Growing strawberries at home is a good harvest all year round. All the nuances for building a strawberry growing business

A friend came to see me in winter and brought me juicy strawberries. Not with an artificial taste, which is often sold in supermarkets, but with a real berry taste that cannot be confused with anything else! It turned out that a friend grew these strawberries on her windowsill in her apartment.

She told me how to raise it at home. And now all the window sills of my apartment are filled with pots of fragrant berries, which my family all year round are eating. In this article I will tell you what variety of strawberries would be better suited For home grown, I will describe the composition of the soil, the nuances of planting and care rules.

Many people think that it is enough to transplant any variety of strawberries from their summer cottage to an apartment for the winter, where they will bear fruit. Alas, this is not true.

To make it possible to grow this type of food in your apartment all year round delicious berry, you need to take into account not only the room temperature, lighting, humidity, but also the variety of seedling.

It must be repairable, unpretentious to humidity and room temperature, lighting. Typically, this variety lives no longer than 3 years, since it bears fruit all year round. These varieties are considered the best:

Aisha.
Albion.
Brighton.
White dream.
Homemade delicacy.
Geneva.
Lyubasha.
Queen Elizabeth.
Selva.
Supreme
Tristan et al.

Choosing a location and lighting

The most best place For growing berries, a window sill is considered, since there is a lot of light there, which is what this plant needs. It will be great if the windows of the room face east or south.

If all the windows face north, then you need to take care of additional lighting in the form LED lamps, which must be turned off at night so that the plant can rest. Since the days are short in winter, the lamps are turned on twice a day: from 6 to 9 am and from 5 to 9 pm.

Lamps are placed on western windows only if the plant begins to stretch out strongly in search of light or the color of the leaves changes due to lack of lighting.

Temperature and humidity

To grow the berry crop itself optimal temperature air temperature is from +17 o C to +20 o C. In no case lower, since the crop will begin to freeze and get sick. If suddenly the heating in the room is turned off, you must immediately turn on the heater to maintain the required air temperature.

And since the air from heating or a heater always becomes dry, it is necessary to increase the humidity by regularly spraying the bushes with warm water. You can place a small container of water next to the pot.

It is advisable to ensure that the air humidity does not exceed 80%, otherwise harmful diseases may develop on the greenery. fungal diseases.

Choosing a container for planting

To grow a berry crop from scratch you will need only three containers:

Low rectangular container for seeds.
A regular glass for sprouts.
Spacious pot for seedlings.

If you plan to plant several seedlings in one pot, then it should be long and rectangular, with a volume of about 10 liters, so that the crop in it is not cramped. And for one seedling, a small pot or flowerpot is enough, from which the berries will hang beautifully.

The first transplant into a glass is carried out after the first two leaves grow on the sprout. And then, when more than 6 leaves appear on it, they are transplanted again, but into a larger container.

If the crop is planted in a common large container, then the distance between the bushes should be at least 15 centimeters so that they are not crowded. There must be drainage holes at the bottom of each container so that the liquid does not stagnate.

The soil

It is best to buy soil for planting from the very beginning at a gardening store rather than collect it on your own. summer cottage. And the second option is highly discouraged by experienced gardeners, since it may contain pathogenic bacteria that can easily destroy all the seedlings.

But if you disinfect the soil collected from the street in any way, for example, heat it in the oven or pour it thoroughly with a solution of potassium permanganate, then this mixture can be used for planting after seven days. It should consist of equal parts of sand, humus and coniferous soil.

The soil must be very loose so that the plant's roots can receive enough oxygen. Ready mixture enriched with potassium-phosphorus fertilizers.

Preparation of seedlings

From proper preparation seeds depends on the health and fertility of the seedling. But it's better to do this for an experienced gardener, and for a beginner it is advisable to immediately buy ready-made seedlings, which are purchased only in trusted specialized stores or nurseries.

The variety must be remontant, that is, very prolific. Such strawberries begin to bloom within a month after being transplanted into a home pot, and another month later the first fruits ripen.

If a remontant variety grows on a summer cottage, then you can continue to grow it in the apartment; for this purpose, the largest rooted rosettes are cut off from it in the fall.

Then they are transplanted into separate pots, having previously cut off all the old leaves, leaving only a couple of the youngest leaves on each bush. After which the container with the bushes is placed in a cool and shaded place for two weeks so that the plant adapts to the new place.

Sowing seeds

This method is much more complicated than growing from seedlings. It is recommended to harden the seeds first. To do this, in July-August, carefully laid out seeds are placed on a damp cloth and covered with another piece of damp cloth. All this is carefully put into a plastic bag and placed in the refrigerator (not the freezer) for exactly a month.

