How to properly plant strawberry seedlings in open ground?

Delicious and juicy strawberry fruits start each berry season. After a hard, vitamin-free spring period, you really want to pamper yourself with delicious and healthy. Many are looking forward to the first berries of their own strawberries, because they put a lot of effort into growing this very capricious culture. But indeed, she is so whimsical that not everyone manages to grow her. Often this plant is grown in seedlings, planting not seeds in open ground, but ready-made bushes. In order for the seedlings to take root better after transplanting and to get sick less, it is necessary to perform all actions correctly, taking into account the recommendations of experienced gardeners.

Transplant timing

The optimal time for planting plants in open ground is August, because if you plant strawberries earlier, then it will better endure the winter period. Late planting in September is often a factor in the freezing of weak shoots.

You can transplant sprouts in early spring if there are strong and healthy seedlings. To get a harvest all summer, you need to plant varieties with different ripening periods of berries: from early to later.

Preparing the landing site

The soil for strawberry sprouts is prepared in advance. At the same time, a well-lit area, protected from the wind, is chosen, preferably with an optimal amount of underground moisture. Having chosen a place, the soil is prepared: it is dug up and all weeds and their roots are removed. For spring planting, the soil is harvested in autumn, and for summer-autumn planting - two weeks before transplanting.

Advice

To get rid of weeds, you need to hold the soil under black steam for a year before planting.

Before digging up the soil, the necessary mineral fertilizers are applied. For feeding 1m² use a mixture of rotted manure and wood ash, taken in an amount of about 7 and 0.5 kg, respectively. In addition, about 50 g of superphosphate and 25 g of potassium sulfate are poured into the same area.

Important!

Fertilization of the soil with a large amount of fresh manure, nitrogen and potassium dressings negatively affects the sprouts.

When choosing a place for strawberry seedlings, the predecessors are also taken into account: it is better if they were pumpkin crops, onions, garlic, cucumbers, beets or carrots. If the land is prepared just before planting strawberries, then it is better to cover it with agrofibre, which will prevent the appearance of weeds, and also reduce the risk of contamination of the soil with various diseases.

When preparing the beds, it is necessary to take into account a number of features.

• If there are underground waters nearby, then for strawberries they arrange elevated beds about 20 cm high and about a meter wide.
• If the groundwater is deep, then the shoots must be planted in grooves.

Transplant rules

For planting, choose strong and well-developed seedlings that do not have damage. You need to plant high-quality sprouts, which are characterized by strong developed roots a little more than 5 cm long and the presence of several leaves. You should also pay attention to the absence of viral and fungal diseases, because the quality of the planting material, along with the correct planting, helps to improve the survival rate and subsequent development of shoots.

Planting seedlings in the ground involves preparing, planting and caring for seedlings.

Seedling preparation

All preparatory actions are carried out in a cool and slightly dark place.

• In order for the plants to better adapt to the new place, they are treated with special solutions, such as Epin Extra or Zircon, three days before transplanting.
• To prevent the small roots from drying out, the plants are dipped in soil mixed with water until sour cream is thick.
• When strawberries are transplanted into the ground where a strawberry mite or nematode has been found, the sprouts are immersed in hot water at a temperature of about 47 ± 1 degrees for about 15 minutes before planting, then immersed in cold water, and then start planting.

Planting strawberries

It is necessary to plant strawberries in the evening, preferably in cloudy or rainy weather.

Advice

If you decide to plant sprouts in sunny weather, then you need to cut off some of the leaves.

Plants are usually placed in rows that are 70 cm apart, at a distance of about 25 cm. When the seedlings are planted in shaded areas, a sparse planting method is used for better lighting and airing of the seedlings.

You need to plant the sprouts in pre-prepared pits about 12 cm deep, which are well spilled with water before planting. After deepening the sprout to the root collar and straightening the roots, sprinkle the hole with loose earth, and then compact the soil in order to prevent the formation of voids near the roots.

Important!

When planting, it is impossible to cover the growth point with soil, it should be at ground level.

If the plant growth point is not located correctly, the following consequences are possible:

• deepening of the planting contributes to the filling of the point after watering or rain;
• if the planting is too shallow, the roots of the plant begin to dry.

Advice

To check the reliability of the planting, you need to slightly tug the sprout by the leaves - while it should not be pulled out of the ground.

Primary care

After planting, the strawberries must be well watered and sprinkled with rotted compost, straw or sawdust around the bushes to maintain moisture under the sprout and reduce the likelihood of plant diseases. It is important not to fill up the growth point.

All week after transplanting, to improve survival, it is necessary to create a shade around the strawberry bushes with the help of improvised material: newspapers, grass, burlap, twigs. It is possible not to shade those plants that were planted with a lump of soil.

Care after landing

The plants are first watered or sprayed every evening. After a week, check how well the shoots have taken root. Instead of dead sprouts, new ones are planted, taken with a lump of soil in which they grew.

In general, the care of strawberries in the post-planting period consists in timely watering and active weed control.

• Watering

After transplanting in open ground, do not forget about watering, especially in hot weather, as well as during the appearance of flowers. You need to water the ground itself, trying not to get on the fruits, as needed. Do not allow a large amount of moisture to accumulate in the soil, as this contributes to infection with gray mold and powdery mildew.

• Weed control

In order to facilitate this work, you can use black plastic wrap, which is laid before planting seedlings. First, the earth is well watered, then a film is laid on it, fixing it with pieces of earth or metal brackets. After that, in the places where the sprouts are planted, cuts are made in the form of a cross, about 10 cm long. The edges are bent inward, and on the vacated soil, holes are made of the required size, into which the seedlings will be planted.

The film leaves the growing weeds without light, which leads to their death. It also helps to maintain moisture at the roots in dry weather and the purity of the fruit. Instead of a film, you can use other material for mulching, and you can lay it both before planting and after - for the young.

To get a bigger harvest during spring planting, many gardeners try to plant two bushes in one hole or thicken the planting scheme. After collecting the fruits, excess and weak shoots are removed, and the remaining plants are prepared for wintering, covering them with fallen leaves or other improvised material.