Learning how to properly use covering material for strawberries against weeds

Covering material for strawberries against weeds: which one is better?

Among berry fruits, strawberries are the most popular. She ripens early, her berries have a great taste and incredible benefits. But an unpleasant neighborhood with weeds can ruin the future harvest. Wild plants take nutrients from the soil, block light from reaching strawberry bushes and contribute to the development of diseases and mold on the fruit. There are many modern ways to grow strawberries without weeds.

Popular types of weed covering material for strawberries

The root system of the berry crop is very sensitive to damage, so regular weeding and loosening to control weeds in strawberry beds is contraindicated. The most convenient and safe solution to the problem will be the use of various covering materials. This method will completely deprive wild plants of sunlight, which will lead to their death. It is important that the soil under the shelter remains at optimal moisture content and retains its looseness.

As a covering material, you can use a variety of mulch, black polyethylene film or agrofibre.

Organic mulch

Mulching is the most affordable option for covering bedding for berry bushes. This method will help suppress the development of weeds, maintain optimal soil characteristics and protect the fruits from rot. The following organic materials are used for mulching:

• Small wood chips or shredded bark retain their properties for up to 5 years and give a well-groomed appearance to the garden bed.
• Wood sawdust or shavings are scattered in a layer of 5 cm; they do not require renewal for up to 3 years. It is important to remember that such mulch absorbs water well, so watering will have to be doubled.
• The straw of grain or perennial grasses is laid out in a layer of 15-20 cm. It is necessary to ensure that there are no seeds in the material, as they will attract mice.
• The tops of garden and garden plants are mainly used to prevent freezing. The material can be used without signs of infection or rotting.
• The needles have bactericidal properties and are placed in a layer 30 cm high. Spruce branches are great for covering beds before winter.
• Leaf litter is used only from healthy trees, as infected leaves will cause an outbreak of the disease on strawberry bushes.
• Poultry manure, horse or cow manure, is used dry and fresh along with bedding. The material is placed between the rows in crushed form. When watering, plants will receive the necessary valuable substances.

When using organic matter as mulch, there are several steps to follow:

1. Before covering the strawberry bed with mulching material, the ground must be weeded and loosened well.
2. It is necessary to remove mustaches and dry leaves from the bushes.
3. It is necessary to carry out treatment against fungus and pests with special compounds such as Bordeaux mixture, Fitoverm and other preparations.
4. Next, you should feed the strawberries with complex fertilizers and water them well.
5. Organic mulch is distributed evenly over the bed, at least 8 cm thick.
6. The mulch should not fit tightly to the stems of the bush: you need to retreat 2 cm to allow air to access the roots.

Over time, the material settles, so it should be renewed if necessary. The mulch also needs to be turned periodically for aeration and rotten areas should be replaced.

Black polyethylene

Many summer residents use dark plastic film to control weeds. It is affordable and does the job well. The material is resistant to heat, keeps the soil moist, prevents sprouting, and protects young strawberries from spring frosts.

Agrofilm does not transmit not only light, but also water, so with such a shelter it is recommended to install a drip irrigation system.

Black polyethylene is produced in the form of a sleeve one and a half meters wide, twisted into rolls up to 100 linear meters long. The thickness of the product varies from 80 to 200 microns. The film is available for sale in regular and reinforced form.

Reinforced

Reinforced agrofilm is multilayer:

• the top stabilizing film can be silver, gold or another color;
• middle layer – reinforcing mesh;
• the lower part is always black so that the material blocks the growth of weeds.

The outer coating reduces exposure to ultraviolet radiation and produces a herbicidal effect. The inner layer ensures the material's resistance to stretching and tearing, allowing it to be used for several seasons.

unreinforced

Single-layer agrofilm is made of high-density polyethylene. It also protects well from ultraviolet radiation and suppresses the growth of wild plants in the garden. The material is quite plastic, easy to install, but less durable. Typically, its service life is limited to 1 year.

