Growing strawberries in bags: features and planting methods

What is the advantage of the method?

Growing strawberries in bags has recently become widespread for a reason. This method has several advantages:

During the year, the berry bears fruit up to five times or more.
Strawberry bushes are much less likely to be exposed to various diseases and pest damage.
Growing strawberries in bags takes up little space, regardless of where they grow. But this is especially true for greenhouses, where every square meter of area is painted down to the centimeter.
With this method of growing strawberries, there are no weeds.
Growing strawberries in bags all year round is very profitable, as fresh berries provide seven vitamins. With a good harvest, there is always a surplus that can be sold.
A business built on growing berries in this way always brings profit.

Selection of varieties

For growing in bags, strawberries are chosen, which do not require careful care, are able to bear fruit for a long time, grow quickly and have high yields.

It is important to choose self-pollinating varieties if growing strawberries in plastic bags indoors.

The following varieties have these qualities:

Marshall is a sweet strawberry that produces large, sweet berries with a slight sourness. The variety is resistant to diseases and is not sensitive to temperature changes. Marshall's yield is up to 1 kg.
Albion is a remontant variety that is distinguished by large, oblong-shaped fruits. One bush produces up to 2 kg of berries. Strawberries taste sweet and have dense pulp. The plant requires constant feeding and watering.
Geneva is a popular remontant variety that bears large, elongated fruits. Geneva strawberries have a pleasant taste and can be stored and transported. Up to 2.5 weeks pass between harvest periods.
Gigantella is a large-fruited strawberry with good taste. The weight of the first berries is up to 120 g, then the plant produces fruits of less weight. Each bush brings up to 1 kg of harvest.

For breeding, you can purchase new varieties or use your own seedlings if the strawberries have the necessary characteristics.

Planting bags

To grow berries, you need to stock up on bags. You can buy them or make them yourself. To do this, you will need polyethylene reinforced fabric. Usually the diameter of the bags is 20 cm, the length is no more than two meters. A long side seam and one short seam, which will be the bottom, are soldered together. The bags are filled with soil and tied at the top with rope. Cross-shaped holes up to 10 cm are made across their entire area, the distance between them should be at least 20 cm. Then drain holes are made through which excess water will drain. Prepared bags are a kind of beds for plants. They are placed in a designated area vertically or horizontally.

Features of bag preparation

Sacks made of flour, cereals or mixed feed are well suited for planting: they have the optimal combination of density and volume. The small diameter and significant height of the bags allow the seedling material to be placed in the most compact area possible.

To make bags yourself, it is recommended to take the most dense greenhouse or reinforced film: it must be cut into identical rectangles 2 m high and 80-100 cm wide. The two sides of each rectangle must be soldered or carefully sewn. The finished bags should be filled fairly tightly with a soil mixture, slightly acidic or neutral. You can use ready-made soil suitable for cultivating garden plants, but the most economical option is considered to be a soil mixture made independently from equal parts of peat and perlite, as well as a composition based on turf soil, sand, sawdust and humus soil.

Priming

How successful growing strawberries in bags will be depends largely on the soil. In order for crop seedlings to grow and develop fully, the soil mixture must be of high quality. Strawberries prefer neutral or slightly acidic soil. You can fill bags with purchased soil, or you can prepare it yourself. To do this, you will need garden soil, to which you need to add humus, sand and sawdust in equal quantities. Before filling the bags, the ground should be treated (that is, spilled well) with a weak solution of potassium permanganate to destroy pathogenic microbes and insects.

Important preparation steps

The advantage of this method is the ability to save space, as well as the ability to carefully move the bushes to another location. Unpretentious strawberries in bags are successfully grown by amateur gardeners for their own consumption and by farmers on a production scale.

What containers are needed for a rich harvest?

This berry crop can be grown in garden plots, if the local climate allows, in closed ground conditions in greenhouses, sheds, garages, as well as on the balconies of ordinary apartments. The main thing is that the bushes are in a favorable microclimate and that the necessary watering regime is provided. Almost any room or garden can be adapted for cultivation.

As containers, you can buy suitable durable bags made of polyethylene or polyester from the retail chain.

Bag beds can be placed horizontally (on the floor or racks), and also fixed in a vertical position, this allows the most efficient use of the area of plots and greenhouses, especially if the containers with plants are placed on top of each other.

