Growing strawberries at home: basics of care
Many people like strawberries. But few know, that this delicious berry can be grown in your apartment. This approach will give you the opportunity to enjoy the unsurpassed taste of this berry, even in winter, without spending a lot of money on it. About that, how strawberries are grown at home, will tell our article.
Where to start?
Growing strawberries at home always starts with choosing a place for the future garden. But for this you need to correctly estimate the area of the existing balcony, loggia or living room, where the placement of plants is planned. To do this, you need to know about it, that plants can be grown in such conditions in two ways:
- in horizontal containers;
- in vertical containers.
The vertical way is best for the apartment, as it saves free space in the room.
As a container, which will contain the substrate, you can use long bags, are made of a dense polyethylene film of black color. You can also use plumbing pipes, having a large diameter. However, they will need to cut holes. Pipes are best used for year-round cultivation of strawberry bushes in an apartment. In this case, they can be moved to the room for the winter without the risk of rupture and spillage of the substrate. So that the pipe does not spoil the interior of the apartment with its appearance, it can be decorated with various elements.
Experts recommend, if the area of the room allows, to place together with containers for plants and a system of "life support". With its help, home-grown strawberries will receive timely watering, as well as lighting.
Video "Growing a house"
You will learn from the video, how to grow strawberries at home.
substrate
Growing strawberries at home, as well as strawberries, it is necessary to begin with preparation of a substrate. It should be noted, that growing shrubs at home does not involve the use of soil (especially, taken from the garden). The earth in this case is replaced by a special substrate. It may contain coconut milk, mixed with vermiculite (perlite) or peat. Expanded clay sand can be added to the substrate. But you need to use only a small fraction.
This composition of the substrate allows you to achieve low weight. Therefore, containers with it are much easier to move around the house, than if they were filled with garden soil.
In addition to ease, such a substrate has another important advantage - sterility. It is known, that in the garden soil can be pathogens of many diseases of this culture, as well as larvae of insect pests. So, if you use garden soil, then in winter strawberries at home can be attacked by caterpillars, bivalves and various diseases.
Another advantage of using the substrate in this case is the almost complete absence of dirt. It will inevitably be washed away when watering plantings from drainage holes. When using land from the garden in the house will be a specific smell of raw soil.
So, many gardeners in question, how to grow strawberries at home or how to grow strawberries at home, begin to respond precisely from the stage of preparation of the substrate. However, you can find information, allowed in this case to use the soil, purchased at the store. Here you can buy as land, and soil mixture or the desired substrate. If desired, you can make the necessary substrate with your own hands. However, this approach has some complexity, as it is difficult to maintain the percentage of all components of the substrate. The soil mixture will be optimal for strawberries, which consists of the following components;
- humus;
- forest land;
- sand.
All components must be used in equal proportions. An excellent component is the soil, taken from a spruce tree.
When using garden soil, the technology of growing strawberries in the house requires a heat treatment procedure. The easiest way to do this is through steaming. The earth can be watered with a manganese solution of medium concentration (slightly pink).
It is worth noting, that along with soil preparation it is necessary to take care of drainage. It is made according to the same scheme, as for any other houseplants. The role of drainage is usually expanded clay or small fractions of pebbles. The drainage layer should be 1/3 from the tank, selected for planting.
The most suitable varieties
There is a lot of information about the process of growing strawberries at home, most of which is devoted to the choice of varieties, as well as that, how to grow seedlings.
Experienced gardeners and flower growers claim, that for cultivation of strawberry in the conditions of the apartment or the house it is necessary to choose ampelny and remontantny grades. The point is, that in this case use strong, tall and erect shrubs are not necessary. After all, berries, be it strawberries or wild strawberries, still will not touch the ground, which will protect the crop from rot and damage.
Ampel varieties in this case are convenient, their hanging whips will completely cover the container, in which there are bushes. However, such plants are not demanding to the degree of illumination. At the same time remontant varieties will bear fruit all year round. Which variety to choose, depends on your personal preferences and capabilities.
Growing strawberries in the apartment can also be done using curly varieties. They can cling to the support and grow up on their own. As a result, the plants form a dense green mass. However, such varieties on the balcony can be planted only in summer. It has to do with that, transfer planting in a room without damaging the stems is very problematic. Twine or wallpaper should be provided in the room for curly varieties. Growing such strawberries in an apartment is very problematic.
Several varieties can be planted in the house at the same time. But their breeding should be based on some rules. The first and main rule, their maximum isolation from each other. This is especially important for the balcony. After all, it is possible to achieve natural pollination of shrubs with insects and wind.