After a month, the seeds are removed from the refrigerator and the planting procedure begins:

For seedlings, take a flat, shallow box, which is covered with previously prepared soil.
All this is slightly watered.
The seeds are evenly scattered over the soil at a distance of 2-3 centimeters from each other.
Cover with a thin layer of earth on top.
The box is covered with transparent plastic film and placed in any warm place.
As soon as the first shoots have hatched, the plastic film is gradually removed over two days, and the box is moved to a lighted windowsill without drafts.
As soon as two true leaves appear on each sprout, they are transplanted into separate cups.

Transfer

The pot in which strawberries will constantly grow must have drainage holes, since the berry crop does not like constantly wet soil. First, the bottom is filled with any drainage: pebbles, small pieces of brick, crushed stone.

After which the pot is half filled with earth. And in a separate glass, a weak solution of potassium permanganate is diluted, into which the strawberry roots are lowered a few minutes before planting.

If the root system has grown too much, then they are slightly trimmed, since they should be in a straightened state in a container with soil. The cut roots must be moistened in a weak solution of heteroauxin.

After that, the seedling is carefully lowered into the pot, watching the roots so that they do not bend, and the rest of the soil is covered on top. The main thing is not to deepen the bush too much. After the work is done, the plant is watered.

Watering

The water is infused for exactly 24 hours, only then watered with it. Never use cold or tap water, otherwise the plant may get sick. If the water is highly chlorinated, then it is passed through a filter. The liquid for spraying is prepared in the same way.

Watering is done twice every seven days and is always done in the evening, as soon as the sun has set. It is not recommended to water more often, otherwise the roots may rot. Immediately after watering, the soil is slightly loosened so that the roots receive oxygen. The frequency of spraying depends on the percentage of dry air in the room.

Top dressing

To increase productivity, the berry crop is fed once or twice a month immediately after the first true leaf grows on the sprout. Gardening stores sell a wide range of fertilizers specifically for berry crops.

The main thing to remember is that it is not advisable to overfeed strawberries or strawberries with nitrogen-containing fertilizers, as they accelerate the growth of leaves, thereby reducing the number of fruits.

To increase productivity, it is better to give iron. If you don’t want to use modern iron-based preparations, you can simply stick a rusty nail into the soil

If you don’t want to feed the plant with chemicals, you can prepare the fertilizer yourself:

Pre-assembled eggshells chop well.
They fall asleep in three liter jar by a third.
200 grams of wood ash are sprinkled on top.
The container is filled to the brim with warm water.
Leave for about five days.
Strain well.
A liter of this infusion is diluted with 3 liters of water.
Water strawberries twice a month.

Trimming

Since the berry crop grows very quickly, it must be pruned so that the growth does not go into leaves and tendrils, but into fruits. If a seedling is grown from seeds, then the first 2-3 flowers are simply picked off, not allowing them to ripen.

If the seedling is cut from the mother bush, the flowers are not picked. The mustache is cut off only if there are no plans to reproduce or replace adult bushes with young ones.

Pollination

Since there are no pollinating insects in apartments, especially in winter, you need to help the flowers to pollinate so that they bear fruit. This can be done in two ways:

During active flowering, alternately pass the brush over the flowers.
A fan is placed next to the plants so that it moves pollen from one flower to another.

Some gardeners argue that a regular variety cannot be forced to bear fruit 3-4 or more times a year, since the plant is guided by the length of daylight hours and has The biological clock like animals. But if you try to grow it, you get a much smaller harvest and a maximum of 2 times a year. In fact, everything is far from true. Each plant has its own time of formation of generative buds, from which fruits are then formed. An ordinary variety is genetically “encoded” for 1 harvest and it can be either in mid-summer or winter, depending on its growing conditions.

Fortunately, modern breeding plots have brought out special remontant varieties, in which the periodicity of the formation of generative buds is completely absent. That is, the main thing is to create optimal conditions for the development of the fetus, and there is no difference when this happens. This can be in summer, spring or any other time every 2-3 months. Getting 5 harvests within a year will not be difficult. Remontant varieties bloom constantly, but greatly deplete the soil, so very serious care for the plant is required.

Let's consider our the best varieties, which are acclimatized on the territory of the Russian Federation.