Horizontal bag-bed on a rack

You can not only buy bags for growing strawberries, but you can also make them yourself. It is best to use fabric made of reinforced polyethylene, it is more durable.

The container sizes are as follows:

diameter (width) – 0.2 m;
length – about 1.5-2 m.

You need to tightly seal the seams on the side and bottom of the rectangle, and after filling it with soil mixture, tie the top part with twine. Then you should make ten-centimeter holes in the form of an “X” for the berry bushes with a step between them of about 20 cm. If vertical ridges are created from plastic bags, cuts are made along the length of 3 or all 4 sides in a checkerboard pattern, depending to their location.

Special bag for strawberries

Requirements for planting material

Strong, healthy seedlings with proven varietal characteristics are one of the main conditions for the future harvest; they need to be selected in this way:

Plant varieties that differ in terms of berry ripening, which will increase the duration of the harvest period.
Choose remontant varieties that can bear fruit twice per season.
Use short and medium-sized strawberry bushes, then they will provide less shadow falling on neighboring plants.
If indoors are used, it is recommended to grow self-pollinating species, then there will be less additional hassle for artificial pollination.

If the seedlings are grown independently, it is better to use the first tendrils of an adult bush, then they will be of better quality.

Seedlings for planting in bags

Preparing the substrate for growing

The active development of strawberry seedlings in bags and full flowering and fruiting directly depend on the composition of the soil mixture. The soil needed is light, loose, fertile, slightly acidic, with a humus content of 3%, enriched with potassium. It is possible to prepare the substrate yourself; for this, take approximately equal parts:

garden soil, thoroughly disinfected from pathogens and cleared of weeds, their seeds, and insect pests;
peat;
humus or fertilizers;
sawdust or ash;
sand for loosening (no more than a tenth of the amount of the mixture).

You can also purchase ready-made special soil for a greenhouse in a retail chain.

Growing using an automatic irrigation system

Selection of seedlings

The survival of plants in a new place and their further development and fruiting depend on the planting material. Therefore, you should consider some recommendations:

You should not choose tall bushes, otherwise they will shade other plants.
It is better to buy seedlings of different varieties of strawberries, which will ripen at different periods. This will significantly extend fruiting time.
If strawberries in bags are grown in greenhouse conditions, plants of self-pollinating varieties should be planted so that the flowers are not artificially pollinated later.

Recommendations for feeding and pruning plants

To ensure the ripening of the berries, you need to regularly feed the strawberries. It is especially important to do this during flowering.

Potassium fertilizers should be chosen as top dressing. Fertilizing with a solution based on chicken manure also helps achieve excellent results. The plant should be fed weekly so that the soil is constantly saturated with elements beneficial to strawberries.

In addition, you need to regularly trim dried leaves and stems so that the plant does not waste the nutrients it receives on them.

To harvest a good strawberry harvest throughout the year, you will need to plant the plants in bags every couple of months. To do this, it is necessary to preserve the seedlings, providing them with suitable conditions.

Did you know? The largest berry was picked in 1983 in the city of Rolkeston, Kent, USA. Her weight was 231 grams. True, the berry tasted watery and sour.

Young bushes are placed in the basement or refrigerator at a temperature maintained there from zero to two degrees and a humidity level of approximately 90%. It is better to place the seedlings in plastic bags.

Growing strawberries using Dutch technology in bags in a greenhouse will undoubtedly meet all the expectations of any gardener. To do this, it is necessary to equip the equipment for irrigation and lighting systems, as well as maintain humidity and temperature indicators at the optimal level. If you follow all the recommendations described above, you will definitely be satisfied with the result.

Bags and greenhouse to help strawberry business

Technology for growing strawberries in bags

This method is especially relevant in the absence of significant areas. The technological process of growing berries using such a growing location does not cause difficulties, but on the contrary, it facilitates the gardener’s work in caring for the crop, thereby increasing productivity. It is very important to consider the following recommendations:

If the bags are placed vertically, expanded clay is first poured onto their bottom. With this arrangement, the holes through which the seedlings are planted in the ground are made across the entire area of the bag according to the chessboard principle. Bags of soil are placed on top of each other (up to about three pieces) or hung on stable supports or hooks.
If strawberries are grown in bags in a greenhouse using vertical placement, then lighting is a very important indicator for normal growth. To do this, from time to time the bags should be turned towards the sun so that the plants are illuminated evenly. Strawberries need air. In order for its access to be free, you need to place three bags, no more, on one square meter of the greenhouse area.
According to the recommendations of experts, the lower bags should be placed at a short distance from the floor surface to avoid damage to the seedlings by slugs.
When placing the bags horizontally, the plants are watered in the same way as when grown in the usual way. If they are hung on hooks or stand one on top of the other, drip irrigation is indispensable.
In regions with cold climates, growing strawberries in bags in open ground involves additional hassle. For the winter, the original beds should be moved indoors. Of course, they can be left outside if they are reliably protected from frost.
When caring for strawberries, there is no need to mulch, since the soil is in a bag, the surface of which copes well with this. There is also no need for weeding and loosening.
When planting seedlings, the growing point is not buried; it should be located at the same level with the ground.
When the berry ripening period begins, the soil should be enriched with fertilizer once every seven days. You can use potassium supplements or chicken manure.
In order for new plants to develop better, old foliage should be removed after harvesting.
The soil in the bags and the plants in them are used for two years, then everything changes.

Strawberry care

To grow strawberries in bags all year round, you need to provide the plants with the necessary care. This includes a set of measures to create a suitable microclimate: temperature, humidity and light levels.

Humidity and temperature

For constant ripening of berries, it is necessary to ensure a temperature range from 20 to 26 ° C. In this case, the temperature should not drop or fluctuate by more than 5°C. The room for growing strawberries must be protected from drafts.

Advice! Special installations operating in automatic mode help control the temperature.

You can regulate the temperature yourself using a thermometer. Heaters are installed in the room, which turn on when it gets cold. If you need to lower the temperature, it is enough to ventilate the greenhouse.

To grow strawberries, humidity should be kept at 70-75%. To maintain humidity, the bottom of the bags and the air are sprayed.

Fruiting in a greenhouse can be increased due to the high carbon dioxide content (from 0.15 to 0.22%). Such indicators are obtained after the combustion of a regular candle.

Light level

Strawberries require plenty of light. To ensure full ripening of berries, natural light and long daylight hours are necessary.

Therefore, when growing strawberries in bags, an important issue will be the arrangement of a lighting system. This will require powerful red spectrum lamps. This includes metal halide lamps or HPS lamps.

Additional lighting should operate for 12 hours to simulate changing times of day. To grow strawberries in bags at home, you will need fluorescent lamps. They must be turned on strictly at a certain time.

If bags of strawberries are located in a greenhouse, then the lighting is turned on if necessary. When strawberries don't have enough light, their shoots begin to stretch upward.

Watering rules

Another condition for strawberry growth is compliance with watering rules. To grow strawberries you will need a drip irrigation system. The water is supplied from a common pipe, from which tubes are connected to the bags. Droppers are installed at the ends of the tubes.

Important! With drip irrigation, moisture is distributed evenly.

This system will make it easier to care for strawberries and provide the plantings with the necessary level of humidity. It is organized using pipes and metal or plastic with a diameter of 160-200 mm. The pipeline is installed above the bags. The number of pipes depends on the height of the bags and is usually 2-4. 0.5 m is left between the pipes supplying water.

Attention! Water consumption is 2 liters per day for each 30 liter bag.

At home, watering can be organized by hanging plastic bottles to which tubes are attached.

Feeding and pruning

Regular feeding of strawberries will help ensure the ripening of the berries. Fertilizers are especially important during the flowering period of plants.

For feeding, potassium substances are selected, which are used as a solution after watering strawberries. An effective fertilizer is a solution of chicken manure.

Advice! Feeding is done every week.

Dry leaves and stems are trimmed. To harvest strawberries throughout the year, you need to plant the plants in bags every two months. To do this, you need to preserve the seedlings and provide them with the necessary conditions.

Young bushes are placed in a basement or refrigerator, where the temperature is maintained from 0 to +2 ° C and humidity is about 90%. It is best to place the seedlings in plastic bags.

How to plant seedlings correctly?