Black agrofibre

The most effective mulching material, according to gardeners, is agrofibre. It is made of heat-treated polypropylene threads. The material does not enter into chemical reactions with the external environment, allows air to pass through, protects the root system from freezing in early spring, does not allow sunlight to pass through and is absolutely environmentally friendly. Such a shelter is convenient to lay on the soil surface; it is resistant to mechanical stress and has a long service life.

How to treat bushes against weeds?

Special herbicides best protect strawberries from weeds . They can be presented in the form of powders or emulsions. In addition to getting rid of weeds, they also strengthen cultivated plants and increase productivity.

Treatment with herbicides is carried out before the formation of ovaries. Late spring or early summer is best for this. You can also use the products after harvesting the last harvest. Experts recommend using herbicides several times a year:

When treating strawberries with weed killers in the first stages of planting, you should use Galtix or Betanal. They are used at the rate of 2 kilograms or 3 liters per hectare. These drugs are most effective against weeds when they have not yet begun to grow. As a rule, they carry out several treatments. In the phase when weed growth is already active, Glyphosate .

Among the effective means is also o, which allows you to protect strawberries from weeds from the cereal family in the first months after planting . For dicotyledonous weeds, it is optimal to use a mixture of Phenmedipham, Desmedipham and Etofumezate. This composition is applied at the rate of one and a half liters per hectare of plantation. Moreover, treatment must be carried out when the soil is wet.

For summer treatments against annual and perennial weeds, “Prism” or “PAB” are suitable. Herbicides containing clopyralid have received good recommendations. Such agents are able to penetrate into plants through the leaves. For areas where sow thistle, sorrel, chamomile, plantain or dandelions are rampant, Lontrel 300-D would be the best option.

In the first autumn, winter weeds will be conveniently controlled using Sinbar or Devrinol. However, the first remedy is suitable exclusively for strong strawberry bushes. You can also use Lenatsil in the autumn. This drug effectively protects against weeds, especially dicotyledons.

If necessary, carry out several treatments. It is important to ensure that the total dose of drugs does not exceed the maximum limits for one season.

Source

Advantages and disadvantages of using weed cover materials

To figure out how to use covering material for strawberries against weeds, you need to weigh all the positive and negative characteristics of each agricultural product.

The use of any covering material will give the area a well-groomed appearance, speed up the ripening of the crop by 2 weeks and make it easier to pick berries.

Features of care

Strawberries under spunbond do not need additional protection. Covered bushes are watered once a week by hand or with a hose. There is no need to weed and loosen the beds, because... Under the agrofibre, an ideal microclimate is created for growing plants. When planting strawberries without mulching, water them 2-3 times a week. When there is no agrofibre, gardeners also regularly have to loosen the beds and remove weeds.

In the first year after planting, it is recommended to cut off flower stalks. This will allow the plants to take root in their new location and easily survive the winter. After harvesting, be sure to remove dry leaves. Some gardeners practice complete pruning of the bush. In this case, the strawberries take a long time to restore their green mass.

After planting, the bushes are not touched, and in the second year the plants are fed 3 times:

• At the beginning of spring, fertilizers with nitrogen - mullein infusion, humus.
• Before flowering - potassium and phosphorus.
• After the berries ripen, use a complex of mineral fertilizers (Elegy, Shungi Terra).

Bushes are treated against pests and diseases twice a season. To do this, special chemicals are used that destroy insects and fungal spores. Additionally, the plants are treated with iodine solution (20 drops per 10 liters of water).

How and when to cover plantings?

When using non-woven covering material, you need to consider the following recommendations:

• The strawberry bed should be level and located in a well-lit area.
• Before sheltering, the soil is thoroughly weeded, loosened and fertilized.
• If necessary, a drip irrigation system is then installed.
• A shallow trench is dug along the edges of the bed, which will later serve to secure the mulching material (it can be secured with pins, a weight, or the edges can be sprinkled with soil).

It is recommended to use film or agrofibre in the spring when planting young bushes in a new place or in the fall when transplanting mustaches. In the case when the strawberries are already “sitting” in the garden bed, you need to carefully cover the surface with agricultural material, and then by touch make cross-shaped cuts through which the bush is brought out.

