Delicious sweet strawberries at home. Growing strawberries on the balcony all year round Experience of growing strawberries at home

Do you want to enjoy your own strawberries all year round and have them for sale? It's not difficult - you just need to know the secrets of growing this dietary food product indoors!

Home conditions help to increase the duration of the period of full development of strawberries, turning winter outside the window into summer under the roof. It should be emphasized that the presence of pots and flowerpots in the rooms, hanging planters or balcony boxes, vertical containers, plastic bags give the room an elegant decorative look.

Home conditions help to increase the duration of the period of full development of strawberries, turning winter outside the window into summer under the roof.

Not only benefits, but also beauty - this is an additional benefit from growing strawberries all year round on a balcony, window sill or wall. The use of remontant varieties of day-neutral strawberries ensures regular fruiting, provided that the illumination is provided by gas-discharge fluorescent lamps. Their spectrum composition is not very different from sunlight. At making the right choice growing technologies and good care You can get up to 5 strawberry harvests during the year.

Choosing a strawberry variety for year-round cultivation

The preference for strawberry varieties grown in a home environment should be approached with special attention. They all need to be remontant (within 40–45 days they form inflorescences, ovaries and berries) and high-yielding. Dutch technology requires varieties that can be stored for a long time without losing their attractive qualities. Dutch seedlings Frigo are very popular. It is capable of producing a bountiful harvest even after 7-10 months of cold storage. High-yielding Dutch varieties have also proven themselves well: Gloom, Polka, Darslek, Sonata, Marmolada, Tribute, Maria and others, which can also be stored for a long time in a dormant state.

For the usual technology of growing strawberries, without frequent replacement of seedlings, it is recommended to use the Koroleva Elizaveta 2 variety, which is famous not only for its high yield, but also for its ability to form berry ovaries 2-4 more times after the first harvest. An important note - you need to choose self-pollinating varieties, otherwise there will be more difficulties in caring for strawberries.

Growing strawberries at home

The strawberry harvest depends on the use of biological technologies. It is they who, first of all, form all the conditions that allow year-round cultivation of strawberries with healthy, environmentally friendly berries.

If you have no experience in growing any plants in an apartment, it is better to first start growing strawberries only for your needs. But if it works out, you like it, you like it, then you can think about the strawberry business. First you need to decide on the place where the juicy berries will grow. A room wall, an insulated balcony or loggia, or a window sill are suitable for them. Let's not forget about the advantages of closed ground:

• much less space is required for cultivating plants;
• no dependence on the weather outside.

Growing strawberries all year round at home should begin with studying a step-by-step and detailed methodology that will help create all the conditions for obtaining rich harvests. To make year-round growing of strawberries a reality you need:

• desire to get busy;
• create the necessary conditions;
• apply special technologies.

There is no need to reinvent the wheel, you just need to start getting acquainted with the experience of people who are actually achieving high yields strawberries all year round - practical guide presented below for you.

Strawberry seedlings planted in compact greenhouses using Dutch technology give excellent results. Its essence is simple.

Strawberry seedlings planted in compact greenhouses using Dutch technology give excellent results.

Otherwise, this technology for growing strawberries all year round is called forcing. Harvesting berries is made possible by the continuous planting of new seedlings every 30-45 days. Old seedlings are usually thrown away. This technology places special demands on the soil - it must be sterile without microorganisms and weeds - on lighting, watering and fertilizing, and on the strawberry varieties used. Dutch technology can be equally applied to the cultivation of strawberries on steep and horizontal surfaces. Advantages of Dutch technology:

• seedlings can be planted in any containers: plastic bags, clay pots, wooden and plastic boxes, pallets and containers;
• the ability to grow strawberries on a balcony, wall, windowsill, garage;
• the berries are harvested every 1.5-2 months, which makes it possible to use this technique for business;
• The greatest effort and expense are needed only at the initial stage.

Once by running year-round production growing strawberries at home, in the future it can only be maintained in working condition, spending a little effort.

