When to mow strawberries and do they need to be mowed in the fall?

Pros and cons

Tendrils are long shoots, devoid of leaves, that radiate in different directions from the bush. They are considered the most harmful to strawberries and need to be pruned because they prevent the berries from bearing fruit well.

However, if the plantation increases, the need for tendrils appears. In this case, exceptionally strong and large shoots are left, which are located first from the bush. Along with the tendrils, leaves are often removed if there are too many of them.

A comparative review of all the advantages and disadvantages of this method will help to understand the reasons why there is no certainty in the issue of mowing and trimming strawberries.

Pros:

The growth of root systems is accelerated. Due to the absence of above-ground parts of the plant, the roots are directly fed with useful substances and microelements.
Pests located on the leaves of the plant are destroyed.
The possibility of frost damage to the beds is eliminated.

Minuses:

There is a high probability of damage to the generative and vegetative buds of berries, which are harbingers of the future harvest. This is possible because all bushes are pruned without a detailed inspection.
Further development of the plant may slow down, which is explained by the stress received during the removal of leaves. Moreover, it is important to take into account the much later formation and ripening of fruits compared to other berry plants.
Young stems and leaves are likely to be infected by pests, which are simply shaken off to the ground before removing old shoots. This happens if the crop is not treated with toxic substances.
The supply of oxygen to the plant decreases. Leaves form the respiratory system of the entire plant. Thanks to them, photosynthesis becomes possible, saturating the stems and shoots with oxygen. As a result of removing leaves, oxygen saturation is significantly reduced.

When to prune strawberries after harvest: timing and rules

Caring for garden strawberries (strawberries) in open ground involves the annual removal of old leaves and shoots.

Most varieties grow in one place for 3-4 years, and in order to get the maximum result from the crop during this time, it is necessary to rejuvenate the plantings at the end of summer.

Every summer resident must decide and know how and when to prune strawberries after harvesting, what to feed them with and how to care for the crop.

Pros and cons of pruning strawberries

The issue of the need to trim strawberry bushes is debatable. Some gardeners, due to lack of time, after harvesting, leave the plantings until the onset of cold weather and prune the bushes next spring.

Others mow down the plants to the very base before wintering, depriving the berries of natural protection and often damaging the developing fruit buds on the bush.

During the season, strawberries undergo several imperceptible changes in leaf plates:

The largest leaves are spring leaves, then new plates form after the summer berry picking. Closer to autumn, next year's flower buds are laid in the axils of summer leaves. There is also active extension of the mustache. Then, in the fall, new leaves appear, which remain on the plant until next spring.

The strawberry leaf lives no more than 65-70 days, after which whitish or reddish spots appear on the surface. These are signs of aging and subsequent death of the leaf blade.

A reasonable option is to prune the crop after picking berries, so that before winter the bushes become stronger, grow new young leaves, and form flower buds. The technique is mandatory, allowing you to significantly increase the yield for the next season.

Benefits of the summer procedure:

bush rejuvenation;
strengthening the root system. After pruning the foliage, the roots receive a large amount of nutrients, which contributes to the successful wintering of the plants;
destruction of possible pathogens of fungal and other infections, pests.

By trimming the leaves immediately after harvest, gardeners provide the crop with a little rest. During the same period, many varieties grow mustaches. It's time to decide whether the plantings will need to be replaced, whether new bushes are needed, and then root the selected tendrils.

Deadlines

The time of pruning is determined by the characteristics of a particular variety and the end of fruiting period. It is believed that approximately 3-4 days after the last berry picking of the season, you can begin the procedure.

Usually, by the beginning and middle of July, garden strawberries complete fruiting, with the exception of remontant varieties. Therefore, from approximately July 20 until the beginning of August, it is recommended to cut strawberry plantations. They take into account the climatic conditions of the area, the specifics of the variety, and the characteristics of cultivation.

The procedure can be delayed a little, but keep in mind that before the onset of cold weather (October-November), the bushes should be well formed and overgrown with new leaves, so as not to go into the winter “naked.”

On a note! Remontant strawberries are not completely pruned, as this affects the yield of the crop and shortens the fruiting time. Dried, diseased or deformed leaves and shoots are removed from such varieties regularly throughout the season.

You cannot be too late with the deadlines, as the plants will begin to develop buds. Pruning in the late period will harm the strawberries and weaken the crop.

Proper pruning of strawberries after harvest

For the cutting procedure, choose a cool, preferably cloudy day, or trim the bushes in the late afternoon. Prepare the necessary garden tools, materials and equipment in advance:

pruning shears or garden shears;
mulch;
gloves;
a spatula for digging out mustaches;
a bucket or basket for collecting trimmed shoots and leaves.

On large plantations, a trimmer with a line is often used for cutting, which speeds up the process, and a lawn mower. But in this case, you must have experience working with the devices, otherwise there is a high risk of mowing the bushes to the very base, damaging the sockets.