Errors and recommendations

if planted under spunbond, then it must be compacted and tamped around the bush, otherwise the tendrils will grow into the ground; when using agro-fabric of low density, strong weeds will grow through it; the edges of the agro-fabric must be secured before making holes, otherwise everything may move; in the southern regions In Russia, it is preferable to use light-colored agrotextiles or additionally mulch its surface with grass or sawdust, otherwise the soil will overheat and the strawberries may die.

If these recommendations are followed, the gardener has every reason to expect a good harvest.

Rules for using covering material

It is best to use mulching agricultural material to create a new strawberry plantation. The technology of using shelter involves a number of actions:

1. Before covering, the soil is treated to remove weeds using green manure crops, deep digging or herbicides.
2. The soil needs to be enriched with minerals and organic matter (humus, compost, wood ash, superphosphate, humates and other fertilizers).
3. Next, the soil is leveled with a rake. The film or fiber is spread over the prepared area, tightly adjacent to the ground, and a 10 cm leave is made to the cutting line.
4. The ends of the material are firmly fixed with special metal pins in the shape of the letter “P”, boards, stones, or sprinkled with a thick layer of earth.
5. Afterwards, the planting sites are marked and oval or cross-shaped cuts are made at intervals of 40 cm from each other.
6. Strawberry seedlings need to be planted in the prepared holes.
7. The material around the bushes should be pressed down with a weight or sprinkled with earth so that the tendrils do not penetrate under the shelter.
8. Watering and feeding is carried out using a dropper or directly through the holes. The number of irrigations required is half as much, since the material prevents the rapid evaporation of moisture.

When growing strawberries in a greenhouse, it is better to use a two-layer material, which will prevent overheating of the soil, since the temperature in covering structures is significantly higher.

After harvesting, the black covering material is not removed and lasts on average from 3 to 5 years.

Features of agricultural technology when covering with black agrofibre

Volume of the harvest when growing a plant on agrofibre
If sow thistle shoots are even occasionally observed in the strawberry bed , and it belongs to the root shoot weeds , it must be removed. It is advisable to spray with a special herbicide. Why? Remaining under the spunbond, it will begin to grow and lift the canvas upward, and pulling out the sow thistle from under the cover is not so easy!

Remember, a lot of heat accumulates under black agrofibre, which is why in hot weather there is a risk of strawberries overheating. Therefore, after the sun, at sunset, you must water it.

Features of using black weed cloth

When working with agricultural fabric, several nuances should be taken into account.

• The material is cut after preliminary measurements with allowances for the joint.
• Spreading is done in the longitudinal direction, overlapping each other from 15 to 20 cm.
• The smooth side of the fabric is turned towards the ground, and the rough side with cells is turned outwards. Water and air will pass through these micro holes to the strawberry roots.
• The fabric is secured not only at the edges, but also at the joints with pins or weights.

Marking

To correctly mark the landing spots on the installed surface, you can pull a rope. Mark a cut with chalk at a distance of 40-45 cm between the bushes. Usually a two-row pattern is used, the row spacing is 60-80 cm. The holes are made small, they should only be enough to accommodate a bush: cuts that are too large will be overgrown with grass. A small hole is made in the hole, which is well moistened, after which a strawberry bush is placed there along with the substrate from the pot.

Planting young strawberries under agrofibre

Strawberry seedlings are planted under agrofibre in the spring or in August-September. It is better to choose a landing time when there is little sunlight (cloudy day or evening). For better rooting, the roots of young bushes are placed in a hydrosolution of Zircon, Kornevin, NV-1 or other stimulants. Afterwards, the bush is vertically immersed in the hole without bending the root shoots and sprinkled with earth. Watering is carried out along the hole.

If the weather is hot and sunny after planting, the plantings are covered with white lutrasil for several days. Next, the dead specimens need to be pulled out and replaced, filled with soil and compacted in places where it settles around the bush.