For this method, you do not need to harvest seedlings for future use. It is enough to plant varieties that are capable of good conditions produce several harvests per season. Their distinctive feature- form berry ovaries regardless of daylight hours. This method the best way Suitable for growing strawberries all year round for your family's table. For this technology, the best containers are pots, boxes, and containers. They will have enough space on the windowsill, loggia, or on the slopes of the windows.

Technology for growing day-neutral varieties

The main difference between this method and the Dutch technology is that the seedlings are used for a year, and not for one or a month and a half. As for the rest, agrotechnical techniques for care, fertilizing, watering, and artificial pollination with all technologies are similar to each other.

Modern technologies make it much easier to grow many vegetables, medicinal herbs and berries at home. There is a wall-mounted economical FazendaGreen system, which is designed for year-round harvesting of environmentally friendly strawberries. The FazendaGreen module consists of a wall-mounted shelf, on three shelves of which there are 7 special pots. On top there is a phytolamp with an ideal light spectrum for strawberry growing. Also in the upper part of the structure there is a container designed for 5 liters of water and a special irrigation system.

Using ready-made automated systems for growing strawberries at home

Water flows down and reaches each of the 21 pots evenly, which creates an ideal microclimate for the growth and development of strawberry seedlings. There is a special sensor that automatically monitors lighting, temperature, amount of fertilizer and soil moisture. In case of deviations from the norm, it sends an SMS to the owner’s smartphone. The size of the entire structure is 1040x670 mm, and one portion of water is enough for 7 days of watering. This installation allows you to grow 6 kg of strawberries per month. There is a lot of material on the Internet on the topic: strawberries grown all year round using Dutch technology.

Rules for growing strawberries at home

To create good conditions in your apartment for cultivating strawberry seedlings, you need to know the preferences of the healthy berry. Strawberry loves:

• abundance of light - the duration of daylight hours cannot be less than 14 hours;
• fresh light breeze - you need systematic ventilation of the room using a window;
• comfortable temperature of plus 18-22o C.

To create good conditions in your apartment for cultivating strawberry seedlings, you need to know the preferences of the healthy berry.

To create specific favorable conditions for strawberry seedlings, it starts with choosing a place (it is advisable that it has as much sunlight as possible). A good option is to place strawberry seedlings near a window. But, if you use phytolamps, strawberries can be grown in a warm but dark garage. In any case, lighting is needed. Practice has proven that daylight at 16 o'clock significantly accelerated the growth and fruiting of plants, and a day at 10 o'clock - all stages of growth and development of strawberry seedlings - lengthened.

Any container can be used as a container for seedlings. But, it is not advisable to use plastic bags in an apartment. They are good to use in greenhouses where an optimal microclimate is maintained: uniform lighting, comfortable temperature and required humidity. In a home environment, such conditions are difficult to achieve. For an apartment, pots, boxes, and various containers would be a good option. They are beneficial because they can easily organize the collection of excess water from irrigation. To do this, just place a tray under them.

Instead of the usual soil, a special substrate is used, which consists of a mixture of disinfected semi-decomposed high-moor peat without weed seeds and microbes with various additives: perlite (to improve aeration), coconut fiber and mineral fertilizers(potassium chloride and superphosphate). But you can get by with improvised additives.

Instead of the usual soil, a special substrate is used

Here is an example of a substrate prepared at home. For 10 kg of peat add 2 or 3 tablespoons dolomite flour(you can replace 200 gr. wood ash). All ingredients are mixed thoroughly. For storage, this mixture is poured into a plastic bag and poured with a specially prepared solution from an old kettle. Half a teaspoon is diluted in three liters of water copper sulfate and 200 ml of liquid mullein. Just before use, peat is mixed with 2 kg of small sawdust, pre-moistened with a solution of urea (1/3 tablespoon of urea is diluted in 0.5 liter of water). A small amount (1/10 of the total volume) of river coarse sand is also added.

With the Dutch technology of growing seedlings, you will need a lot. Therefore, you immediately need to decide the question: when and how to grow it? Where and how to store? If you have a garden and you are cultivating strawberries in open ground, you can grow seedlings yourself in the summer months. To do this, in June and July, strong, well-developed rosettes are selected and planted in peat containers. The varieties must be remontant (that is, produce a harvest immediately after a month and a half after transplanting into closed ground) and self-pollinating. If you don’t have your own plot, you will have to buy seedlings in specialized stores. It's not cheap.

