The most delicious and largest strawberries are fruits grown without the use of chemistry.
And this is not a myth!
Proper planting care and timely fertilizer application help keep strawberries healthy and resistant to pests.
So, you don’t need to use chemistry.
We feed strawberries in the spring: how, and when we feed
Strawberry care begins in early spring, when the snow has just melted. It is spring care that helps the plant recover after winter frosts and prepare well for the next season.
Experienced gardeners first remove the covering material from the plantings, remove old leaves, loosen the aisles and only then feed strawberries.
In different regions of Russia, fertilizers need to be applied in different ways. In southern areas, you can start in mid-April. But in the northern regions, it is better to wait and feed strawberries in mid-May.
Affects the nutrition and flowering time of the plant. If late strawberry varieties are fertilized too early, then useful substances will quickly be washed out and nothing will remain on the plants during flowering. But if you delay the feeding of early varieties, then the yield will be insignificant.
How to feed strawberries
For one season, the plant needs three basic dressings, which are carried out taking into account the development of the bush.
1. For the first time, strawberries are fed in the spring immediately after winter. In preparation for flowering.
2. The second top dressing of strawberries is right to do right after harvest. This will help the plant recover after fruiting and replenish the supply of nutrients.
3. The last time the plant is fertilized in mid-September. This helps the plant gain strength and cope with diseases and pests.
It is necessary to feed strawberries in the spring. She can not do without additional nutrition to give a good harvest and resist disease.
To prevent disease, feed strawberries with iodine.
Experienced gardeners say that ordinary iodine is able to prevent some diseases on strawberries, if you add a few drops with a solution for feeding. Why do they do this and how to properly feed strawberries?
Why iodine to a plant
Some drugs are used not only to treat a person, but also used on garden beds. And iodine is no exception. It belongs to antiseptics, which means that it prevents the appearance of various rot and bacterial diseases.
For spraying and watering use 5 and 10% alcohol solution of iodine, bought in a pharmacy. Feeding strawberries with iodine is carried out in early spring to stimulate plant growth and as a preventive measure against powdery mildew and gray rot.
How to prepare a solution for feeding strawberries
A solution of iodine is carried out not only root dressing, but also spraying strawberries on a leaf. However, for foliar top dressing, the concentration of iodine should be less, which will help protect the plant from burns.
1. Spring top dressing is carried out once after pruning.
When the old foliage is removed, the bed should be well watered and feed the strawberries under the root with a solution of iodine. Such treatments have a good effect on the condition of the bush.
To prepare the solution, you will need 10 liters of water, where 15 drops of iodine are added. Stir with a wooden stick and water the plants.
2. Before planting young outlets, the soil must be shed with a solution of iodine.
After such treatment, no diseases are scary for strawberries. Landing should be done in prepared soil no earlier than a few days later.
To prepare the working solution, you need to dissolve 3 drops of iodine in 10 liters of water.
3. For the prevention of powdery mildew, a solution of iodine is sprayed on a leaf.
For spraying, a solution of 10 liters of water, 1 liter of milk and 10 drops of iodine is prepared. Spraying is carried out in cloudy weather or in the evening.
You need to carry out processing every 10 days. It is advisable to do three treatments per season.
4. Before flowering, it is useful to feed strawberries with iodine.
To get a good harvest in spring, it is not bad to feed strawberries with the following solution. For 10 liters of water, 30 drops of iodine, 1 teaspoon of boric acid and 1 glass of ash are taken. The solution must be infused for several hours, mix well and feed up to 500 ml under the bush.
It is useful to add laundry soap to the solutions, which acts as an adhesive and does not allow iodine ions to quickly evaporate from the surface of the sheet.
How does iodine work on strawberries, and do top dressing help
More than one generation of summer residents claims that iodine copes well with diseases on strawberries. But you need to remember that pathogens and pathogenic fungi are not only on the leaves of the plant, but also in the soil around it. Therefore, it is necessary to carry out not only spraying, but also top dressing under the root.
Only by applying solutions can one repeatedly obtain a result. Treatments are carried out several times a season, but not more than three. The interval between sprayings is 10 days. All treatments should end before the berries are formed.
The use of iodine solution in combination with phytosporin will help completely suppress the fungus.
To apply or not to use iodine on the site?
Do not forget that iodine fumes are poisonous! In all, it is necessary to observe a measure so as not to harm the plants and soil.
If poor soils are allocated for strawberries, then pharmacy iodine will not be able to improve them! It does not possess all the qualities that are inherent in mineral fertilizers with iodine. This is completely different. There, the necessary element is contained in a form readily available to plants and is well soluble in water. It is possible to enrich the soil with iodine only with the help of mineral fertilizers. Pharmaceutical iodine is used in small concentrations and only for the fight against diseases.
Naked slugs that harm strawberries will not go anywhere if you treat the strawberries with iodine. At best, leave the garden, but not for long. To combat them use bait.
Growing strawberries without chemicals you need to be no less attentive to the processing, otherwise you can lose the crop and damage the soil. To prepare solutions, it is necessary to strictly observe the iodine concentration, not exceeding it. You need to act according to the rule: the main thing is not to harm!
We grow strawberries without chemistry: what to feed in the spring
Gardeners who do not want to use chemistry on the site, successfully use various folk fertilizers for spring strawberry dressing.
1. Well established infusion of mullein or bird droppings. The infusion is diluted in a ratio of 1:10 and watered with a planting. Excellent fertilizer for spring awakening and building green mass.
2. One of the best fertilizers for strawberries is prepared on the basis of yeast and rye bread. To prepare the solution, 50 grams of yeast and brown bread crust are mixed with 1 glass of sugar and poured with a bucket of water. Infuse the solution in a sunny place until the fermentation process stops. The finished infusion is diluted in a proportion of 1:10 and watered with strawberries. You should not get carried away with this recipe; just one or two top dressings per season is enough.
3. Before flowering, you need to feed the plants with ash.
Growing strawberries without chemicals is possible. You need to learn how to properly feed the plant, understand: why feed strawberries and monitor the condition of the plants. Timely apply preventive treatment with iodine from diseases, as well as make the necessary organic fertilizers.
