The best precursor crops for strawberries

It is nice to enjoy sweet juicy berries grown in your own garden. To obtain a rich strawberry harvest, it is important to consider after which plants it can be planted, and which crops are undesirable predecessors. You must also follow the rules of planting and caring for the bushes. Considering that once every four years the culture requires transplanting to a new place, it is possible to plan in advance the placement of plants on the land plot.

Choosing a landing site

When planning planting strawberries in a suburban area, it is preferable to place the beds on the southwest side. In black earth, sandy and loamy soils, the plant grows well and bears fruit. In the bright sun and in the absence of strong through winds, large berries quickly become juiced. On the bushes, planted in the shade or in the lowlands, small and sour fruits grow.

After 4 years from the moment of planting, the soil is gradually depleted, the yield begins to fall. In the case of long-term growth of a culture in one place in the ground, all kinds of pathogens accumulate. By this time, it is worth thinking about moving strawberry bushes to a new place and growing the correct predecessors on it. Well-chosen plants can influence not only the further development of strawberries, but also the taste of the fruit.

Crop rotation rules

In addition to proper plant care, experienced gardeners and gardeners apply knowledge of crop rotation. With long-term cultivation of the same crops in the garden, you should not expect a good harvest.

• Each type of plant produces toxins that accumulate in the ground, and negatively affect the further cultivation of crops in the same place.
• Disease-causing bacteria that damage specific plants significantly reduce yields every year.
• Each crop requires specific nutrients to thrive, so the soil is depleted in a different way.

There are certain rules that you should adhere to when planting plants on your site.

• It is not recommended to grow vegetables and plants of the same type for several years in one place.
• The longer the plant is grown in other beds, without returning to its original place, the better for it and for the soil.
• It is advisable to take into account which minerals were used by the predecessors.
• If possible, it is advisable to allocate part of the land on the site for green manure for enrichment and soil restoration.

Knowing and taking into account these features, you can significantly increase the yield of crops.

Useful predecessors

Considering that strawberries (or garden strawberries) will stay in one place for at least 4 years, care should be taken to saturate the earth with nutrients. Correctly selected predecessor plants will greatly facilitate crop maintenance, improve soil structure and provide protection against diseases and pests. Having decided on a place for transplanting plants in the future, it is necessary to decide which crops should prepare the soil for berry seedlings.

Siderata

The area set aside for strawberries, it is advisable to sow siderates a year before planting. Green fertilizers contribute to the saturation of the soil with organic matter, help to get rid of some pathogenic microbes.

• Rape increases the amount of phosphorus and organic matter in the earth.
• White mustard helps to suppress late blight, enriches the soil with humus.
• Roots lupine and wikis are good sources of nitrogen.
• Buckwheat will saturate the earth with phosphorus in a form available to plants, potassium and nitrogen.
• Cope with high acidity of the soil phacelia.
• Marigold, oats and calendula will get rid of nematodes.

Advice

To achieve the greatest effect, grown green manures are recommended to be buried in the ground after flowering.

Greens and legumes

Greens require the least amount of minerals. Therefore, growing celery and salads, parsley and spinach will not deplete the soil. Peas and beans contribute to the saturation of the earth with nitrogen. Legumes are also effective green manures.

Onion and garlic

The beds on which the bulbous crops were grown are suitable for planting carrots and beets. Zucchini and cucumbers will develop well. Such predecessors are also favorable for strawberries. Onions and garlic do not have diseases in common with strawberries. The pests affecting these crops also differ. However, if berry bushes are planted in the fall after the bulbous harvest, the depleted soil will not have time to recover.

In the southern regions of the country, after early ripening varieties of onions and garlic, the land will have time to rest. The green manures sown on the vacated plot will enrich the soil with useful substances, and the strawberry seedlings planted in early autumn will take root before the onset of cold weather. In regions with short summers, it is better to leave green fertilizers before winter, and plant berry crops in spring.

Carrots, radishes and radishes

Growing carrots, radishes and radishes requires the same growing conditions as for strawberries, they are undemanding to soil composition and fertilizers. After such predecessors, you should not be afraid of illness and death of strawberry bushes, since they do not have common pests. Carrots draw more nutrients from the soil than radishes and radishes, so additional fertilization will be required.

Advice

To enrich the soil with nitrogen, you can use the ability of carrots to get along well in the same bed with plants of the legume family.

Unwanted predecessors

Among garden crops there are plants after which it is not recommended to plant strawberries. Some vegetables consume a lot of nutrients from the soil - these plants are undesirable precursors for strawberry seedlings.

• Cabbage actively draws potassium, phosphorus, nitrogen and a significant amount of moisture from the ground.
• Pumpkin depletes the soil composition.
• After sunflower, there is practically no nitrogen left in the ground, the soil dries up.
• Jerusalem artichoke roots are difficult to completely extract from the ground. Growing up, it will jam the planting of strawberries.
• Flowers of the buttercup family secrete active substances that inhibit the development of strawberry seedlings.

If strawberry seedlings had to be planted at the place of growth of the above crops, the land must be abundantly fertilized before planting, followed by feeding. Fast-growing green manures will help speed up the restoration of the soil composition. You can use wiki, mustard, phacelia.

Knowledge about pests and diseases of crops contributes to the competent alternation of plants on the site. Strawberries can be affected by the same pests and diseases as some vegetables.

• Potatoes, tomatoes and other nightshade crops have a common disease - late blight, are attacked wireworm.
• Zucchini and cucumbers are susceptible to gray mold and slugs.

It is advisable to avoid such predecessors.

Currently, it is possible to purchase and plant varieties of strawberries that are resistant to various diseases.

In any case, you must:

• process the garden disinfecting drugs;
• enrich the soil with green manure or compound fertilizers;
• mulch seedlings to reduce the effect of temperature fluctuations.

On the ground where strawberries have been growing for several years, you should not re-plant young seedlings.The soil has given the plant all the available nutrients, so the culture can be returned to this bed only after 5-6 years, when the soil is restored.

Strawberry neighbors

What suitable neighbors to choose for garden strawberries to significantly increase the yield of sweet berries and promote healthy bush growth?

• Parsley will help you get rid of slugs and snails.
• For the prevention of late blight, you need garlic.
• Onions and garlic have a disinfectant effect on the soil.
• Legumes will loosen the soil and supply it with nitrogen.
• Low-growing marigolds will scare off the nematode.

If garden strawberries had to be planted on impoverished soils, siderates will help out. They will not only improve the soil, but also create a slight shade for the berries during fruiting. The cut stalks of green manure can also be used to mulch strawberry beds.

Strawberries are undemanding plants. But to get a rich harvest of large, juicy and sweet fruits, you must adhere to the rules of agricultural technology. Do not forget about the peculiarities of the local climate. It is recommended that you draw up a plant rotation plan and adhere to it annually.