Bags are an unusual growing medium for plants. Therefore, it is important that the strawberries feel comfortable. To do this, the following rules must be observed:

Before planting, the seedlings are first immersed in hot water for 15 minutes, and then in cold water for the same time. This is necessary in order to prevent pathogens and pests from getting into the bag along with the strawberry bushes.
Holes are made in the slits on the bags. Their size should be such that the roots can fit freely. For ease of planting, vertically positioned bags are tilted. As a garden tool, you can take an ordinary spoon or a small scoop.
The roots should not curl up when planting. First you need to straighten them, and then sprinkle them with soil on top and compact them.

How to prepare the soil

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For the development and growth of strawberries, only neutral soils with a low level of acidity are suitable. Such soil is obtained by mixing turf, fine sawdust and sand. These components should be taken in equal proportions. It is recommended to use organic matter as a fertilizer, for example, humus.

The resulting mixture must be mixed thoroughly. A small amount of expanded clay should be added to the bottom of the bag, which will create a kind of drainage. Due to it, stagnation of moisture will be eliminated, and this is the main cause of rot on the roots and above-ground parts of strawberries. The substrate and fertilizers are placed on this layer, and then the container is closed.

Landing Features

Depending on how the bags of soil are placed, planting strawberries differs. If their location is vertical, the roots of the plants are well buried, and if they are horizontal, they are buried to a shallow depth. Strawberry roots should not remain exposed for more than 10 minutes, so seedlings should be kept in moist soil before planting. Depending on the size of the bag, the planting density can be from 9 to 25 plants. After planting, the bag beds should be watered. In about a week, the strawberries will be ready. During this period, it needs foliar feeding.

What not to do when planting in plastic bags

Many novice gardeners encounter a large number of problems during the process of transferring bushes to bags, as well as after 2-3 weeks, when the plants begin to dry out and disappear. In fact, there are several “golden” gardener rules that will help you avoid any troubles. Let's take a closer look at them.

You cannot carry out work at air temperatures below +15 degrees, even if you do it in a greenhouse. Regardless of what time of year it is, what length of day it is, how you prepared the soil, everything must be done only when it is warm. The fact is that the roots actively absorb (absorb) moisture only at a temperature of 12 degrees and above, that is, it is desirable that it be at least 15 degrees. Only then will everything grow as it should. If it is cold, the transplanted plant may not be accepted over time, and the roots will die, or the tips will freeze completely and will not have time to move away before the onset of warm weather.
Do not place rosettes on the dark side of the bag. In many greenhouses, lighting is only from above, and seedlings are planted from all sides. Thus, a lack of light can not only slow down development, but also cause fungal diseases to occur; they progress very quickly and can be spread by watering or equipment to other bushes.
Do not flood sockets with water for a long time. They will not grow faster, but the roots may rot, and in just a few weeks. The soil should be moist and loose, and not resemble a swamp. Strawberries are not lilies; they grow in the ground, not in water.
Limit foliar feeding and never exceed the recommended dose. You may burn the leaves or stop the growing point. The rosette will appear healthy, but will not grow further. 1 fertilizing after planting and forget about this procedure for the next few weeks.

These rules will help preserve already grown rosettes. Follow the recommendations - the yield from the bush will be maximum.

The Dutch method of growing strawberries in bags

A distinctive feature of this berry breeding technology is the frequent planting of seedlings (every two months), thanks to which strawberries bear fruit all year round. The bags are filled with weed-free soil enriched with useful substances. Peat and perlite are added to it. The Dutch system is used when growing strawberries only in a greenhouse or on a loggia. Strawberry seedlings for mass cultivation are bought in the store. To make the bushes grow faster, they should be soaked in water for a couple of hours. Growing berries using this system is not difficult, it is important to follow some recommendations:

Strawberries are a light-loving crop, so daylight hours can be extended with the help of fluorescent lamps that are installed above each bag.
To maintain optimal temperature, the greenhouse must be heated in winter.
Plants must be ventilated regularly, so powerful ventilation should be installed.
To get a good harvest, strawberries are planted in portions all year round.
In a greenhouse or other adapted room, maintaining the temperature regime is a prerequisite. Strawberries develop normally at 21-23 °C.
It is necessary to provide proper care, which consists of watering and harvesting. The irrigation system must be arranged in advance. To do this, five or six tubes are removed from a large plastic bottle, each of them is lowered into a bag after 50 cm. Water must be constantly poured into the bottle. For one bag of seedlings, two liters of liquid per day is enough.

