Rules for planting and growing strawberries in pots, suitable varieties
There is nothing better than owning your own land and growing whatever you want on it. However, here the question arises, what is the way out for those who do not have land, but the craving to deal with fruits or vegetables is. Recently, the cultivation of strawberries in pots has become widespread. And how to do this correctly, in order to eventually reap a good harvest, you can find out further.
Features of growing strawberries in pots
For those who decide to grow strawberries on a windowsill, the first thing to take care of is choosing the right material for planting. So, for example, when it comes to indoor ground, it is worth giving preference to varieties that are unpretentious to environmental conditions. In addition, in the room where it is planned to grow strawberries in pots, it is necessary to provide a suitable temperature, humidity, and also monitor the level of lighting. It is imperative to fulfill all these conditions during the growing season.
Suitable varieties
Many, wanting to buy suitable varieties for planting, are guided by beautiful photos in flower pavilions. Nevertheless, according to experienced gardeners, preference should be given to remontant strawberry varieties, since they are really time-tested. Such berries do not need delicate care and bear fruit all year round. Along with this, you need to know that such varieties live for about 2-3 years.
Based on the experience of specialists, when growing strawberries in pots, it is worth giving preference to the following varieties:
- Garland.
- Tristar.
- Autumn fun.
- Queen Elizabeth.
- Crimean.
- Brighton.
- Inexhaustible.
Planting is best done with seedlings, not seeds, due to the fact that the latter method will require more effort.
How to plant and grow strawberries
To get a decent strawberry harvest, you must adhere to some of the features of planting and growing crops, which we will discuss below.
Tank preparation
When choosing a pot for planting strawberries, you should not focus solely on its appearance. Aesthetic characteristics or design in this case does not matter, since, basically, the pot will be covered with foliage and berries.
The choice can fall on ordinary flower pots or long plastic containers.
As for the volume of the container, it depends on how many plants are planned for planting, as well as where the pots will be located (for example, on a windowsill, balcony or greenhouse).
Drainage holes are made at the bottom of the selected container, which will exclude stagnation of moisture in the ground. It is also worth taking care of drainage; expanded clay or broken brick is suitable for these purposes.
Landing place
If we are talking about planting strawberries that will grow on the windowsill, it is better to stop at the window that faces the south or east side. However, it is possible to grow strawberries on the north or west side, however, provided that the plant is provided with a suitable amount of light.
Temperature
For a plant, a suitable temperature is + 18-20 degrees. If the thermometer drops below the indicator, the plant will begin to get sick. In the spring, the best option would be to use heaters.
Humidity, daylight hours
For strawberries, it is desirable that the air humidity remains at 70-75%. In the winter months, as a rule, the air in the dwelling is dry, therefore it is recommended to systematically spray the plant with settled water. Along with this, it is important not to overdo it, since high humidity is an excellent base for the occurrence of fungal diseases.
Suitable soil
The plant is quite demanding on the soil. And if we are also talking about growing strawberries in pots outside the street, this suggests that in a confined space, the earth is rapidly losing its nutritional properties. It is for this reason that at the stage of preparing the container for planting, a mixture of turf soil and manure in an equal ratio should be added to the soil composition. The nutrient soil is poured into the container over the drain.
Selection and preparation of planting material
If remontant varieties are growing in your garden, they are quite suitable for planting on a windowsill. So, in the fall, the required number of bushes is dug out, which are placed in a container, sprinkled with soil. They are left for two weeks in a cool place so that the plant has the necessary time at rest. Next, the strawberries are placed in pre-prepared containers. Planting is carried out in such a way that the roots are half buried in the soil. The long root system must be pruned so that it does not fold.
In addition, strawberry seedlings can be found in any specialty store or market. When choosing planting material, you should consult with knowledgeable people who can recommend bona fide sellers. It is important to emphasize that the planting of plants is planned in pots.
Before purchasing, the seedlings must be examined for damage and disease. It is worth giving preference to exclusively complete, beautiful and healthy-looking sockets.
Immediately before planting, the purchased seedlings are sent in containers with earth and placed in a cool place for about two weeks (for example, a refrigerator or a cellar). Such a measure will allow the plant to fall into a dormant state, and it will be able to rest before planting.
Planting process
At home, planting seedlings is as follows:
- A layer of drainage and some substrate are placed in planting pots.
- The roots of the plant are placed for some time in a weak solution of potassium permanganate.
- The plant is placed in a container, the roots are straightened.
- If there is a need to prune the roots, after that, so that the plant recovers more quickly, the roots are dipped in a weak solution of heteroauxin for several hours.
- The ground missing to the point of growth is poured into the container. The soil needs to be crushed a little.
- In order for the bushes to take root, they are slightly watered with a solution of a heteroauxin substance.
In addition, strawberries are planted on the windowsill and with the help of seeds.The fruits in this case will not appear soon, but this fact does not scare away gardeners. For those who decide to grow a crop from seeds, we offer one trick that will contribute to the simultaneous ascent of the plant. Planting material (in this version - seeds) is laid out on a wet cloth, which is folded in half, and then put into a bag. The workpiece is sent to the refrigerator for a month. Seeds can be hardened in this way.
The subtleties of plant care
After the planting of plants has taken place in accordance with all the rules, it's time to learn how to properly organize the care of strawberries so that they please with delicious fruits.
Do you need feeding?
Gardeners recommend feeding the plant once every two weeks. In the form of fertilizers, simple dressings intended for indoor crops or special formulations for strawberries are used. This or that dressing is applied strictly according to the instructions provided by the manufacturer. They are often applied when the fifth leaf appears on the plant.
Those who do not want to resort to synthetic feeding of strawberries can make a nutritional mixture with their own hands at home:
- A three-liter jar is 30% filled with eggshells, which must first be crushed.
- A glass of ash is sent there.
- The jar is completely filled with warm water.
The mixture is infused for 5 days, after which it is filtered and diluted with clean water, in proportions of one to three. The mixture is then ready to be added as a strawberry feed.
In addition, chicken excrement or a weak solution of manure is taken to fertilize the culture.
While the fruits begin to develop, the bushes are most in need of iron. To enrich the soil with this chemical element, a rusty nail is placed in a container with a successfully planted strawberry, literally a few centimeters.
After the fruits are harvested, fertilizing is done not often or not at all.
Watering rules
Water the strawberries only with settled liquid. Those who do not want to wait for chlorine to sink to the bottom of the container, and who have a similar opportunity, can run the water through a filter.
The soil in the container where the culture is planted is moistened twice a week. Watering should be done in the afternoon, that is, in the afternoon. After watering, the soil is certainly loosened.
It must be remembered that you should not abuse watering, as this leads to rot on the roots of plants.
Treatment against diseases and pests
During the development of fruits, strawberries can be attacked by a spider mite or such an unpleasant disease as gray rot. To eliminate these problems, the plant must be irrigated with garlic infusion.
For self-production of this mixture, you will need two cloves of garlic, which are pressed through the garlic and poured with 100 milliliters of liquid. The composition is insisted for two hours, after which everything must be filtered and poured into a spray bottle for further processing of the strawberries.
Terms of germination and planned harvest
If a remontant species is planted, it blooms on the windowsill for 30-35 days, and berry picking begins 60-65 days after planting.