Queen Elizabeth 2. An excellent variety, it has become famous due to its high yield - one bush grows approximately 5 kg of berries in one harvest and this is not a record! Per hectare, subject to excellent care, you can get up to 19-25 tons, that’s why Queen Elizabeth 2 is the best option for those gardeners who are seriously involved in growing berries for sale. The weight of one fruit can reach 150-200 grams, average berries - 60-80 grams. Has very sweet taste. The remontant variety allows you to get up to 4-5 harvests per year at good fertilizer soil and constant watering. Resistant to powdery mildew and fungal diseases - they almost never appear on the stem when grown in greenhouses.
San Andreas. Californian remontant variety, but has been acclimatized by Russian breeders for more than 15 years, recommended for industrial use. The high density of the berries allows them to be easily transported over any distance and stored in the basement. From one bush you can collect up to 2 kg, from a hectare - up to 10 tons. Resistant to fungal diseases, especially brown spot. The fruits have a very sweet taste.
Temptation. One of the best remontant hybrids, which is different high yield And large sizes fruits From one bush you can collect up to 1500 grams, each of which will be at least 60 grams. Thus, with good watering and constant fertilization of the soil with organic matter, you can get up to 50 tons per hectare. It is highly decorative, the inflorescences are bright, the bushes are not spreading. Harvesting can be done within 2 months after planting a new bush in the soil; full maturity of the bush occurs within a year.
Lyubava. If you are counting on year-round cultivation of strawberries in a greenhouse, then you should pay attention to this variety. Despite small sizes berries (30-45 grams), the yield reaches 2 kg per bush and up to 250 c/ha, since the planting density is relatively high. It is very sweet, has an excellent presentation and smell. Even young bushes bear fruit, and they begin to bloom immediately after taking root. The remontant variety practically does not require pollination; it is enough for it that the bushes are in close proximity. Another advantage of this plant is that it forms very few tendrils, usually no more than 7 pieces. This way, you don’t have to constantly care for the plants and pick them to increase yield.

These were the most popular remontant varieties, which are very easy to grow in a greenhouse. They practically do not react to the length of daylight hours and are content with artificial lighting. Their unpretentiousness to diseases makes them ideal material for planting in greenhouses where there will be high relative humidity.

Strawberries all year round - a practical guide to planting bushes

The most important part is planting the plant. Not only the future productivity of your plot will depend on it, but also the plant’s susceptibility to diseases, the number of waves of fruiting, the speed of fruit ripening and much more. Today there are many methods, but let’s look at some of the most popular planting methods.

Growing strawberries in pots . Advantage this method is a high level of organization of the site - you can make rows of the correct shape, place pots in several tiers (usually there are 5-6 of them), and also organize it relatively different varieties and precocity. There is perhaps only one drawback - the relative high cost. Do metal frames and placing ceramic or plastic pots on them will be very expensive, costs can be up to 1000 rubles per 1 square meter area of the greenhouse and this does not take into account watering. This is the so-called “Dutch technology”, which involves a minimum cost of space and a maximum yield per square meter (in this case, even cubic).

Cultivating an area with pots is also very convenient: the fruits hang down and are always clean, watering is easy and you can get by with a regular irrigation system, walking and harvesting is convenient, since there is nothing on the floor, and a person moves freely around the area. Productivity increases 4-5 times due to the high planting density, but if the plant gets sick with something, especially fungal diseases, the disease will spread throughout the entire area in a matter of days.

Growing in boxes. This is the most common technology for growing strawberries all year round in Russia. It involves the construction of wooden boxes different shapes(75x25x25, 50x25x25, 150x30x25 and other sizes) in which strawberries are planted. It is relatively easy to care for it, since the area is well organized, the floor is free again, you can divide the territory into different terms ripening and variety. Disadvantage - there will be a small harvest per unit area, since the plants are placed too “spreading out”. Advantages - you can make the boxes yourself, so the costs will be minimal, there is no need to build an expensive metal frame.

Growing on the floor. An option when seedlings are planted directly into the soil. The advantage of this method is its low cost, since there are no costs for arranging the place. 10 minutes with a shovel or hoe - and the area is ready to receive seedlings. There are, of course, a lot of shortcomings, otherwise no one would have managed to make boxes, pots, metal structures and other devices. The first drawback is the lack of free space. This is similar to growing strawberries in open ground– a few weeks after the start of the growing season, it is no longer possible to walk through the area, as everything is overgrown with tendrils. A lot of effort goes into removing them. Planting density is 10-15 bushes per square meter, no more, while Dutch technology allows you to plant up to 60-90 bushes. Consequently, the yield indicator will also suffer.

Growing in bags . This method is for those who want to learn how to grow strawberries in winter using Dutch technology, but at Russian costs. Craftsmen were able to reduce the price of pots and shelves by hundreds of times, replacing them with an ordinary polypropylene bag, which is hung on a rope or simply laid down. Inside the bag is fertile soil, holes of 5-8 centimeters are cut and seedlings are planted. As a result, we have hanging “pots”, huge space savings in the greenhouse and all the other advantages of Dutch technology. For watering, you can use regular sprayers or a hand watering can. The only difficulty is securing the bag so that it does not swing. You will have to walk very carefully or make special wire stretchers between adjacent “pots”.

What soil is needed for year-round growing of berries?

Particular attention should be paid to the soil. It is its quality that will determine how quickly the next wave of harvest is formed. To do this, you need to remember just a few rules for creating soil. Let's take a closer look at them.