If you have a garden and grow strawberries outdoors, you can grow your own seedlings during the summer months.

For cold storage for the winter, strong rosettes that have 3-4 leaves are selected. The thickness of the root collar should be at least 5 or 6 cm. The length of the root lobe should not be more than 5 cm. The seedlings are carefully placed in plastic or wooden boxes, the bottom of which is covered with damp moss. The top of the boxes must be closed with a lid. Seedlings are stored in the refrigerator: temperature - +1 or +2 degrees; humidity - 90%. Under such conditions, it can be stored for 1.5 to 10 months.

You can grow seedlings yourself from seeds that are bought in stores for summer residents. This method requires time, effort and patience. Planting strawberry seedlings is done in plastic bags according to a checkerboard pattern: 25x25 cm in cut holes at an angle of 40 degrees.

Strawberry care

To get a rich harvest of strawberries, you need to take care of them. Care consists of proper lighting, timely fertilizing and watering. Additional lighting fluorescent lamps needed to extend daylight hours to 14 hours. Watering and fertilizing is done using a drip system. It is this irrigation system that provides an optimal microclimate and best conditions for the development of strawberries. If the substrate was prepared correctly and healthy, strong seedlings are used, there should be no pest and disease control at home.

How to increase strawberry yield at home

Strawberries are very responsive to fertilizing, moderate but timely watering, and good, uniform lighting. An important agrotechnical technique at home to obtain a good harvest is artificial pollination. Under natural conditions, strawberries self-pollinate with the help of the wind and insects. At home, a fan can help with this. The best option A soft brush is considered to be used to touch the inflorescences.

Delicious, juicy, ripe strawberries are a delicacy for children and adults! It thrives in garden beds in the summer in northern latitudes. But using the technology described above, it can be successfully grown at home. Strawberries are vitamins, a delicacy, and exotic all year round! But it can also be a profitable, exciting, enjoyable activity.

Growing strawberries at home - simple task. Follow the directions and plant the seeds to grow strawberries at home. Believe me, growing strawberries at home will be a pleasant experience all year round.

It is difficult to find a person who would be indifferent to strawberries. This divine berry attracts with its appearance, amazing aroma and exquisite taste. Since ancient times, strawberries, a gift from nature, have been considered a special delicacy. It was served in the richest houses, in palaces. Over time, it became available to all social categories; moreover, it can even be grown on a windowsill. If you don’t believe me, then we invite you to check it out. the easy way at home. This is a wonderful alternative to those “plastic” tasting berries that are offered for sale in stores and supermarkets.

The product looks beautiful, elastic, has an amazing color, but once you bite into it, you immediately realize that this is not your favorite strawberry with its amazing taste and aroma. And the products are not cheap, it is much better to save money and be content with the divine taste all year round. So, the advantages of growing strawberries at home:

• Saving;
• Natural taste;
• No chemical stimulants;
• Harvest all year round;
• Benefit from implementation.
• What is needed to grow strawberries

A large container is required. Most suitable option– durable plastic bags filled with soil. Stores for gardening enthusiasts sell ready-made soil, but making a mixture for planting with your own hands is not difficult. It is necessary to mix the soil, peat and sawdust, add a little lime to reduce the acidity of the soil. You should make drainage waste at the bottom of the bags, and make small cross-shaped cuts at the top to plant the sprouts there.

What is better - seeds or seedlings?

Many people are confused by the idea that planting strawberry seeds for growing at home is an unprofitable and time-consuming process. However, this is a misconception. Strawberry seeds are indeed very small, but they have good germination, and the plants will be strong and resilient. Before sowing the seeds, you should keep the bag in the refrigerator for one month. It is better to plant strawberry seeds for growing at home in early February, when the daylight hours are longer. If you want, use artificial daylight lamps earlier, since the culture is light-loving. Seeds should be sown directly into the soil without spreading on top of the soil. To maintain a moist temperature, cover the top with film until the first shoots appear. As soon as 2-4 leaves appear on the seedlings, they should be picked into small pots, then transplanted into bulk bags for growing.