Walking along the rows, they cut off yellowed, red leaves, dried and deformed shoots from the bushes. Excess tendrils are carefully removed, and rooted rosettes are first dug up.

The approximate cutting height is 7-10 cm, depending on the size of the bushes. It is important to cut the strawberries (shoots and leaves) as close to the rosette as possible, but without touching it (see photo).

They start working with healthy plantings, and only after that they move on to damaged and diseased bushes. Prepare a saturated solution of potassium permanganate in advance; after each manipulation, lower the pruners or scissors for disinfection.

It is not recommended to use trimmed leaves (even from healthy bushes) for compost. It is collected in a bucket and then burned away from the site. In the same way, cut unnecessary mustaches and flower stalks from remontant strawberries are destroyed.

Strawberry mustache trimming

A little more about mustache trimming. The crop produces mustache almost the entire summer season, but the most active growth begins after picking the berries. If you plan to rejuvenate, reproduce or increase the number of beds, then take care of the planting material in advance.

Source: https://sovusadba.ru/sad/yagody/nuzhna-li-obrezka-klubniki-posle-plodonosheniya.html

When to mow strawberries?

The optimal time for mowing strawberries is the third or fourth week after the last harvest. At the same time, the formation of fruit buds of the plant occurs.

It is important not to delay the pruning process, since late dates are fraught with crop loss due to weak flower stalks. This rush is due to the rapid aging of leaves, which is a favorable factor for the development of various diseases on them.

The process of withering of the strawberry crop is manifested by a change in the color of the leaves, which acquire orange, red and whitish shades. Thus, pruning leaves is a necessary process to protect the future harvest from diseases.

Strawberry processing

Pre-winter treatment of strawberries from pests and diseases is ridding the bush of existing problems and prevention for the future harvest. The best time to carry it out is August, after the last harvest of berries.

From diseases

The most common disease is spotting. You can get rid of it using a 1% solution of Bordeaux mixture.

Do the following:

Dissolve 100 g of the active ingredient in 2 liters of water. It is better to use warm liquid with a temperature of up to 50º.
Mix the contents thoroughly until a homogeneous solution is formed.
Fill with cold water to a volume of 5 liters.
In a separate container, combine lime according to the instructions so that the total amount is 5 liters.
Mix 2 solutions. It is better in a plastic or enamel container, because in a metal container the oxidation process will begin.

Spray the strawberry bush with the resulting solution. Should be used immediately after preparation. Apply in the morning, evening or in cloudy, dry weather during the day. If it rains after carrying out the procedure, repeat the procedure.

From pests

The most common strawberry pests are spider mites.

You can get rid of them, as well as other insects, as follows:

Dilute 2 tbsp in 10 liters of water. l. vegetable oil and the same amount of wood ash.
Pour in 2 tbsp. l. vinegar.
Pass 20 g of soap (preferably laundry soap) through a grater. Add 2 tbsp. l. component to the general content. It is allowed to take 2 tbsp. l. liquid soap.
Mix the fertilizer thoroughly until a homogeneous consistency is obtained.

Spray the bushes and the soil around them with the solution. Do the treatment in early October (2 - 3 weeks before the expected cold weather).

Mowing Features

In order to achieve high strawberry yields next year, as well as to prevent damage to them, it is important to observe some nuances in the process of “cleaning” the beds:

Trimming strawberry leaves and mustaches should be done exclusively with sharp scissors or pruners.
It is strictly not recommended to pluck shoots by hand, since there is a high risk of damage to the root system. The result is a long recovery of the plant.
Leaves that have changed color to red must be removed. This will help get rid of pests and disease carriers.
It is important to treat the plantation with chemicals. However, this must be done in the fall to avoid freezing of the bare bushes, so that there is time for the growth of new young leaves.

Strawberry mustache trimming

Now that we've dealt with the leaves, it's time to decide what to do with the tendrils that most varieties of strawberries produce throughout the warm season. The answer to this question depends on whether you need new strawberry beds in the near future or not.

If you want to replace some of the bushes with fresh ones or simply expand the plantation, then you need to let the mustaches grow, and then carefully plant the first rosettes in a separate bed, cutting off all the excess. If this is not part of your plans in the next year or two, then the mustache is regularly removed. This should be done before flowering, after fruiting and at the end of summer. You can also carefully remove growing tendrils during each loosening or weeding of the beds.

What to do with strawberry tendrils - cut them off or leave them for propagation?
Let's figure out whether to trim strawberry mustaches.

Pruning in case of strawberry disease

When the leaf part of a strawberry is infected with pathogenic pests, it is also necessary to observe a number of nuances during the pruning process:

Absolutely all leaves, even young ones, must be removed;
pruning must be done closest to the base of the bush, since there is a high probability of harmful spores on the petioles of the plant;
during the mowing process, it is important not to touch the heart of the bush, which will contribute to faster restoration of the crop;
the soil should be treated with chemical compounds against pests.