Weeds not only spoil the appearance of the strawberry plantation, but also cause significant harm to the future harvest. A special covering material will help to effectively solve the problem with weeds, which will not only get rid of wild plants in the garden, but also maintain optimal soil condition, protect the plant from temperature fluctuations and help significantly reduce labor costs for care. You can also grow strawberries this way.

Source of the article: https://superurozhay.ru/bolezni-i-vrediteli/ukryvnoj-material-dlya-klubniki-ot-sornyakov-kakoj-luchshe.html

Learning how to properly use covering material for strawberries against weeds

Weeds, annual and especially perennial, cause serious damage to strawberry plantations. Strawberry bushes are forced to compete for food and sunlight. Weeds are literally overwhelming the berry bush in an unequal struggle . Cultivated plants wither, the yield is significantly reduced, it is difficult to harvest, and gray fruit rot becomes more active.

Alternative to weeding

Strawberries growing on covering material are more pleasant to care for, and the berries do not get dirty from the soil.

Weeding a strawberry plantation is labor-intensive work, and it has to be done several times a season. A convenient solution to this problem has been found: the surface of the earth in the garden bed is lined with special materials that suppress the growth of weeds . At the same time, compact strawberry bushes continue to develop normally.

When watering, the soil got onto the strawberry fruits; if mulching had been used, this would not have happened!

What and how to cover the soil? Black agrofibre is considered the best material . In addition, black plastic film, roofing felt, roofing felt, newspapers and pieces of cardboard, a thick layer of straw or other mulch are used for the same purposes.

You just need to start the weeds a little, and one good rain is enough for the strawberries to get stuck in the weeds

English version (organic mulch)

Organic mulch needs to be renewed once or twice a season.

It is known that the British call strawberries “straw berries” because they put straw under the bushes so that the berries do not get dirty from the ground.

Instead of straw, you can use pine needles, wood chips, pieces of bark and other organic materials. Fresh mulch partially inhibits the development of weeds, but for this its thickness must be at least 8 cm, with annual renewal.

Weed seeds falling on loose mulch still germinate. Cardboard or newspapers have a denser structure, but quickly get wet and lose their properties. All these available means do not guarantee complete protection of the beds from weeds.

Finnish experience (black polyethylene)

Mulching strawberries with film is not the best option due to certain disadvantages.

Before the advent and active spread of agrofibre, they came up with a technology for pre-covering strawberry beds with black plastic film (or roofing felt, roofing felt).

Young rosettes are planted in small cross-shaped cuts. This method has shown good results in a northern country like Finland. In Russia, some gardeners still use it.

Negative aspects of Finnish technology:

• the film must be of high quality and expensive, otherwise it will quickly burst and be destroyed;
• the soil does not breathe;
• strawberry roots overheat and rot (hot, condensation);
• It is advisable to install a drip irrigation system under the film.

Positive aspects:

• no weeds;
• the mustache does not grow in, it is convenient to remove them;
• there is no place for pests (such as weevils) to overwinter;
• the berry is clean (no dirt or rot);
• it is convenient to harvest;
• heat is accumulated and fruiting is accelerated.

Black agrofibre

Agrofibre (non-woven covering material) of black color is very convenient to use for mulching the soil. It has all the positive properties of mulching film without its disadvantages.

It is convenient to work with covering non-woven material and it lasts quite a long time.

Weed mulch fabric has additional valuable qualities:

• The fabric lays down softly, without creases . Easy to cut and sew to any size. Mechanical damage can be sewn up or patches applied.
• The material is synthetic, so it does not rot . It does not deteriorate under the influence of sunlight and lasts for several years.
• The porous structure allows strawberry roots and the soil layer to breathe freely , where beneficial microorganisms and earthworms actively work.
• Water passes down freely during rain and irrigation.
• Evaporation from the surface of the bed is reduced.
• The material is convenient to work with. The beds are a pleasure to look after. Saves time.
• Agrofibre is quite affordable.

A very comfortable environment is created for strawberry plants.

Varieties of black covering material

All covering materials have in common the ability to allow moisture and air to pass through.