Strawberries on the table all year round

This method of growing strawberries is capable of producing strawberries all year round. In the summer season, strawberries will grow in open ground, on the balcony, and even on the window. But the rest of the time you need to make sure that the strawberries receive enough heat and light. Heated greenhouses are used for this purpose. But the seedlings also need to be prepared in advance so that they are hardened and available in stock. It is needed so that you can replace the old one every time after harvesting.

When creating spare bushes, young bushes are placed in a special microclimate, where they are preserved but do not develop.

Such storage is organized in a regular cellar or basement, as well as in a refrigerator. The main thing is that the temperature is always 0+2°C, and the humidity is around 90%. For such storage of seedlings, it is better to place them in plastic bags.

Horizontal placement of strawberries

You can grow berries in bags using this principle on the street, and not just in a greenhouse. This method is suitable for large rooms or open ground. The bags are placed directly on the ground or on racks placed in several rows horizontally. As for open ground, if the area of the plot allows, you can make many long rows, leaving row spacing the width of a person’s passage. When it rains in open ground, the plants are covered with film so that excess moisture does not get into the bags and the roots do not begin to rot. The horizontal method is very convenient, since the bushes in polyethylene do not need to be mulched, and the ground does not need to be weeded and loosened.

What kind of strawberries are grown using the bag method?

Priority is given to remontant varieties. A long fruiting period is a plus, which is especially noticeable with bag technology. Large-fruited berries are selected. Productivity is also taken into account. The leading names are:

Gigantella;
Albion;
Geneva;
Marshal.

If the bags are placed outside, then pollination conditions are not important. Self-pollinating varieties are planted indoors. In greenhouses where crops are harvested on an industrial scale, bumblebees are populated.

Vertical growing method

Vertical cultivation of strawberries in bags significantly saves space both in the greenhouse and in the garden beds. When growing strawberries outdoors, the bags can be installed near the fence, which will serve as a reliable support. Only in this case, unusual beds will have to be rotated periodically to provide the plants with uniform lighting. If you arrange special supports in the middle of the garden, this is not necessary. Planting vertically in open ground is not always convenient, since it can only be used in the summer. In a greenhouse, this method is used year-round.

An example of growing strawberries in bags step by step:

First you need to prepare the bags and fill them with soil enriched with fertilizers.
Then the containers should be tied with a rope and placed vertically or hung on hooks. You can install bags in two or three tiers.
After this, you need to make holes for planting strawberry bushes at a distance of 20 cm from each other.
The final stage is the arrangement of an irrigation system, heating and additional lighting if the strawberries are growing in a greenhouse.

Placement methods

Bags of strawberries are placed vertically or horizontally. The choice depends on the area of the room.

Vertical fit

The convenience of vertical placement is to save space. The beds can be placed on the floor or hung in a checkerboard pattern. One bag fits 7-8 bushes. If they are small, more will fit. There will be enough space for the roots.

Horizontal landing

The bags are laid out on the floor or racks in several levels are mounted under them. Strawberries grow as in regular soil. The advantage of the horizontal growing method is that the soil does not need to be covered with mulch. Polyethylene acts as a covering, and the fruits do not get dirty.

Why doesn't it bear fruit?

Old bushes. Good fruiting in bushes lasts for the most part no more than 3 years. No agrotechnical measures will help correct the situation, except for replacing planting material. To rejuvenate the plantation, they use tendrils or seeds from which seedlings are grown.
Weed varieties. Sometimes when buying seedlings, you come across weed bushes that occurred during the process of free pollination on cultivated plantations. They are distinguished by powerful growth of leaves and a large number of peduncles, but they do not produce ovaries. If you find such plants in your home, they should be immediately pulled out and destroyed. Otherwise, the spreading mustache will instantly fill the beds.
Spring frosts. More often, early varieties of strawberries suffer from returning spring frosts. During the period of abundant flowering, frosts can cause irreparable damage to yields. The most effective method of protection is tunnel covering of plantings with film or acrylic. Drip irrigation also helps protect flowers from freezing.

Suitable varieties

It should be immediately noted that varieties cultivated in a greenhouse are completely unsuitable for home cultivation. The issue of selecting a variety must be considered carefully, since there are a number of features here.