Advice : if rotten berries are present during the harvesting process, after the last harvest, the entire plantation should be treated with a fungicidal composition.

Do I need to prune strawberries in summer?

The opinions of agronomists on this matter differ. Some believe that such a procedure will preserve the health of strawberries, because a large supply of pathogenic organisms could accumulate on its shoots. Others do not recommend cutting strawberry leaves, as this can greatly weaken the plants.

Goal and deadlines

After fruiting, strawberries experience a second wave of growth. When the harvest is harvested, young, fresh foliage begins to grow. It provides nutrition to the berry bushes. But the old leaf plates begin to fade at this time. They no longer play an important role in the life of the plant and gradually die off. But even when dead, they can become a source of spread of diseases and pests.

The best option is to have a small number of beds. Then the old leaves can be cut off carefully without affecting the young ones. As a result, this will make the plant stronger, since it will be possible to trim off old leaf blades with slow photosynthesis.

The main purpose of pruning at this time is to curb the spread of fungal spores. Although it will not be possible to completely get rid of harmful organisms using this method, the degree of infection of the berry garden will become noticeably lower.

Note: By reducing the number of pests and the intensity of disease development, it will be possible to reduce the number of treatments using chemicals.

The exact dates have not been established. They are determined based on weather and climatic realities in the growing region. The main thing is that the bushes have time to go into winter with developed young leaves.

Procedure diagram

Since the berry garden is constantly rejuvenated to ensure a stable harvest, bushes from different years of planting grow on the same plantation. When removing old foliage, they start with younger ones and, in turn, move on to older specimens. The pruning pattern helps prevent strawberry mites from spreading from tools and clothing throughout the berry garden.

In addition, strawberries produce a lot of whiskers during the fruiting period (how much depends on the variety). If there are no plans to reproduce it, they need to be cut periodically - as they appear. Then the plantings will not thicken, forming new rosettes.

Is it possible to mow all the leaves?

Nowadays it is not uncommon to see strawberries being completely mowed down. According to gardeners who practice this method of caring for crops, this helps to obtain a richer harvest next year, as well as less susceptibility to diseases.

By completely pruning a strawberry plantation, you can achieve absolute destruction of pests. At the same time, it is not recommended to mow young healthy plantings, as this can provoke the opposite effect: depletion of bushes and a meager harvest in the future.

Why do you still need to mow strawberries?

A compromise in this dispute can be found if you understand the physiological characteristics of the plant.

Strawberries are a berry crop that is the first to please us with a harvest in the new season. Covered with snow, it tolerates winter well and wakes up as soon as constant warmth sets in.

The roots begin to work at a soil temperature of +15ºС. Last year's leaves, undamaged by frost, come to life, and with the start of sap flow, they begin to photosynthesize and nourish young leaves and flower stalks.

The berries ripen in June.

At this time, creeping shoots (whiskers) appear, on which adventitious buds form, giving rise to new plants.

After care

Like any living plant, strawberries require further care after pruning or mowing.

Here are the main and most important steps:

Loosen the soil around the bushes.
Remove all unnecessary shoots and weeds.
Treat the plantation against pathogenic pests using fungicidal preparations.
Feed the plant with organic and mineral fertilizers.
If there is no rain, provide the berries with regular watering. Constant moisture in the beds is the key to the fruitful growth of young foliage.

Preparing strawberries for cold weather

Well, the last stage in caring for strawberries is preparing the bushes for the winter, which comes down to covering the fruit-bearing bushes. This process occurs in late autumn after the first frost.

The safest and most natural shelter is snow. However, in regions where winters are characterized by severe frosts and little snow, warming the berries becomes mandatory. There are two shelter options:

Branches of coniferous trees (spruce branches)

In this case, young bushes need to be covered completely, the rest need to be surrounded. Sometimes tops, leaves or straw are used as shelter.

However, they have certain disadvantages:

straw is an excellent place for mice to build nests;
leaves and tops tend to become stale, which helps limit air circulation inside the shelter. In the event of a prolonged thaw, the strawberries become damp.

Thus, the best shelter remains spruce branches. In order to ensure good ventilation, brushwood or dry stems should be placed under the coniferous branches.

Spandbod or agrotex

For this option, any type of covering material with a density of 60 grams per square meter is suitable. Such a shelter provides high temperature conditions and breathability, which completely eliminates damping off.

However, in this case, it is necessary to have arcs onto which the material must be pulled. If the shelter is spread directly on the beds, severe freezing of the soil and all plants is possible.

Despite the fact that caring for strawberries after harvest is a labor-intensive and painstaking process, you can be sure of a good harvest and fertile soil for years to come.

How to prepare strawberries for winter?

Strawberries need to be covered for the winter, and there are now enough methods and materials for this. The easiest thing you can do is mulch your strawberry bushes in the fall with plant-based ingredients. The ideal shelter for garden strawberries is needles - they do not get wet, do not stick together and do not attract mice.

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