Imagine: you are picking a bucket of strawberries from one bush, and your neighbors are whispering that you have a contract with garden magic.
The secret is not in expensive varieties or greenhouses, but in a simple method that requires only rusty nails and proper pruning.
Rust is an iron oxide that dissolves in the soil and is absorbed by the strawberry roots. Iron is critical for photosynthesis: without it, leaves turn pale and berries become smaller.
Bury 3-4 rusty nails or metal scraps near each bush to a depth of 10-15 cm.
In just a month, you will notice that the leaves have become dark green and the flower stalks are strong. But do not use new nails: they do not contain oxides, and the zinc coating can harm the soil.
The second stage is trimming the runners. The runners take up to 50% of the plant's energy, which should go to forming berries.
Trim them with pruning shears every 7-10 days, leaving only on the mother bushes if you plan to propagate strawberries. After harvesting, cut off all the old leaves, leaving young rosettes. This will rejuvenate the bush and prevent the spread of diseases.
Watering strawberries has its own subtleties. They like moisture, but do not tolerate stagnant water.
Use a drip system or a watering can with a fine spray. Water in the morning so that the soil dries out a little by evening. Once a month, add potassium permanganate to the water (1 g per 10 l) - this will protect the roots from rot.
Yeast feeding will double the harvest. Dissolve 100 g of fresh yeast in 10 l of warm water, add 2 tbsp. sugar and leave for 3 hours.
Water the bushes at the root (0.5 l per plant) at the beginning of flowering and after picking berries. Yeast activates soil bacteria, which convert organic matter into available phosphorus and potassium.
A mistake that ruins the harvest is planting strawberries in one place for more than 3 years. The soil accumulates fungal spores and pest larvae. Change the bed every 2-3 years, and return strawberries to the old place only after 5 years.