There must be drainage. Regardless of where you grow it, it is necessary that moisture entering the soil quickly passes through root system and did not linger in it. In this case, oxygen will better flow to the roots, and the plant itself will develop faster. This will also keep the soil loose, which is important when growing berry crops. To prepare the drainage, we need crushed stone or gravel, which must be placed at the very bottom of the pot, box, bed or bag. As a rule, it occupies no more than 25% of the volume of the entire soil.
Mix fertile soil with sand. At least 25% should be sand so that the soil is very loose. This will increase the gas exchange of the root system, as a result - the bushes will grow much faster and form new berries. It is best to use coarse sand, which is mixed with soil and poured immediately onto drainage crushed stone or gravel.
The soil must contain peat, organic fertilizer and other useful substances that will help the plant start and quickly move to the stage of formation of generative organs. If the soil is Bad quality, the bushes will be “dwarf” for a month and may not grow at all to the size we need. The number and size of fruits will also be affected.
High quality fertilizer. Without it, nothing will grow - this is clear even to a beginner. If you grow remontant varieties, you need to double the dose of fertilizers, since these varieties pull out every last gram from the ground and after them the soil becomes deserted. Constant addition of nitrogen and ammonia fertilizers should be your rule. When planting bushes, you need to add a lot of organic components, as well as nitrogen, so that the root system takes root as quickly as possible and begins to release useful substances to the stem. Immediately after the plant takes root in a new place, you need to add superphosphate and ammonium nitrate - they will help gain vegetative mass and grow the bush to its maximum size. Then feed with orthophosphorus fertilizers - they will help increase the size of the fruits and collect a maximum of one bush.

If you do everything correctly, and the soil is not only ideally composed, but also saturated with minerals and macroelements, then you can count on a solid harvest and high quality berries!

How to grow strawberries all year round - how to properly organize your plot

If you have already dealt with this crop, then most likely you can imagine how many problems growing strawberries all year round can bring you. During the fruiting period (and you will have it almost constantly), you will need to perform many operations simultaneously. Watering plants, fertilizing, trimming tendrils, harvesting, spraying against fungus and the like will fall on you at once, and it will not be possible to combine some operations. For example, you cannot spray immediately before picking berries, even if these preparations are practically harmless to human health.

The first mistake a young gardener makes is planting several remontant varieties at the same time. Experienced specialists plant strawberries so that the harvest time is different. Even if it coincides, then it can be artificially extended or accelerated with the help of watering, daylight hours (artificial lighting), and also fertilizers.

Automated watering is a significant saving of your free time. As you know, watering berries takes a lot of effort, since the area is large, and they have to be sprayed very often. In order not to torment yourself with work and your plants with drought, it is best to immediately stock up on a PVC hose and several rotary sprayers. They can be installed under the roof of the greenhouse and adjusted so that water reaches all corners of the greenhouse. Thus, all you have to do is connect the hose to the water supply and turn on the water supply. 5-8 minutes and not only the soil in the pots (bags, boxes, garden beds) will be wet, but also the leaves! And this will significantly increase the productivity of the plant.

Watering will help solve the fertilizer problem. How? Just use urea and other liquid preparations that can be mixed into water and sprayed onto the entire room at once! Remember that you cannot stay indoors or enter it 3-4 hours after the end of the procedure, as the substances can be hazardous to human health. Use sprayers if necessary!

Strawberries in winter are not a myth, but a reality! All you need to implement this project is a greenhouse, some money for seedlings and a great desire to get 5 harvests a year!

Strawberries on the windowsill all year round are a reality if you use a potted crop with temporary shading of some specimens

To bookmark flower buds requires a short period of short daylight hours. Therefore, you can put some of the pots with strawberries in a dark room for 30 - 45 days. Then, by exposing them to light, you can get the berries to bloom and ripen.

Before you grow strawberries at home all year round, you need to study the biological characteristics and development rhythms of this crop.

To get strawberries at the end of April or at the beginning of May, proceed as follows: in mid-August, young rooted shoots from the mustache, growing closer to mother plant, dig up and plant in 2-inch bowls, after planting, water and place in partial shade for speedy rooting.

Rooted bushes remain in bowls outdoors until frost. When frost occurs, the pots are put into the vegetable cellar, and if this is not the case, then into the cellar (without ice), and left until March 1 without watering.

In March, the pots are brought into the room and placed on the floor, where it is colder, for 3-4 days; after this period, the plants are placed on windows closer to the light, and watering should be moderate. After 10-12 days, the plants begin to fall away. In mid-April, and sometimes later, depending on the weather, strawberries are already blooming.

During flowering on sunny and warm days, it is useful to take the pots out into the air for 10-15 minutes for fertilization (the pots are placed nearby), otherwise do artificial pollination. When the ovary appears, you need to monitor watering, not to let the plant become lethargic, that is, until the leaves drop. In good clear and warm weather, the berries ripen in April.

To obtain an even harvest of monthly strawberries throughout the entire fruiting period, proceed as follows: let only 1/3 of the planting bloom freely, pick flowers from 2/3 of the plantings in the spring, let the other third bloom from mid-June, and from the end of summer let everything bloom freely planting. Cut off all the lashes.

