Garden crops of any kind are not indifferent to organic fertilizers. Manure is especially valued among gardeners, so the question of whether it is possible to fertilize strawberries with horse manure is very relevant. Firstly, strawberries are considered one of the most popular garden crops, and horse manure is the most nutritious organic option. Despite the apparent simplicity of the process, there are a number of recommendations that can improve the quality of the berry harvest thanks to proper feeding.
How important is fertilizing with manure?
When wondering whether it is worth fertilizing strawberries with manure in principle, you should find out the need for this type of fertilizer and its role in the formation of a high-quality harvest. The fact is that during the decomposition of organic fertilizers, substances such as:
- potassium;
- phosphorus;
- nitrogen.
They also penetrate deep underground, to the roots of the plant, which absorb them. Strawberries especially need fertilizer such as potassium. After all, it is he who is responsible for the taste, and nitrogen and phosphorus are responsible for the overall formation of the plant and its growth. If there is enough of these substances, especially potassium, then the plant will accumulate all the necessary nutritional and visual qualities.
Another advantage of using this fertilizer is that it attracts earthworms. When planting a plant, it is important to maintain the water balance of the soil. Worms can help in this process by digging small tunnels in the plant's root system. As a result, the soil will receive additional moisture and air.
When wondering whether manure can be used as a fertilizer for berries, it is important to remember that certain bacteria can process organic matter. thanks to which a sufficient amount of humus is formed in the soil. And this substance is responsible for the moisture capacity of the earth. It is worth remembering that the berry has its own growth characteristics. Therefore, when asking the question of fertilizing, it is important to choose a fertilizer that will best affect the taste and growth of the final crop.
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Question. When is the best time to control weevils?
Answers: MNBer Fighting weevils in summer and autumn is wasted money, insecticides and energy, and this is not good for weevils. That is, if you treat strawberry bushes with strong poison, yes, some will die after eating leaves or from a direct hit. But the weevil is not a fool, he will go eat raspberries. After all, raspberries need to be sprayed until “Mom doesn’t want to.” For the winter it will hide under fallen leaves and other plant debris, and in the spring it will attack strawberries and raspberries with renewed vigor. That is, you need to go on the warpath with the weevil in the spring, when the air temperature rises to +10 at night, and they begin to actively feed and mate. And remember, they eat the leaves and lay the larvae in buds.
Question. Find out more about measures to combat strawberry mites now. Cut off the foliage and process? Or process first, then cut? What's better? I would like to get mustaches from this variety (I left one or two at a time) and transplant them to another place.
Answers: Victoria-R I'm going to cut everything down to the base and process it. There is no point in processing the leaves. The leaf must be cut and burned. Treat with a powerful insecticide and cover with film to fry the beds. And the new mustache is in a new place, away from the old beds. At least that's my plan of action with this nasty insect.
Ledi Irin You can fight the tick even now. At intervals of a week, spray the strawberries with an infusion of onion peels (approximately 200 g of onion peels, pour 10 liters of water, let it brew for 4-5 days, then strain). You can also pour garlic infusion (about half a liter of garlic infusion onto a strawberry bush). After this, the treated plants are covered with plastic wrap for several hours for a better effect. Treatment of strawberries with pesticides is possible only after harvesting. During treatments, moisten young leaves generously, because it is on them that the bulk of mites are located. After picking the berries, you will carry out a thorough processing - 3% Bordeaux mixture helps a lot. An effective remedy against strawberry mite is treating strawberries with a 70% solution of colloidal sulfur during the period of leaf growth, before flowering and after the formation of berries. These treatments should be carried out after 2 weeks. In early spring, you can give strawberries a “hot bath” - carefully pour up to half a liter of hot water +55-60 C on each strawberry bush, because mites overwinter on the petioles of strawberry leaves, at the base of the bush or in the heart. Since mid-March, we have been spraying 3 times every 10 days with one of the drugs (you can alternate them) - Fufanon, Karbofos, Bi-58, Actelik, Fosbecid, Rovikurt, Confidor, etc. Use at least 20 ml of the drug per 10 liters of water. 10 liters of the finished solution should be enough for 20 - 25 linear meters. The solution should wet the heart of the bush and its base. Spraying is carried out in warm (not lower than +18), calm and dry weather. The last treatment must be completed no later than 20 days before harvest. During the first spraying, overwintering mites die, during the second, the larvae that emerge from the eggs die, and the third spraying is a control spray. It is very important to carry out treatments on time to prevent the mite from multiplying. We carry out one-time preventive chemical treatment after picking berries at the end of July and in September. Keeping strawberry plantings free of weeds and removing unnecessary tendrils and rosettes helps reduce the spread of mites. Pests greatly deplete the plants, and after all the treatments, garden strawberries really need feeding. Nitrogen-containing fertilizers, especially organic ones (infusions of mullein or bird droppings), will help quickly grow leaves, and spraying with biostimulants, for example, SILK and solutions of microelements on flowers and leaves, will increase the yield.
Question. Last August I planted a young bed; at the moment, 70% of the bushes are not flowering. The neighbor said that they should be thrown away, since they will not bear fruit. Is this really true, and why might this be? She took the antennae from her bushes.
Answers: MNBer 1. Each strawberry bush lives only three years, so already in the first year of planting, even in spring, and especially in August, the bush must and must bloom and produce more or less berries - this is just a varietal feature. If it does not bloom, this is an alarming signal. 2. 30% are in bloom. Look carefully at the difference between flowering and non-blooming ones. You may find leaves like this, they have 4 or more petals: this is degeneracy, definitely throw it away. It’s not your fault, even if you do everything correctly, sometimes we get boys like this, this is also a feature of the variety. My photo, Corona variety, Dutch, this often happens with them.