Planting strawberries with seedlings is even easier. Planting time: spring, autumn. During this period, strawberries do not grow as actively and take root well.

Choosing a strawberry variety

To grow strawberries all year round at home, you should choose remontant varieties that bear fruit several times a year. These varieties include:

• "Yellow Miracle";
• "Queen Elizabeth"
• "Everest", etc.

How to care for the crop?

Caring for strawberries that you grow at home is almost the same as in an outdoor garden. Watering, fertilizing, and pest control are required. Ventilation, that is, circulation, is important for strawberries. Therefore, you should periodically open the windows briefly in non-freezing weather and ventilate the room. Daylight - natural or artificial - should illuminate the crop for at least 14 hours. When growing strawberries on a windowsill, choose the south side.

Another factor for good yield is pollination. It is clear that it is impossible to breed bees at home and carry out natural pollination. But there is a way out, and a very simple one. Place a fan in front of the flowers, let the air currents handle the pollen, or periodically pass them with a brush. Strawberries do not tolerate frost and drafts, so they should be protected from hypothermia. Especially home-grown strawberries are very sensitive to cold.

What to feed strawberries with?

When growing crops all year round, you need to apply to the roots and top of the plant once every 2 weeks. You should use complex fertilizers intended for garden crops. Specialized stores also carry fertilizer for strawberries with a set of carefully balanced beneficial microelements, thanks to which the crop will not get sick and will become resistant to all kinds of pests and temperature changes.

Strawberries planted in the house should be replanted and renewed every 4 years.

Seedlings are obtained by collecting new shoots, which are planted in separate containers and replace old and depleted bushes. New seedlings can also be obtained by sowing seeds.

Pests and diseases to which strawberries are susceptible

Strawberries can also develop gray rot, which can completely destroy the crop. In this case you need to take preventive measures. Firstly, the room should be ventilated; the strawberries should not suffocate. Exactly high humidity leads to dampness and rot. If you missed a moment, treat the plant with copper oxychloride at the rate of one tablespoon of the drug per 1 liter.

As it turns out, growing your favorite, sweet strawberries at home is not a difficult task. Yes, there are some tricks that you have to resort to. But in return for effort and careful care, you can get good harvest and even on winter days enjoy the taste of exquisite and aromatic berries. Just imagine the surprise and delight of the guests gathered at New Year, when you serve strawberries and cream grown with your own hands on the table as a dessert.

Have a good harvest and good luck!

Growing strawberries at home - video

• Variety selection
• Substrate preparation
• Landing
• Sowing strawberries - video
• Strawberry care
• How to pollinate?
• Tips for beginners

The tasty and juicy strawberry is a delicacy for many people. Gardeners easily grow it in their gardens. The variety of varieties and methods of propagation, the possibility of harvesting several crops at once, have made this crop very popular in our area. This article will talk about growing strawberries at home. After all, you can only enjoy berries from the garden in the summer, and in the cold months you have to be content with imported strawberries, which are not cheap. There is only one way out - try to grow it yourself.

Preparation of conditions and characteristics of cultivation

It’s not enough to choose the right variety and growing method. It is necessary to create suitable conditions for the culture. If they are not there, the seedlings will become weak and will not be able to grow and bear fruit well. Using seedlings, you can grow bushes at home in the following ways:

• in boxes;
• V flower pots;
• in packages.

Is it possible to grow strawberries in an apartment, and which method is better to choose? It all depends on the purpose of the planting. If you want to use the berries for sale, spacious boxes or plastic bags are suitable. However, they take up space, so growing berries in a small apartment will be problematic. If conditions allow, after some time you can get a large harvest at home.

You can grow strawberries for yourself in ordinary flower pots. In this case, it will not be possible to achieve a significant amount of fruit. But you won’t need to spend a lot of time on care.

Any growing method requires suitable conditions. You will have to maintain not only the temperature, but also certain lighting, as well as other parameters. If all conditions are met, the seedlings will delight their owners with juicy berries.

