soil from severe freezing in the garden, it is necessary to thoroughly mulch the soil surface. Both sawdust and unsifted peat, the same leaves or well-rotted manure will do. The thickness of the layer should be from 10 centimeters. Well, both agrofibre itself and agrofabric are excellent mulching materials.

Processing with drugs. When and how best to process?

Mandatory condition for processing - the complete absence of berries on the bushes. For ordinary varieties, this is the month of September. And the purpose of processing is the treatment or prevention of diseases and pests. This gives the strawberries strength to prepare for a successful wintering and laying flower buds for the next harvest. It would be wise to treat with chemicals after sanitizing and trimming the leaves (pruning item).

Insectoacaricides Actellik, Aktofit will help (use at an air temperature of at least 20 C degrees).They will help get rid of not only ticks, but also a wide range of other pests. Effective preparations will be copper-based fungicides (copper oxychloride, Medyan Extra) and systemic (Ridomil Gold, Horus).

How to cover strawberries for the winter from frost

Shelter is one of the most important elements of protection. In regions with snowy, consistently cold winters, you don’t have to worry about sheltering strawberries. But where there is a danger of temperature "swings" and little snow in winter, it is worthwhile to thoroughly approach the issue of shelter.

Agrofibre is an excellent covering material

Agrofibre (synonyms agrotextile, spunbond, lutrasil, non-woven material) - for regions with mild winters, a density of 30 is suitable, with more severe ones - 40, 50. Spunbond is the name of the technology for manufacturing fibers from polymer material. In general, agrofibre and spunbond are one and the same.

The fiber is spread directly over the bushes, and the edges are buried in the ground. An excellent option would be to install low arcs, and already on them it is worth rolling out agrofibre. A microclimate is created under the spunbond, and early (up to 2 weeks) ripening of berries is obtained. Moreover, the larger the layer of air, the better the wintering. Today, agrofibre is the most objective choice among covering materials and the best way to protect against frost. By the way, in summer it can help protect plants from the scorching sun.

Film is totally wrong

Sheltering strawberries for the winter with a film is completely wrong. Such covering material will contribute to the complete loss of the strawberry crop. Film can cover only crops that are resistant to decay, for example, blackberries. Without access to air, diseases develop quickly, plus strawberries are just a spray. Especially during winter thaws.

Leaves

One of the options for shelter for the winter is to use fallen leaves. Not the best option, but in the absence of other options, it will do. It is not advisable to cover with oak leaves, to a lesser extent walnut. First of all, the leaves must be he althy. But there is a danger of strawberries aging under them. The main thing is to carefully cover the root zone, and cover the plants themselves with a layer of no more than 10-15 centimeters.

Sawdust

It is possible, but you will have to use a large fraction to prevent caking, and in the spring it is mandatory to rake them from the beds. During the winter, pathogenic bacteria accumulate in them and pests overwinter. And also, when rotting, they draw nitrogen from the topsoil. And coniferous sawdust also acidify the soil.

Plastic bottles

Shelter with cut-off plastic bottles of 2 liters or more is acceptable.The bottle, as it were, is put on top of the bush with its neck up. The lower (cropped) part is screwed into the ground and compacted. It is important to remove the cork from the neck, otherwise the strawberries will drip out. And this technique is used more often when propagating clematis.

Needles

Only dry pine needles are suitable for shelter, without forest soil, which contains a huge amount of weed seeds. For plants, it is more acceptable and useful to shelter for the winter with needles than with leaves.

Pre-winter moisture charge, loosening and weeding

Important points in preparation for wintering are abundant pre-winter soil moisture charge, as well as weeding and loosening the soil.

Features of preparation for winter of different types of strawberries. Properly preparing bushes for wintering

The difference between remontant varieties and ordinary varieties is their constant fruiting throughout the season. Therefore, before preparing bushes of remontant strawberries for wintering, this feature must be taken into account.

Plain

Follow standard farming practices and apply all of the above.

Repair

The main difference from the usual one is that bushes often go into winter with berries and color. And how then is it better to prepare remontant strawberries for the winter? Before shelter, it is advisable to carefully cut everything. And also remontant varieties, due to constant fruiting, require more top dressing.

When to start preparing for winter by region?

Depending on the region, preparations for wintering strawberries should be carried out at the right time.

South

In the south, given the warm autumn, work on preparing strawberries for wintering begins in the first or even the second half of September. And they finish, depending on the weather, at the end of September, the first decade of October.

Medium Band

In the Middle Strip, it is advisable to start preparing from the end of August, the beginning of September and finish by the middle of the first autumn month.

Ural and Siberia. Better prepare in August

In Siberia and the Urals, winter comes early, so preparatory work begins in the first decade of August, and ends in the second half.

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