Agricultural technology for growing strawberries in a greenhouse is based on the fact that month-old seedlings lend themselves well to greenhouse cultivation

The seeds were sown at the beginning of February in a greenhouse, at the end of March the seedlings were transplanted and the pots were placed in the greenhouse, from mid-June they were exposed to open air, the first fruits were obtained at the end of June, the vines were plucked all the time. At the end of August, the pots were placed in the greenhouse at a temperature of 12 degrees during the day, 5.6-8 degrees at night. At the beginning of October, we got a lot of quite aromatic and sweet fruits.

The technology for growing strawberries all year round in practice shows that late greenhouse forcing is more profitable than greenhouse forcing. Plant in an uncovered greenhouse (i.e., a greenhouse box) in July or August at a distance of 6-8 inches, in soil with 1 part of greenhouse soil, 2 parts of leaf soil, 1 part of turf soil and 1 part of sand, add 1 pound of land 1 lb. horn sawdust and plan it so that you get a slope 1.5-2 inches to the south. Strawberries grow much easier if they have previously been exposed to light frosts, so cover the greenhouse (box) for the winter with boards or spruce and cover it with old manure only after the onset of frost, when the temperature has already dropped to -3 or -5 degrees.

In February, in accordance with the technology for growing strawberries in a greenhouse all year round, you need to remove the cover and cover the greenhouse with frames, covered with mats at night.

In the sun, but cold weather Spray with lukewarm water and ventilate carefully. During flowering, do not spray and ventilate more; if the weather is still cold, cover the greenhouse with fresh manure, water with slurry diluted with lukewarm water. Plants for growing strawberries in a greenhouse all year round can be planted for 2 years in a row, and fertilized more heavily in the 2nd year.

Watch how strawberries are grown in a greenhouse all year round in the video, which demonstrates all the nuances of agricultural technology:

Growing strawberries and wild strawberries all year round at home

You need to start growing wild strawberries all year round by choosing planting material. In the spring, when new leaves appear on the strawberry beds, stronger plants that have developed from last year's tendrils are selected and planted with a small lump in 2-2.5-inch pots; The soil for backfilling the plants is made up of strong turf and rotten mullein.

In a completely open, dry place, dig a strip of 12-14 inches wide; the depth is given according to the height of the pots in which the strawberry bushes are planted, that is, 2-2.5 inches. The length of the strip depends on the number of pots that are expected to be placed here. Having leveled the bottom of this strip, pour a layer of ash about an inch thick, on which the plants are placed, 5-6 pieces each. in a row. Ash bedding prevents earthworms from entering pots through drainage holes. In the future, these strawberries at home will be kept in a container with a closed root system all year round, so it is important to prevent earthworm larvae from entering there.

The gaps between the pots are filled with earth or, even better, filled with moss, which prevents the walls of the pots from heating up. Summer care consists of timely watering, covering the surface of the ridge with pots with rotted mullein, weeds are immediately weeded out. By the beginning of August, the plants finish their growth and are brought to a dormant state with gradually reduced watering.

For further cultivation At home, all year round, these plants are transferred to 3-4-inch pots, in which they remain until forcing. When transshipping, the lump is only slightly cleaned and any damaged roots are trimmed; it is also necessary to clean off the top layer of soil in the pots and add fresh soil. Pots with soil remain in the indicated place until frost sets in (about 4 degrees), which highest degree contribute to the success of forcing. After such frosts, the pots are taken to a cleaned greenhouse, covered with dry leaves and covered with shields, on top of which dry leaves are also poured.

Which variety of strawberries that bear fruit all year round should you choose for growing?

To obtain abundant harvests, it is not enough just to cultivate strawberries well, but you need to be able to select their varieties. The consistency of strawberry varieties for cultivation all year round is very weak, and the best cultivars are subject to rapid degeneration. Remontant varieties of strawberries, which bear fruit all year round, after being propagated for several years in a row, begin to produce small berries. In this case, there is only one means to restore fertility - reproduction through seeds. For this purpose, ripe berries are collected from the bushes that are richest in fruits and sown. From such sowing, usually most of the plants turn out to be of little use for further cultivation, with small berries, while the smaller part turns out to be well-repaired, with large and numerous fruits. Plants of the latter genus are selected and intended for further propagation.

What variety of strawberries can produce stable harvests all year round? Gardeners answer this question in different ways. It all depends on breeding and selection. For example, large-fruited English varieties of strawberries are so variable that when propagated by seeds it is almost never possible to obtain the same variety.

When propagated by mustaches, these varieties begin to produce two types of plants within a few years: some are stronger, having strong mustaches that appear, but are infertile; others are weaker, with mustaches appearing on them later, but are more fertile. For propagation, they usually take tendrils from the first plants, as from stronger ones, without noticing that these are degenerating plants.