Conditions

Strawberries love light very much. This applies to spacious dacha plots and small apartments. Daylight hours should last at least 14 hours. Since this is not always possible, it is recommended to arrange additional sources lighting. In this case, the light of the lamp should be natural and very close to natural sunlight.

Strawberries require good air circulation. This is not difficult to do: just open the window periodically.

With temperature everything is even simpler. Usually, city apartments are warm in winter; the thermometer does not drop below 18 degrees. The bushes will grow well at temperatures up to 20 degrees. This is an ideal condition for growing plants in an apartment. If the room suddenly becomes hot, you should open the window. This will also ensure air circulation.

It is difficult to get a good harvest without the right substrate. It is better to use a mixture of peat and perlite as soil. You can buy such soil in a special store.

If there is no such thing on sale, a simpler mixture with fertilizers will do. But the quality is worse. For strawberries, it is better to choose the first option.

Can buy ready seedlings or try growing seedlings from seeds. It’s better, of course, to choose a ready-made one, it will save time. However, this method will be more expensive. Harvesting from seeds will require effort and time, but will be cheaper.

Variety selection

A great variety of varieties of homemade strawberries are divided into two main types: bush and hanging. The berry is also remontant and has one-time fruiting. The first allows you to obtain crops all year round. Its berries differ slightly in taste, color and shape.

Many people who want to grow strawberries at home prefer the remontant variety.

Under good conditions and care, the bushes can bear fruit all year round. At the same time, they are less dependent on light.

A remontant hanging variety is perfect for an apartment. It does not require bright lighting. The bushes can begin to produce berries within 60 days. The popular varieties “Geneva”, “Homemade Delicacy”, and “Queen Elizabeth” are distinguished by their good yield and unpretentiousness. The latter can also be grown in a summer cottage.

Substrate preparation

It is better to buy such a mixture in a store. Suitable for universal use, suitable for both fruits and vegetables. But you can prepare the soil yourself. To do this, you should take humus, forest soil, sand. Mix everything well. The land should not be too poor.

The soil should be loose and moist. This important conditions, which affect the yield and condition of seedlings. The substrate should not be covered with a crust, as it will complicate the process of air access to the roots. Gardeners do not recommend taking soil for planting from the garden: it can be damaged by nematodes. If there are no other options, it is worth cultivating the soil well before planting. It needs to be steamed, which will kill all pests, and then watered with a solution of potassium permanganate.

After thoroughly treating the soil, you can begin planting. The plant does not tolerate stagnation of moisture, this has a bad effect on the roots. Therefore, it is necessary to pour crushed brick or small expanded clay onto the bottom of the pot. Now the seedlings can be placed in the soil.

Landing

How to plant strawberries at home? First you should choose the shoots. It is not necessary to buy seedlings; they can be taken from the garden. Many remontant varieties take root well and grow on the windowsill.

You need to prepare the bushes in the fall. They should be removed from the ground and placed in a separate container. Saplings sprinkle with earth and keep in a cool place for 14 days. This provides the strawberries with peace. After this, the plants can be planted in other containers. Root system should be half in the ground.

Excessively long roots of plants are cut off. In order for the bushes to take root better, it is necessary to dip them in a pre-prepared solution. For this you should take a heteroauxin tablet and 5 liters of water. Dissolve the tablet in water and place the roots there. This mixture can be watered after planting.

You should only choose quality seedlings. It is not recommended to purchase it from unknown sellers. And you definitely shouldn’t order it online.

Instead of seedlings, you can purchase seeds. Growing them will require perseverance and patience, although breeders have now developed new, more stable and unpretentious varieties. 4 months after germination, ovaries form.

In order for the seeds to germinate, you should use well-moistened soil. Sowing seeds is not difficult: just sprinkle them with a layer of soil, and then tamp them down a little and cover them with film. After germination, this film is removed and the pots are placed on warm southern windows.

Sowing strawberries - video

After some time, leaves begin to appear. Once they become large, the tiny seedling is transplanted into a larger container. In order for the bush to grow fully and bear fruit well, you should select a container with a volume of at least 3 liters.