The best varieties, to grow strawberry seedlings, according to many gardeners, is "F - SSh1", Geneva, Selva and Elizabeth II, as well as "Homemade delicacy".
Use of fertilizers
Fertilizers must be used to grow strawberries at home. After all, no plant can survive, and even more so to bear fruit all year round, on an artificially created substrate. Therefore, growing strawberries or wild strawberries at home, be sure to fertilize the plantings. At round-the-clock cultivation it is necessary to add constantly to a substrate mineral and organic fertilizers. Here you can use special fertilizers, intended for berry crops, strawberries and strawberries. They are made during the period of active growth of bushes, as well as during their flowering. Learn, what is the requirement for the concentration and dose of the drug, can be from the instructions. It is usually listed on one side of the fertilizer package. During the formation and ripening of berries, the amount of fertilizers applied should be minimized against technical standards, recommended on the package.
Intensive leaching of fertilizers after watering is not observed in the containers. When creating drip irrigation, almost all the moisture is absorbed by the roots. Simultaneously, it absorbs nutrients, applied together with fertilizers.
care
Plants, growing at home, need regular and properly organized care. Strawberry or strawberry bush needs the following care:
- regular mustache removal. This procedure is performed in that case, if non-remontant and ampel varieties have been selected for cultivation, which form berries on young mustaches;
- conducting periodic pollination. Manipulation of pollination should be carried out throughout the growing season. You can use a fan in the cold hair dryer mode, as well as soft bleach (columnar) artistic brush. Brush, used for pollination of various varieties, must be stored separately. Each variety should have its own brush;
- spraying plants with a sprayer. Spraying should be done once a day. This will create the right level of humidity in the room and prevent excessive drying of the substrate.
By performing these processes, you can achieve good fruiting from strawberries throughout the year.
lighting organization
Any houseplant or fruit-bearing shrub needs lighting. And strawberries will not be an exception to the general rule. In the summer months, grown on the balcony bush does not lack light. But when growing plants at home throughout the year, plantings require the organization of artificial additional lighting.
Experts advise to use LED lamps to illuminate houseplants. They have a balanced red-blue spectrum of radiation, which is suitable for both active growth, and for fruiting. So that the light created by the LED lamp does not irritate the visual analyzer, plants are recommended to cover with a screen. It can be made of foil material. The usual heat insulator will be suitable, which can be purchased at any hardware store. This screen will allow you to evenly distribute the light, coming from the lamp, and increase its efficiency by about 50% from the power of the light bulb.
If there are no LED lamps, then you can take fluorescent light sources, which give "daylight". In this case, it is best to use in combination 2 sources of "warm" + 1 "Cold" light.
As a result of the organization of illumination of strawberry or strawberry bushes, the use of such light sources is permitted:
- luminescent;
- LED;
- metal halide;
- high pressure sodium lamps.
The glow spectrum of all these paws is dominated by red and blue types of radiation. Therefore, their light is as close as possible to sunlight. However, daily prolonged lighting can affect the electricity bill. In order not to increase your utility costs, it is best to use energy-saving LED bulbs.
Artificial additional lighting should help create the optimal light regime for planting. Strawberry, planted in the house, should be covered during 12-14 hours. You can use a regular timer to automate the backlight process, which is easy to connect to the lighting fixture. You also need to correctly calculate the degree of illumination. To do this, determine the power of the bulb, which will be enough to illuminate one square meter. To do this, you need to know the need of the plant itself for light. This information can be found in the biological or horticultural guide.
organization of watering
The most important point in growing strawberries at home is the correct organization of the water regime. Watering depends on the chosen method of planting. At a vertical arrangement of plants it is necessary to prefer installation of drip irrigation system. To do this, the water tank must be placed above the level of the pot, in which plants grow. From a container of water should go tubes like a medical "drip". Small holes should be made along the entire length of the tube. Through them and watering of bushes will be carried out.
More advanced drip irrigation systems use micropumps. It is capable of pumping a clearly defined volume of fluid. Diluted mineral fertilizers can be expelled through such systems. This is done once in 2 weeks.
Going to grow strawberries or strawberries in your home, it is necessary to think through everything in detail: starting from the substrate and ending with methods of effective watering. If everything is organized correctly, and be under regular supervision, it is possible to achieve excellent fruiting from plants. In this case, you will always have fresh berries on the table, rich in vitamins and just delicious.
Video "Hydroponics with your own hands"
You will learn from the video, how to grow strawberries on a special substrate.