With this method of propagation, even the best varieties, which initially earned worldwide fame for their productivity, degenerate after a few years and produce only mediocre yields. To avoid degeneration of the variety, it is important to take runners only from those plants that bear fruit abundantly and produce the largest berries. Only enough tendrils should be left on each bush so that the mother plant can feed them well without damage. The effect of selection is that in this way the yield can be increased by half.

Watch how strawberries are grown all year round in the video, which presents a wide variety of ways to implement the technology:

If you have minimal experience in growing at least greenery for your table on windowsills, then there is a great temptation to aim for something much more interesting, for example, getting juicy and fragrant strawberries in the depths of winter. Let's try!

Is it possible to grow strawberries on a windowsill and balcony?

Nothing prevents you from growing strawberries from seeds at home. This will not require much expense or effort. If winter is chosen as the harvest season, you will need to provide artificial lighting. Phytolamps are well suited for this purpose, which today can be purchased in the same stores that sell pots and soil for planting.

The secret to getting a strawberry harvest on your balcony making the right choice seed material, which should be undemanding to growing conditions. Our tips will help you get a guaranteed excellent result.

Strawberry varieties for growing on a window at home

A common mistake is to buy varieties intended for greenhouses to grow strawberries from seeds at home. Only remontant varieties that are insensitive to daylight hours and temperature fluctuations in the apartment are suitable. Hanging varieties that are sown in hanging containers and flowerpots are also perfect.

To please your family with balcony strawberries all year round, you should pay attention to the following well-proven remontant varieties:

How to care after planting and before harvesting, step by step

Carefully considering each stage of cultivation is exactly what will increase the chances of fruitfully growing strawberries in winter at home. Properly selected varieties tolerate low light levels well, but are demanding temperature conditions, as well as fertilizing and soil quality. Our tips for growing strawberries will help you avoid common mistakes and get a great harvest the first time.

Place

The best place for planting will be southern windows, but eastern and western windows in the apartment are also suitable. Only the northern ones are not suitable, since daylight still plays an important role in the growth of bushes. Artificial supplementary lighting only partially solves this problem when growing strawberries at home. Also, the plant is extremely sensitive to drafts, so it is better not to use an uninsulated loggia.

In addition to window sills and hanging containers, flowerpots, you can try using multi-tiered floor flowerpots. They have only one drawback - to approach such a bed from all sides it requires a lot of space.

Strawberries in a pot on the balcony

The rapid ripening of berries directly depends on the length of daylight hours. Ideally it should be 12 hours. In summer this is not difficult to achieve, but in winter you will need a phytolamp. You do not need to turn it on all day, but only in the morning from 8 to 11, and in the evening from 16 to 19. It is most convenient to set this mode using a special timer, with which such lamps are sold.

The temperature regime is selected quite loyally. It is important not to fall below the acceptable minimum. For strawberries it is + 18 0 C. Optimal humidity– in the range of 50-75%. IN heating season The air in apartments can be very dry. Spraying the bushes with a spray bottle in the morning helps solve this problem. clean water room temperature.

What container to plant in?

Considering that a bush lives in one pot from 2 to 5 years, it is best to use clay containers of at least 3 liters in size rather than plastic ones. Below there should be sufficient quantity holes for drainage, and the tray is not too shallow. If hanging boxes are used to grow strawberries on the windowsill, then it is optimal to take 10-15 liters, in which 4 bushes can be planted at once. Small stones, expanded clay, and crushed eggshells must be placed at the bottom of boxes and pots.

Pot for indoor strawberries

However, it is important to consider the type of planting material. Only bushes with several leaves can be planted in large pots. If you germinate seeds, then first they are sown in small cups. This approach is quite justified, since the weak root system of seedlings is not able to draw enough moisture from the ground to prevent its stagnation and the appearance of mold.

What soil to plant homemade strawberries in?

If you go to a specialized store to buy soil, you can look for a special substrate, or purchase a universal one for vegetables or flowering plants. indoor plants. However, you can prepare soil for growing strawberries in boxes yourself. To do this, take sand, coniferous soil, and humus in equal proportions. The second option is to prepare a mixture of vermicompost and peat. The result should be an airy and slightly moist mixture, into which phosphorus fertilizer is immediately added.

Advice: you cannot take soil from the garden. It may contain pests and fungal diseases. If there is no other way out, then the entire volume of soil is thoroughly steamed in the oven for at least half an hour at a temperature of 180 0 C.

Preparation of planting material

Planting material can be purchased at specialized markets and stores. You can buy seeds, but with them there is a lot more work, because you need not only to sow, but also to nurture young strawberry plants in a pot for a very long time until they gain sufficient strength to bear fruit. Of all the bushes, the strongest ones are selected, which are thoroughly washed in a disinfecting solution (for example, Fitosporin). This will prevent you from worrying about root rot.