When is the best time to plant strawberries?

Experts believe that it is better to plant young strawberry seedlings under covering material in early spring, but after the threat of repeated frosts has passed and the air temperature has become steadily positive. Young bushes, planted in compliance with all recommendations, will quickly take root and may begin to bloom this season.

Planting grown strawberry mustaches under covering material in early autumn is an alternative option, in which the young mustaches take root in the fall, grow roots and overwinter already stronger. In the spring, they are almost 100% likely to bloom and begin to bear fruit.

This program will only take place if the bush is given enough free space in the row. It has been noticed that the outermost plants in the array always produce the largest berries. For this simple reason, strawberries are rarely planted in three or more rows (unless there is an excess of valuable planting material): the middle and inner rows can be considered lost.

Strawberries (pineapple strawberries) as a garden crop have the ability to produce large berries. And the size of the harvest depends not so much on the total number of berries, but on their size. Large berries must be achieved, and they are only possible on spaciously growing bushes according to the pattern 40x60 cm or 30x50 cm, depending on the late or early variety.

Sufficiently wide row spacing is welcome: if possible, they are made wider than 50–60 cm. With any thickening, the berries become smaller and yields fall sharply, despite the increase in the total number of peduncles and berries.

Mulch can be organic or artificial. Natural covering materials include pine needles, straw, dry leaves and tree branches, and tops. Natural mulch effectively protects roots from heat and prevents weed growth, but decomposes quickly. This leads to the appearance of bacteria and fungi. Inorganic materials are white and black. The first type is used to protect beds and plants before winter cold.

For strawberries, different types of black covering material are used:

• Agrofibre. Suitable for growing any plant crops. Agrofibre allows moisture and air to pass through well and prevents pests from multiplying. The canvas strongly blocks sunlight, so it is not recommended for use in northern regions.

• Agrospan. The material allows water and air to pass through well and creates diffused light. Agrospan contains UV stabilizers that prevent its destruction under the influence of the sun. The disadvantage of the canvas is its high cost.

• Spunwhite. Non-woven fabric is produced by extruding polypropylene threads. Spunbel is lightweight, moisture-permeable, but easily damaged.

• Spunbond. The fabric is obtained from molten polymer fibers. Spunbond reliably protects plants from temperature changes and wind. Like agrofibre, it strongly absorbs sunlight.

• Lutrasil. It repels moisture, but is destroyed by exposure to the sun.

Plastic film cannot be used for mulching. This polymer does not allow air to pass through and creates a greenhouse effect. The strawberry root system under such material will begin to rot. In the south, lightweight fabrics are more suitable for mulching, while in the northern regions, very dense ones are more suitable.

Rules for using covering material

The place for the strawberry plantation is chosen to be bright and well lit by the sun. It is not recommended to plant strawberries after strawberries and raspberries, after onions (after garlic, you can), or after vegetables and flowers of the Solanaceae family (tomatoes, potatoes, peppers, petunias).

It is very important to clear the soil of weeds as much as possible. To do this, various methods are used: keeping the area fallow or green manure for a year, using herbicides, and deep digging.

The place for strawberries is prepared in advance - green manure is planted, brought to flowering and buried in the ground.

The soil is dug up to a depth of 30-40 cm, carefully selecting the roots of the weeds. The soil is well seasoned with fertilizers. For one square meter of future plantings add:

• 10-15 kg of well-rotted humus or compost,
• half a liter jar of wood ash,
• humates with microelements (according to the packaging instructions),
• 20–30 grams of potassium sulfate,
• 40–50 grams of superphosphate.

Potassium and superphosphate can be replaced with complex mineral or organomineral fertilizer (OMF), preferably specialized for strawberries.

The beds are piled higher if groundwater is close . In other cases, they are only raised slightly or made level with the surface of the earth. Then the soil must be leveled. Before covering with agrofibre, the soil should be given time to settle slightly (15–30 days).

High bed for strawberries made from boards.

How to properly close strawberries?