It is necessary to choose remontant varieties of crops. They will be able to produce crops several times.
The variety should not be too capricious, otherwise you simply will not be able to provide it with all the necessary conditions.
The optimal choice would be day-neutral specimens. They produce fresh crops almost continuously.
Ampelous varieties are praised by many gardeners. Their peculiarity is their hanging tendrils, which means that the crop can grow in a suspended state without taking up much space.

The varieties of strawberries and garden strawberries listed below received the best reviews.

"Queen Elizabeth II". A remontant variety suitable for any length of daylight. Produces strong and ripe strawberries weighing 50 grams. Flowering and fruiting last a long period: from the first month of summer to the last month of autumn. The intervals between flowering are 30 days.
"Supreme." A wonderful variety that pollinates itself. Fruiting continues for 9 months, but such strawberries need rest. It lasts from February to April. The approximate weight of one berry is 40 grams.
"Tristan". A very interesting variety that can not only produce a harvest, but also decorate a room. It blooms with bright purple-crimson flowers. In one season, up to hundreds of fruits can form on a bush.
"Geneva". This is a variety from the USA. The fruits are shaped like a cone and weigh about 50 grams. If planted correctly, it will bear fruit for five years.
"Aisha." The name speaks for itself - this is a variety from Turkey. The berries are large and cone-shaped. It bears fruit for a long time, but with breaks of 14 days. It has excellent immunity.

In addition to these varieties, the following varieties are also available for home cultivation:

"Albion";
"Homemade delicacy";
"Temptation";
"Russian Giant";
"Capri";
"Yoke";
"Grandian" and many others.

How to plant and grow strawberries on a windowsill

First you need to choose the right window sill in the apartment. If you have no choice, then whatever you have will do. It is best for the window sill to face south or east.

If you have a north side, then you will sometimes need to highlight the strawberry bushes for a quick appearance of the berries. You can determine the direction of the world using a compass, or better yet, download a smartphone app with a compass and determine the direction using it.

In order for strawberries or strawberries to grow quickly and the plant to develop well, the daylight hours should be 12-14 hours, for cultivation all year round. In summer there is always enough lighting, but in autumn or winter there may not be enough. To do this, you can hang a small fluorescent lamp above the bush and illuminate the plant from 6 to 9 o’clock (in the morning) and from 16 to 20 (in the evening).

With a lamp, you can plant berries on a windowsill on any side of the world.

The room temperature should be from +18 to + 20 degrees. If it is below 18 degrees, then the strawberry plants will grow poorly and get sick, so we won’t make money. At temperatures above 23 degrees it is necessary to water more often. If you wear shorts at home, you will have to water your strawberries twice as often.

It is very easy to maintain temperature conditions, but humidity of 65-80% can be a problem. When the heating is turned on at home, the humidity is 35-40%, and this is very low for some varieties of strawberries. The solution may be to install an air humidifier or spray the bushes with a regular spray bottle. Everything needs moderation, so don't overdo it.

Strawberries are sold in the form of seeds in bags or a special kit that includes soil, a pot and seeds. The kits contain a well-selected variety of strawberries for growing at home on a windowsill and soil with added minerals and fertilizers.

Seeds must be planted in small peat pots or cardboard cups. After the seedlings and 2-3 leaves appear, the plant is transplanted into a large pot. It is not necessary to choose large pots; ordinary flower pots will do. One container is needed for one strawberry bush.

A good option for planting plants would be a long box or container with a volume of 10-15 liters. The minimum distance for good growth between strawberry bushes should be at least 20 centimeters. This plant is selected for growing strawberries all year round.

It is better to buy soil in a store or use it as part of a growing kit. The soil mixture should be loose, airy and slightly moist. Land from the dacha and garden is not suitable due to its low nutrient content. You can feed your strawberry plant at home with potassium-phosphorus fertilizers.

You can grow strawberries at home on your windowsill using seeds. Before planting in the ground, it is necessary to carry out preparatory measures.

The seeds are laid out on a damp cloth, folded in 2 layers and placed in a bag. Then the bag is placed in the refrigerator on the top shelf for 1 month. This procedure is called seed hardening. It leads to rapid growth of seedlings. Hardened strawberry seeds have good health reserves and resistance to diseases and pests.

After this preparation, the seeds can be planted in the ground and your pots can be placed on the windowsill. Planting depth 2 centimeters.