If the seed method is nevertheless chosen, then stratification is required for all varieties. The seeds are placed on damp gauze, rolled up and placed in a sealed bag. It is placed on top shelf refrigerator, where they need to stay for 2-4 weeks.

Direct landing

Seedling bushes for growing strawberries on the balcony should be planted in pots very carefully, carefully straightening the roots so that they reach their full height. If the spine is too long, it can be shortened.

Stratified seeds are planted in a common box, where they are planted to a minimum depth. Then the box is wrapped in film and placed in a warm place. There it stands until shoots appear. Only after this the film is removed and the box is transferred to a bright place. Transplantation into pots can be done at the stage of 2 true leaves. Perfect time for growing seedlings - early spring or late summer.

Don't forget about fertilizing:

It is recommended to fertilize the soil with complex mineral fertilizer twice a month.

Diseases and pests

Under natural conditions, strawberries can be subject to a wide variety of diseases and pests. And on the windowsill in an apartment it is most often threatened by gray rot and spider mites. Rot often appears due to thickening of the planting or hypothermia of the bushes. Following recommendations for planting density and monitoring room temperature will help avoid the occurrence of the disease.

But spider mites are a frequent visitor to window plantations. Garlic tincture will help get rid of it. Crush two cloves and pour a glass of water. You need to infuse the mixture for two days, and then pour the expressed liquid into a spray bottle and spray all the bushes.

Timing of germination and harvesting

The exact ripening time depends on the variety. The peculiarities of growing strawberries are that the timing of flowering and appearance of berries is influenced by many factors: frequency of fertilizing, length of daylight hours, room temperature.

Ideally, 2 months should pass from planting the seedlings in the pot until the first berries appear.

Then it all depends on the variety, because many bloom and bear fruit continuously, while others require a month to rest between fruitings. If you see that there are no flowers or berries on the plant, then it’s time for rest. It is necessary to stop intensive watering and fertilizing until the strawberries have rested and resumed their growing season.

Pollination of strawberries at home in winter

Knowing how to grow strawberries on the balcony, we must not forget about pollination. Under natural conditions, bees do this. And now you will have to work instead of them.

Take a watercolor brush and carefully brush the bristles over the flowers, not forgetting any. If this is not done, then there will either be no berries at all, or they will be deformed and tasteless.

How to grow strawberries at home, video

Now you see that growing strawberries all year round is not that difficult. It’s quite possible to try, especially if you have the opportunity to buy seedlings.

Modern agricultural methods and technologies have made possible cultivation strawberries all year round in non-standard conditions, for example, at home. Many amateur gardeners have seriously taken up this fascinating activity, because by growing garden strawberries at home, you can provide yourself with tasty and useful product all year round, regardless of season. In this article we will tell you how to grow strawberries all year round in greenhouses and just on the windowsill.

Growing strawberries in greenhouses and at home all year round can become a profitable business if you establish a continuous process and increase volumes. IN last years Several new methods of commercial cultivation of berries have appeared, but for home conditions the most acceptable remains the Dutch technology, based on growing strawberries exclusively in closed ground With rational use small areas.

Those who are not yet familiar with this technology and do not know how to grow strawberries in a small room while getting the maximum yield should know that the technique is very simple. Its essence is the regular planting of new seedlings, which ensures continuous harvesting even cold winter. Of course, this can only be achieved by creating favorable conditions for active vegetation, flowering and fruiting of strawberries.

Commercial cultivation of berries using Dutch technology involves the use of a stationary greenhouse with a full set of equipment that provides plants with additional lighting, drip irrigation, and regulation of humidity and temperature. In addition, there should always be required amount seedlings that are planted to replace old bushes (after fruiting ends, the bush is simply thrown away). Such an enterprise requires financial investments, but its profitability is so high that all expenses pay off literally in the first months.

If you are not going to plant strawberries in such volumes, but plan to grow several pots on the windowsill for yourself, the Dutch method can also come in handy. Growing strawberries at home in small containers does not require any additional investments other than purchasing seedlings or seeds for growing them, as well as purchasing substrate and pots. Assess the usable area planned for year-round cultivation and decide on how to place the containers. According to the Dutch method, seedlings can be planted in any container, even plastic bags, which are very convenient to hang vertically.

Video “Growing at home”

From the video you will learn how to grow strawberries at home and get good harvest.

Selection of seedlings

To continuously harvest strawberries, you need to regularly (1 time/1.5-2 months) plant new seedlings, so you have to buy them or grow them yourself. Of course, it is more profitable to have your own seedlings, since their cost is much lower than purchased ones, but this will require a lot of effort. You can grow seedlings from seeds or harvest them within summer season, if there is a bed in open ground.

The easiest way is to root the rosettes that form in the summer on the tendrils of the mother bushes. In autumn, young bushes are dug up on the main plantation and placed in the cold (0...+2°C). In such conditions, seedlings can be stored for up to 9 months, which allows for continuous planting. In the absence of a plantation, seedlings can be grown from seeds, but this process will take longer and require a lot of attention.

