Strawberries are very tasty and healthy berries.which you want to enjoy all year round. Of course, you can go to the nearest supermarket and buy this delicious treat. And you can grow this delicacy on the balconyThis is not only not very difficult, but also very beautiful.
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Is it possible to grow strawberries on the balcony all year round
Growing strawberries on the balcony is not only possible, but also very convenient. Growing this sweet berry on the balcony is a very common way, as with proper care, a fresh and tasty berry will always be at hand.
The following advantages can be highlighted growing strawberries on the glazed loggia:
- On a small plot you can get a good harvest, as containers with strawberries do not take up much space.
- If you want to feast on juicy berries, you do not need to go far or go far behind her, she is always at hand.
- Ease of care. If the plant showed the first signs of pests and diseases, they can be immediately noticed and take the necessary measures.
- With proper organization, you can get a harvest, even in winter.
- Eco-friendly berries.
- Aesthetic component - on the balcony is very beautiful and smells of strawberries.
By planting berries on the loggia must be approached very responsibly, determine the location, find the right varieties and convenient containers.
If the balcony goes to the wrong side, do not deny yourself the pleasure of growing strawberries, you just need to take care of additional lighting and insulation of the balcony.
Warning: strawberries are very afraid of drafts and cold wind.therefore, the airing of the balcony should be carried out in calm, sunny weather.
Tips for growing strawberries on the balconies:
Which varieties are most suitable for growing
There are no special varieties suitable for planting on the balcony. In the markets and in specialized stores can offer the most suitable varieties, but they can just as well be grown in the country.
Therefore it is worth picking up the plants that are least susceptible to diseases, have tasty, juicy fruits and give a good harvest, preferably self-pollinated.
Varieties of this berry are initially divided by the type of fruiting:
- harvest once a year - in spring;
- harvest twice a year - in spring and autumn;
- remontantny grades that give harvest year round.
The most recommended for planting indoors are the following varieties of berries: Roxana, Zagornaya, Queen Elizabeth, Festivalnaya, Rusanka, Desnianka.
Variety Queen Elizabeth has beautiful, large and sweet fruits. This plant produces a lot of antennae, so you can provide yourself with your own young rosettes for the whole year.
Festival variety It is notable for its special sweetness, the sexes have only a slight sourness. It is not a remontant variety, but bears fruit for a long time. By the end of fruiting, the size of the berries is almost halved.
Variety Desnyanka - high-yielding, mid-season variety. Perfectly forms the antennae. Berry has a pleasant sweet-sour taste.
In which containers to plant
For growing berries at home fit almost any container, from drawers, flower pots to plastic bags.
Many gardeners recommend packages, considering that they create conditions most close to natural. Bags preferably choose white, two-meter, with a diameter of 200 millimeters.
On the square meter of the balcony is unlikely to manage to place more than three bags. If you want to have fresh berries year-round, then it should be grown in this way.
If strawberries are planted in containers, it should be roomy: a length of at least 200 centimeters, and a diameter of 20 centimeters.
With proper care, strawberries it will be good to bear fruit in any small containers: flower pot, plastic container or hanging basket.
It is desirable that for one adult bush strawberry pot was not less than 3 liters in size.
If there are no holes in the pots, they need to be done by yourself., as strawberry seedlings do not like stagnant water. Pots should be hung (ample method) or lifted to allow free air circulation and outflow of excess moisture.
Growing strawberries on the balcony in vertical beds.DIY hydroponics:
Planting bushes:
What soil is needed for planting
For strawberries, soil is more important.that filled the container. You can buy special soil in the store, and you can cook it yourself and plant bushes:
- 10 parts of black soil;
- 10 parts of peat;
- 10 parts of humus;
- 3 pieces of sawdust;
- 1 part of sand.
The entire composition is thoroughly mixed and poured into containers. The containers are then watered with a solution composed of 200 grams of mullein, ½ teaspoon of blue vitriol and 3 liters of water.
Terms and basic landing rules
If strawberries will be planted seedlings, it is worth considering the weather conditions and features of the room
No need to put a seedling in a pot very deep, as a result will not be able to appear new leaves.
But you can not leave it on the surface - the root will dry. Dig in half of the base so that the leaves and buds are not covered with earth.
Strawberry seedlings should have 6 formed leaves.
If you want to achieve the earliest possible rooting of seedlings, it should be watered with a solution of heteroauxin: 1 tablet diluted with 5 liters of water.
Subject to the presence of a warmed balcony, the seedlings can be landed in September.
How to pollinate the berry
Most of the time the plant has to be in a closed room, as a result natural pollination is very difficult.
Therefore, to obtain a good harvest, it is necessary to carry out artificial pollination or use self-pollinating varieties of berries. If there is no exchange of pollen, there will be no ovary of the fruit.
Artificially pollinate as follows:
- With fan. We put the device in the morning near each bush, so that the air flow was directed to the other and quietly move from the bush to the bush.
- Using hands. We get a brush from a natural bristle. The brush should be fine. In manual we make pollination of each flower, moving from one to another. This method is more effective than the first.
If it is hard to carry out artificial self-pollination, it is worth buying hybrid self-pollinated saplings that can bear fruit all year round.
These berries are able to produce crops all year round, the main thing is to worry about proper lighting and heat insulation.
Care rules step by step
A good harvest of strawberries depends on proper irrigation, selected capacity and soil, temperature of the room and its illumination. We analyze care step by step.
Strawberry is very light-requiring, it needs the sun's rays 14 hours a day or more, therefore the gardener should worry about the artificial lighting of the balcony.
After planting, the seedling begins to take root and produce a mustache. Very quickly strawberry sockets can fill the entire container.
To ensure that all the power of the plant goes to the formation of the fetus, mustache should be plucked. They can be landed in other containers or stored.
Some growers recommend tearing off the first flower on the plant., believing that the seedling will form flowers in larger quantities, which accordingly will increase the yield.
The main thing with strawberry care is follow the rules of watering. Very often, peat does not pass moisture well, so you can put pots with plants in the water.
When the pot is saturated with water, it will sink. Dry pots for some time kept afloat.
Watering should be done every other day, not forgetting to sprinkle water on the leaves, berries and flowers of the plant.
At least twice a month should be fertilized seedlings. Specialized fertilizers and cow dung are added to the soil, which should be diluted: one part of manure contains 20 parts of water.
It is better if the manure is already fermented. Fresh manure is diluted one to two and settled for 7 days. Then divorced 1 to 20.
Strawberries can be left to spend the winter on the loggiaif the temperature inside is above 5 degrees of frost. It is necessary to warm containers with berries using sawdust and pine needles.
Do not forget about airing the roots and stems of the plant, otherwise the process of decay may begin and the seedling will die.
In winter, the bushes practically do not water, as the root may freeze or rot.
If the balcony is very warm and it is possible to create additional lighting, then fresh berries can be tasted even in December.
As can be seen from the above, the process of growing strawberries on the balcony is not very complicated. Using simple recommendations, with some diligence and hard work you can provide this berry the whole family.
Self-cultivated pods possess greater harmony of taste than those bought in the store.