For irrigation, you should use settled water at room temperature. Pour water into 1.5 liter bottles in advance and let it stand in the room. Strawberry bushes need to be watered 2 times a week. If you have low humidity and high temperature at home, then you need to water 3-4 times a week and additionally spray the leaves with water from a spray bottle.

After 3-4 leaves appear, you need to stick a nail into the pot or box with bushes. Iron is necessary for the formation of ovaries and the appearance of berries. You can add fertilizers high in iron.

In order for the berries to set after flowering, it is recommended to pollinate the strawberries. You can pollinate flowers at home using a fan or an ordinary soft brush. The fan is directed at the flowers and thereby pollination occurs. You can move the brush over the flowers.

That's all the information you need to successfully plant strawberries on your windowsill at home. Now let's talk about the most valuable thing, for which we grow it.

How to care after planting and before harvesting

Caring for strawberries on the windowsill consists of the following basic actions: watering, fertilizing, pruning, pollination and pest control (if the last two measures are necessary).

Watering

To water strawberries, like other indoor plants, use only settled water at room temperature. In order not to wait for the chlorine to settle to the bottom of the container, the water can be passed through a filter.

As a rule, it is enough to moisten the soil in containers with strawberries on the windowsill 2 times a week. It is best to moisten the soil in the afternoon. After watering, the soil in the planting container is loosened.

Top dressing

It is recommended to feed indoor strawberries once every 2-3 weeks, after the first leaf appears on the bush. As a fertilizer, you can use regular complex fertilizers or special nutrient mixtures for strawberries. Fertilizers are applied in accordance with the manufacturer's recommendations (according to the instructions).

If you do not want to use mineral mixtures, you can prepare fertilizer for indoor strawberries yourself, according to this recipe:

A third of a 3-liter jar is filled with crushed eggshells.
Then add 1 cup of ash and fill the jar to the top with slightly warm water.
At the end of 5 days of infusion, the solution is filtered.
Before application, the fertilizer is diluted with water in a ratio of 1:3.

You can also fertilize strawberries on the windowsill with weak solutions of mullein (1 to 10), chicken droppings (1 to 20).

During fruiting, bushes need a large amount of iron, because... it is required for the formation of ovaries. According to experienced gardeners, the folk method is to enrich the soil with this chemical element by driving a rusty nail several centimeters into the pot. Of course, it would be more modern to use special purchased mixtures and preparations that contain iron; they should be used to spray the plantings 1-2 times a month.

After harvesting, the bushes are fed occasionally or not at all.

Trimming

Many will be surprised, but strawberries need pruning, the purpose of which is to increase yield. How to prune strawberries grown at home on a windowsill?

On seedlings grown from seeds, the first few flowers are plucked.

Pollination

In order for the berries to set after flowering, it is recommended to pollinate the strawberries. There are several methods of artificial pollination at home:

The blooming flowers are alternately brushed over with a painting brush throughout the entire flowering period.
A fan is directed at the plants. Under the flow of air, pollen from one flower is transferred to another, and the strawberry is pollinated.

Video: growing strawberries in winter

Rules of care

It should be remembered that watering such beds is difficult and inconvenient, so the irrigation system must be thought out in advance. For these purposes, you can use a plastic bottle into which dropper tubes are installed, after which they are lowered into a bag.

Water is poured into the bottle. Once the bottle is empty, refill it. For maximum effective watering, you should drill holes in the bottle. An approximate calculation of liquid is one bottle per day per bag.

In addition to proper watering, this berry crop requires good lighting. And growing in bags involves a lack of light, much less than growing in open ground. Therefore, strawberry bushes should be provided with artificial lighting. Lamps are placed above all containers.

Humidity and climatic conditions are also important for strawberries. In the room where berries are grown, a heater, fan or humidifier is installed, depending on climate conditions.

This is the case if strawberries are grown for their own needs. If you need to grow berries in large quantities, you will need to purchase special equipment that can maintain optimal climate and humidity in the room.

In hot weather, the temperature inside the container often rises, this negatively affects the condition of the root system, the roots can steam and become sick. Therefore, experienced gardeners recommend placing bags only in a well-ventilated area.

You can grow strawberries in vertical beds not only in a greenhouse or other room, you can also grow them outdoors. Only here you will need your own cultivation nuances, for example, to protect them from excessive overheating, heavy rains and other unforeseen conditions.