Strawberry care

It is not enough to create suitable conditions and choose the right variety. Without proper care, strawberries will not bear fruit.

When the bushes begin to grow well, mustaches form. To prevent them from interfering, they should be tied up. To do this, a nylon mesh is made on the window. The mustache is a great opportunity to propagate strawberries and get seedlings. To propagate berries in this way, you should root the rosette and then separate it from the mother bush.

The first berries may be affected by spider mites or gray rot. Therefore, it is necessary to carefully monitor the condition of the fruits during this period. If alarming signs are detected, you should prepare an infusion of garlic and treat the plants with it. You need to take two fresh cloves of garlic, crush them, and then add water and leave. After this, the infusion is filtered and the bushes are sprayed with it.

If you properly care for the berries and create conditions for them, you will soon be able to enjoy the first harvest. Gardeners often grow fruits at home for sale.

How to pollinate?

Pollination plays an important role in fruit formation. At home, the plant cannot pollinate naturally, so you need to help it with this. There are two ways to do this.

1. Using a fan. He is directed towards the flowers. It's better to do this in the morning.
2. Manually. To do this, take a soft paint brush and carefully pollinate the flowers with it. This activity is tedious and requires patience and attention. But this method is more effective: every flower will be pollinated.

The choice of method depends on desire. The first method is simple and convenient and does not take time. But whether all the flowers can be pollinated is unknown. In the second case, the efficiency is higher.

Those who have already tried growing strawberries on a windowsill share their tips:

• It is more convenient to use remontant varieties. With proper care, they bear fruit all year round and are unpretentious.
• To get a good harvest from seeds, you need to choose them wisely. The largest ones should be placed in the refrigerator, wrapped in a damp towel in advance. This will harden the seeds and they will germinate better.
• Bushes should be planted in early spring or in August-September.
• The drainage layer will protect against stagnation of water.
• It is prohibited to keep boxes, bags or pots of strawberries on a cold balcony.

Growing strawberries on a window is not difficult if you follow the rules of care and create conditions for growth and fruiting. Only then will the berries please you with a good harvest.

The technology of growing strawberries all year round will allow you to constantly enjoy the taste of these ripe berries. Note that this technique is relatively simple, and if you master it perfectly, you can even create small business at home, which will generate regular income.

How to grow strawberries at home

First, you need to study these berries in more detail, in particular strawberry varieties. Then you must carefully understand each step, correct execution which will allow you to reap a high harvest.

Growing strawberries at home:

• arrangement of the premises with the necessary system for ensuring a favorable microclimate (heating, ventilation, fertilizing, irrigation, fertilizing)
• preparation of substrate components
• Preparation and storage of berry seedlings
• purchasing plastic bags for growing seedlings
• laying a moistened substrate
• securing bags
• transplanting

After planting the strawberries, it is necessary to maintain an optimal microclimate in the room. Moreover, it can be either a glazed balcony, or an attic, a veranda, or a loggia.

Remember that you need to arrange the so-called berry blocks. They can even be placed in several tiers, if the height of the room allows.

In order to provide care for the strawberries, it is necessary to build a homemade irrigation system.

As you can see, strawberries can easily grow in your home all year round. The main thing is to just carefully study all the stages of its cultivation, and strictly follow each point, maintaining favorable conditions for these capricious berries.

And a variety of greens, you can grow strawberries on your windowsill all year round. In winter, it is especially pleasant to enjoy homemade berries. About the features of growing strawberries on the windowsill, how to choose suitable varieties, do not miscalculate the timing of planting, plant and grow correctly healthy berries, skillfully pruning and feeding, will be discussed in this article.

Having decided to grow strawberries on the windowsill, first of all you need choose the correct planting material . The fact is that it is better to grow indoors varieties that are unpretentious to environmental conditions.

In addition, in the room where the containers will be located, you need to create special microclimate. To prevent strawberries from getting sick and growing quickly, you need to install comfortable temperature. It is equally important to control during the growing season level of lighting and humidity.

Which varieties are suitable for growing on a windowsill?