It is most effective to grow strawberries under covering material from the very beginning. It is advisable to prepare the soil before planting. First of all, it should be cleared of weeds. To do this, you can use herbicides, plant green manure, and carry out deep digging. Sometimes it is enough to dig up the ground to a depth of 40 centimeters, and then carefully select the roots of the weeds.

After cleaning the soil, fertilizers are added to it (calculation per square meter of strawberry plantings):

It is better to organize the beds higher, especially if groundwater passes close by. If not, then they can be made flush with the ground. Before covering the soil with agrofibre, it must be given 15 to 30 days to settle.

The process of covering beds is divided into the following stages.

If the strawberry bushes have already been planted, then the material is first laid out throughout the garden bed. Then they feel where the plants are underneath and make holes above them.

How to lay black weed cloth

1. First, the material is cut to the required dimensions, making allowances for joining.

The material is rolled out over the bed with a small allowance.

The edges are placed in grooves and covered with earth.

U-shaped wire staples are suitable for securing the material.

The material must be laid in a certain way . Sometimes gardeners do not know that the sides of agrofibre have different structures. If you look closely, one side is smoother, while small depressed cells are visible on the other.

The covering material has two different sides.

When laying, the material is laid with its smooth surface down, towards the ground. The cellular surface remains outside and will allow water to pass well from top to bottom, to the soil and roots.

Marking

1. Using stretched ropes, even rows are marked on the spread material.

Marking rows on covering material.

Example of placement of planting holes.

The holes are cut crosswise with a knife, and the corners are bent into the ground.

Planting young strawberry plants on agrofibre

The basic rules for planting strawberries on covering material are the same as on open soil. The plantation is established in the spring or in the second half of summer, early autumn. Choose a cloudy day or cool evening hours.

You can use this drug!

Pre-young seedlings with an open root system can be kept in root formation stimulants (Zircon, humates, Kornevin, Heteroauxin, HB-1). The long roots of the seedlings are lightly trimmed, leaving a length of 5–10 cm.

When planting, push the edges of the tissue cut apart with your hand, place the roots vertically in the hole (they should not bend), and press with soil . The heart rises slightly above ground level. Plants are watered directly into the holes so that the soil fills all the voids around the roots. The growth point remains open. If it is covered with soil, it can rot and die.

Dig a hole to the depth of a scoop, leaving the soil for backfilling.

If sunny, hot weather is expected, then the new seedlings are shaded for several days (for example, with white agrofibre). After a few days, the beds are checked: bushes are planted to replace the dead ones, and sagging hearts are raised. Further watering is carried out directly on the surface of the plantation.

The heart of the seedling should remain on the surface of the earth.

Comparison of white, black and black-and-white agrofibre

Advantages of growing on agrofibre:

• It has been noticed that areas where agrofibre is used produce greater yields.
• There will be no weathering of soil and moisture.
• There is no need to dig up row spacing.
• When mulching with agrofibre, it is easier for the owner of the site to monitor the spread and growth of the mustache, that is, now a certain orderliness is maintained. You can always see which shoots to pull out and which ones to leave for use (root).
• After rain, the covering material itself is dry, so the berries do not lie on wet soil. She will be clean. This is especially important for owners of large strawberry plantings (excellent presentation is maintained).
• Slugs will not crawl near the berries.
• The operating temperature range of agrofibre is from -55 to +90.
• One of the main advantages: there is no need to weed the soil many times, since weeds do not grow under the black material.

Strawberries grow through the fiber.
Concluding the review of choosing agrofibre for strawberries, it is worth highlighting several points. Agrofibre combines the properties of mulch and the properties of a covering material. Protects young strawberry shoots from burns, while transmitting a sufficient amount of UV rays. Good air and water permeability create the necessary conditions for plant growth; the material does not accumulate water (when wet, it does not increase its mass). Strawberries under agrofibre are watered directly on top. The strength of the material guarantees a long service life. With careful care, agrofibre retains its technical characteristics for 3-4 seasons. It reduces the time for growing these early berries. There is no need to constantly fight weeds or loosen the soil near the shoots.