Another popular way to obtain high-quality seedlings is cassette growing of seedlings. It involves placing already cooled rosettes in plastic containers with a nutrient solution. With the cassette method, the roots grow very intensively, literally by the hour, and after 4-5 weeks the container is completely filled with roots. Without a doubt, such seedlings are very strong and therefore produce a good harvest.

Varieties for the greenhouse

For year-round cultivation in greenhouses, you should choose remontant varieties that form the ovary under neutral daylight conditions. This feature guarantees wave-like flowering and fruiting throughout the season, which, with regular planting of seedlings, allows for continuous fruiting. Remontant hanging varieties are more suitable for growing indoors, as they will not only bring you a bountiful and continuous harvest, but will also decorate your interior. Most hanging varieties unravel beautifully, and they can also be planted in hanging flowerpots.

Whatever variety you choose, it must meet the following characteristics:

be self-pollinating, otherwise you will have to do this procedure manually;
have high immunity to diseases and temperature changes;
have a short growing season (ripen early);
be large-fruited (than larger berries, the higher the yield).

There are many varieties that simultaneously possess all these qualities: Pineapple, Selva, Honey, Queen Elizabeth, Geneva, Darselect, Arapaho, Tribute, from domestic ones: Moscow Delicacy, Sakhalinskaya and others.

Preparing plants for planting

Before planting seedlings in a greenhouse or pots, they need to be grown and a good root system formed. To do this, young bushes are transplanted into boxes or pots with substrate, where they undergo forcing. For more active growth, the top layer of soil must be fertile and always moist. In open ground, young rosettes can be transplanted to another area, the so-called nursery, where the plants will grow green mass and root system.

When the temperature drops to 0°C, the seedlings are dug up, the leaves are removed, and the roots are placed in a nutrient substrate and taken out into the cold (cellar, refrigerator). In a dormant state, they are stored for several months before being planted in the greenhouse. Storing seedlings in the cold is the main condition for successful cultivation strawberries using Dutch technology. Its effectiveness lies in the fact that when placed in warm conditions (in a greenhouse), seedlings quickly wake up and begin to grow actively, which leads to early flowering and berry ripening.

Growing vertically

Vertical placement of beds significantly saves space, therefore it is considered the most rational. The method involves placing the beds in a vertical position: in layers, tiers, pyramids or by hanging. Suitable as a container for planting different materials: pieces of PVC pipes, plastic bags, plastic containers, wooden boxes.
There is nothing difficult in adapting all these containers for growing strawberries:

bags or packages need to be filled with substrate, holes must be made at a distance of 20-25 cm in a checkerboard pattern, seedlings should be planted in them and hung;
containers and boxes can be arranged in tiers or pyramids, and substrate can be poured into the protruding parts and bushes can be planted.

Separate topic - vertical bed from PVC pipes. To make it, you will need materials, and the process itself will require time and effort. The materials you will need are pipes: large (15-20 cm in diameter) and thin (about 5 cm), as well as fasteners, plugs and other small items. Holes with a diameter of at least 10 cm are made in a large pipe at a distance of 20 cm - seedlings will be planted in them. Small holes are drilled in a thin pipe (2-4 cm), it is placed inside a wide pipe and is used for uniform watering along the entire length of the structure.

Next, drainage and soil are poured into the space between the pipes, after which seedlings are planted in the holes. The lower edge of the pipe is closed with a plug, and in the upper part water supply is supplied to the thin (inner) pipe. Thus, the strawberries are evenly moistened and give wonderful harvest. In addition to the fact that beds made from pipes take up little space, they also look very decorative.

Growing at home

Year-round cultivation of strawberries at home can take place on a balcony or windowsill. To plant seedlings, you can use any containers that are unnecessary on the farm, but, of course, they look most impressive flower pots. You should choose a pot based on 3 liters of soil volume per 1 bush. You need to lay drainage at the bottom of the pot, then add a soil mixture consisting of humus (5 parts) and deciduous soil (3 parts). It is convenient to use hydroponics at home. It is best to use coconut fiber as a substrate, but you can also use mineral wool and perlite.

When planting plants in a large container, you should not plant more than three bushes. But it is also important that all the bushes are of the same variety - mis-grading will have a bad effect on the quality of the harvest.

Replacement of seedlings is not carried out as often as in greenhouses: ordinary remontant bushes require renewal once every six months, and ampelous varieties - once a year.

Plant care is standard, but strawberries need to be watered exclusively using the drip method (using a drip system used in medicine). Ampelous varieties need to be supported and tied up, since their long vines grow very quickly. This is how, with a small investment of time and effort, you can grow a real garden with fragrant berries on the windowsill of your home.

Video “Growing all year round”

From the video you will learn how to grow strawberries all year round.