You need to choose planting material very carefully, because contrary to popular belief greenhouse varieties of strawberries are not suitable for growing in an apartment. The fact is that you are unlikely to be able to create “greenhouse” conditions, because in winter there is enough dry air due to central heating.

Strawberry varieties for growing at home on a windowsill must be repairable, unpretentious to the length of daylight hours and temperature. The hanging bushes that hang from hanging containers look especially beautiful in the apartment.

For year-round cultivation of strawberries on a windowsill at home, it is best to choose the following varieties:

• Home delicacy F1;
• Eternity S1;
• Temptation;
• Pink Dream;
• Grandian F1;
• Elan F1.

It is also believed that varieties such as Albion, Aisha, Selva, Queen Elizabeth, Geneva, Russian Giant, Supreme and Tristan can be grown in an apartment.

How to plant and grow on a windowsill - features, conditions and step-by-step instructions

To successfully plant and grow strawberries at home on a windowsill, you must follow certain rules and conditions. Let's talk about them in more detail below.

Place

The best place for growing remontant strawberries - a window sill facing south or east. It is possible to grow crops on the eastern and northern windowsill only if there is constant supplementary lighting.

Daylight hours

For rapid growth and ripening of berries garden strawberries the length of daylight should be 12-14 hours. If in summer the bushes have enough sunlight, then in autumn and winter, when the light part of the day is very short, strawberries need illuminate with fluorescent lamps. Lighting include 2 times a day: from approximately 6 to 9 o’clock (in the morning) and from 16 to 20 (in the evening).

Temperature

When growing strawberries at home, it is important to maintain temperatures in the range +18..+20 C. If the temperature is a few degrees lower, the plants begin to get sick. To prevent such unpleasant consequences, in the fall and spring it will be necessary to include additional heating devices(heaters).

Humidity

Strawberries will do well if the air humidity is in the area 70-80%. At it's peak heating season, in winter, when the air in the apartment is very dry, the bushes sprayed with settled water from a spray bottle room temperature. However, even in this case, it is worth adhering to measures: due to too much humidity, strawberries’ resistance to fungal diseases decreases.

What container to plant in?

Initially, the seeds are sown in small cups, and as soon as they produce the first pair of leaves, they are transplanted (dive) into larger containers. When the strawberry seedlings have already formed 5-6 leaves, they can be transplanted into a pot for further home cultivation.

For cultivation bush seedlings will fit small pots. Ampelous species(for example, Home Delicacy F1) feel great in hanging flowerpots.

You can also plant plants in long boxes with a volume of 10-15 l. When planting in such containers the distance between bushes should be at least 20 cm. Regardless of the size, the bottom of the container for planting should have drainage holes to drain excess water.

In what soil (substrate)

You can buy soil mixture for planting at a specialty store or prepare it yourself. Suitable for indoor strawberries any substrate intended for growing vegetables and flowers.

To prepare the soil yourself, mix pine soil, sand and humus in equal parts in a container. Strawberries also grow well in a substrate of peat and vermicompost.

The main condition that must be met when preparing the substrate is the soil mixture should be loose, airy and slightly moist. At the end of preparing the substrate, potassium-phosphorus fertilizers are added to it.

Important! It is highly undesirable to use soil from the garden to plant strawberry seedlings at home: it can be infected with nematodes and other dangerous diseases. If there is no other option, then before using garden soil you need to disinfect it by spilling it with a pink solution of potassium permanganate, or steam it in the oven. You can start planting bushes a week after disinfection.

Preparation of planting material

Experienced gardeners It is recommended to grow strawberries at home on a windowsill with seedlings, because self-cultivation seedlings from seeds is a rather long and troublesome task. Planting material can be purchased at nurseries or taken from your own plot if you have remontant varieties growing.

Preparation of strawberry seedlings for planting at home is carried out as follows:

By the way! Naturally, it is most convenient to plant strawberry seedlings for growing in room conditions carry out exactly in autumn(after you propagate it using whiskers in the summer).

1. From the available rooted rosettes, you need to select only the largest and healthiest.
2. Planting material is separated from mother plant and plant them in a pot, and first remove all the leaves from them, except for 1-2 of the youngest.
3. To provide strawberries with a period of rest, The container is placed for 14 days in cool place, - basement or cellar.

