Do you feel jealous when you look at your neighbors' full baskets of strawberries?
They are not sorcerers - they just know a trick that they have been keeping quiet about for decades. It's all about... ordinary iodine and milk.
Two weeks before flowering, prepare a solution: 10 drops of iodine, 1 liter of milk (not ultra-pasteurized!) and 10 liters of warm water.
Mix thoroughly and spray the bushes in the evening so that the mixture does not evaporate in the sun.
Iodine will protect against gray mold, and milk fat will create a film on the leaves that will repel the weevil.
Repeat the treatment after 5 days - this will enhance the effect.
When the first flowers appear, water the bushes at the roots with a solution of boric acid (2 grams of powder per 10 liters of water). Boron will increase the number of ovaries and make the berries denser.
But the main secret is in mulch. Immediately after flowering, cover the ground around the bushes with a mixture of pine needles and dry mustard (1:1). The pine needles will repel slugs, and the mustard will prevent fungal diseases.
Once a week, water the strawberries with water and add banana peel infusion: pour 3 peels with a liter of boiling water, leave for 24 hours. Potassium from the peel will increase the sugar content of the berries.
Harvest daily, even if the berries are not yet fully red: this will stimulate the growth of the remaining ones.
After harvesting, do not trim the leaves! Instead, remove only the damaged parts and feed the bushes with ash infusion (1 glass per 10 liters). This will prepare the plants for the next season.
Store strawberries in plastic containers with mint leaves to slow down spoilage.
And remember: never plant strawberries after potatoes or tomatoes - nightshade diseases will destroy your plantation.
Now you know what your neighbors are hiding. Time to surprise them with your harvest!