Features of berry development
Another important quality of organic fertilizers is the ability to warm the soil naturally. Garden strawberries usually grow on the surface, and the root system of the plant is located no deeper than 40 cm. And in the winter cold, some plants die out. This type of organic matter of almost any type, when decomposing, releases special heat. This is what helps strawberries keep their root system intact even in cold weather.
Remontant types of berries are capable of producing several harvests in one season. It is for these types of strawberries, in particular, that organic fertilizers are the main sources of nutrients. To increase the second and subsequent harvests, you can apply mineral fertilizers. But you still have to apply manure to the strawberries in the fall.
When wondering whether strawberries like manure, you need to remember that during the second harvest, the growth of the root system of the berry begins anew. Because of this, strawberries require more phosphorus and potassium. Due to the fact that the plant almost immediately lays buds for reproduction, you need to take care of its additional nutrition in the fall.
Based on the growth characteristics of strawberries, the answer to the question of whether it is possible to fertilize the plant with manure is positive. But not all of its types are considered equally beneficial for a given plant.
What kind of manure can be applied?
There are a huge number of organic fertilizer options. But the most nutritious for strawberries are:
- Mullein is not as nutritious as other options. But it differs in its affordability and prevalence.
- Rabbit manure contains large amounts of calcium. And it is known to affect the taste of the berry and help the formation of the plant. It also contains nitrogen and phosphorus. Therefore, you don’t have to worry about the balance of nutrients when using this fertilizer in strawberries.
- Chicken manure is considered one of the most useful types. But it is best used for young plants. This type of litter is considered the best stimulator of plant growth in the first years of life.
- The horse species is considered the most useful. But this type of fertilizer also has a drawback: a small amount of phosphorus relative to potassium and nitrogen. For a better composition, mineral fertilizers, such as superphosphate, are added to it. It is also more expensive and less accessible than its chicken counterpart.
Based on the above, we can conclude that horse manure for strawberries in the fall is the best option for organic feeding.
General information about culture
Today, this fruit dessert is almost always on store shelves. The most useful product is considered to be one that is ripened during the season.
The strawberry product has been known for decades. In many countries around the world, strawberries were considered wild and grew only in regions with a suitable climate. Europeans first began to really like the taste of berries, around the 18th century. Today, strawberries are one of the most popular crops grown in home gardens. Its popularity is due to its beneficial composition and taste characteristics.
Ways to feed strawberries with horse manure
Beginners often ask about how to feed strawberries with manure in the fall? The fact is that such a procedure seems simple only at first glance. In fact, there are a number of nuances that, if not taken into account, can ruin the entire effect of the fertilizer. And the gardener will lose not only money, but also time. And for professionals, after analyzing the question of what type of manure is best suited for berries, the new information will be quite useful.
In the spring, while the plant buds have not yet begun to bloom, horse manure is applied in liquid form. You can fertilize strawberries according to the following recipe:
- The container and its volume are selected based on the overall size of the plantation. To calculate 1/3 it is necessary to fill it with fresh manure or half-rotted manure. It is important to remember that manure is suitable for consumption if it has stood for at least 6 months.
- Next, fill with clean water or rainwater. For better dissolution, you can stir it using a wooden device of sufficient length.
- Next, the prepared solution is used to prepare the liquid itself. Proportions are calculated at 1 liter of mixture per 10 liters of clean water.
Advice! If the litter was used fresh, then the proportions increase to 15 liters of water for the same amount of mixture.
Using the resulting mixture, it will be necessary to water the entire plantation with the plant. If we talk about proportions, then the calculation is taken according to the standard: 1 liter for each shrub. If liquid remains, it can be used as fertilizer between the rows of the plant. This trick will help the plant reproduce more productively.
Common mistakes
When planting strawberries, inexperienced gardeners may make mistakes that can lead to illness or death of the berries. You can save the plantation by knowing about them.
- Choosing a variety that does not correspond to the climatic conditions of the region.
- Long-term, more than 5 years, cultivation of plants in one place.
- Deepening the growth point of the bush.
- Untimely mustache trimming.
- Use dense, poor soil.
- Shading plantings with strawberries.
- Insufficient watering during berry ripening.
By eliminating unfavorable factors in the life of the plant, a significant increase in yield can be achieved.
Features of autumn feeding
Strawberries also need horse manure in the fall. But fresh droppings will be too concentrated for a newly planted plant. The solution should sit for about a week. Then its concentration will be sufficient to allow strawberries to be fertilized in the fall.
In addition to fresh and half-fresh horse manure, experts advise using additional substrate. It must be at least a year old and the humus in it must be completely decomposed. This compound contains the least safe concentration of nitrogen. Using this simple technique, you can not only fertilize strawberries in the fall, but also provide an additional amount of valuable humus.
Important! Some beginners notice that after applying horse manure, the color of the plant's foliage changes to a paler color. This occurs due to a lack of nitrogen. To stimulate external qualities, you need to use a number of additional fertilizers rich in potassium and phosphorus.
As you can see, fertilizing strawberries with horse manure is a valuable measure that helps provide the plant with an influx of additional vitamins, improve soil drainage, and the quality of the crop will be much better.
What do you put in the hole when you replant strawberries?
Before planting, to speed up establishment, it is recommended to place complex fertilizer in the planting hole. If planting bushes is planned for spring, it is better to prepare the bed in the fall.
For each square meter of area it is necessary to add 5-7 kg of ready-made humus, 30 g of potassium sulfate and a glass of ash.
Immediately before planting, a mixture of potassium sulfate and superphosphate (25 g of each per 1 m2) is placed in the hole.
ON A NOTE. A good option for planting strawberries in high beds is a mixture of garden soil and peat, to which dolomite flour and wood ash are added.