Direct planting of seedlings

Note! Since strawberries do not like stagnant water and compacted soil, before planting, place a drainage layer on the bottom of the pot using crushed stone, pebbles, expanded clay, small pieces of slate or brick.

Saplings Strawberries are planted at home like this:

1. A drainage layer and some substrate are poured into the pot.
2. The rhizome is dipped in a weak solution of potassium permanganate for several minutes.
3. The seedlings are placed in a pot and the roots are straightened. The root should be placed in a pot in full height. The rhizome needs to be shortened if, when planting, you have to bend its tips strongly (they cannot be twisted).
4. In order for the trimmed bushes to recover faster, they are immersed in a weak solution of heteroauxin (according to the instructions). To prepare the mixture, dissolve a crushed tablet of the drug in 5 liters of water.
5. Add the missing soil to the growing point (heart), but it is important not to bury it too deep.
6. Next, carefully compact the soil and water it.

Advice! To improve the survival rate of a seedling in a new place, you can water the plant with a special solution of one of the growth stimulants, for example, again, “Heteroauxin” or “Kornevin”.

Sowing seeds

You can grow strawberries at home on your windowsill using seeds. Despite the fact that you will have to wait longer for the harvest than when planting seedlings, this does not discourage gardeners who cannot see their life without what they love.

In order for the seeds to germinate quickly, they need to be hardened. The planting material is laid out on a damp cloth, then folded in half and placed in a bag. Next, the bookmark is sent to the top of the refrigerator for 30 days.

The sequence of planting strawberries at home on the windowsill seeds:

1. Most of the shallow box is filled with prepared soil and slightly moistened.
2. Keeping distance, the seeds are laid out in rows.
3. Planting material is sprinkled with a thin layer of soil.
4. The seedling container is covered with polyethylene or glass and placed in a warm place.
5. As soon as the seedlings sprout, the coverings are gradually removed and the container is placed on a bright windowsill.
6. Plants with a pair of true leaves are transplanted into a spacious pot.

The optimal time for planting strawberry seedlings in an apartment is early spring or late summer-early autumn.

How to care after planting and before harvesting

Caring for strawberries on the windowsill consists of the following basic actions: watering, fertilizing, pruning, pollination and pest control (if the last two measures are necessary).

Watering

For watering strawberries, like others indoor plants, use only settled water at room temperature. In order not to wait for the chlorine to settle to the bottom of the container, the water can be passed through a filter.

Advice! It will be very good if you regularly spray your strawberry bushes with a spray bottle to increase the humidity in a dry room.

As a rule, it is enough to moisten the soil in containers with strawberries on the windowsill 2 times a week. It is best to moisten the soil in the afternoon. After watering, the soil in the planting container is loosened.

Important! Despite the fact that the growth of strawberries is activated after the next moistening, you should not get carried away with watering. Overwatering the plant is fraught with the appearance of rot on the roots and fungal diseases. Stagnant water is especially dangerous for bushes. However, the soil should not be allowed to dry out either.

Top dressing

It is recommended to feed indoor strawberries once every 2-3 weeks, after the first leaf appears on the bush. As a fertilizer, you can use regular complex fertilizers or special nutrient mixtures for strawberries. Fertilizers are applied in accordance with the manufacturer's recommendations (according to the instructions).

If you don't want to use mineral mixtures, you can prepare fertilizer for indoor strawberries yourself, according to this recipe:

1. 3 liter jar crushed eggshells are poured into a third.
2. Then add 1 cup of ash and fill the jar to the top with slightly warm water.
3. At the end of 5 days of infusion, the solution is filtered.
4. Before application, the fertilizer is diluted with water in a ratio of 1:3.

You can fertilize strawberries on the windowsill with weak solutions mullein (1 to 10), chicken manure(1 in 20).

Note! Overfeed strawberries nitrogen fertilizers it is impossible: a large amount of nutrients stimulates the active growth of leaves and has a bad effect on the setting and formation of fruits.

During fruiting, the bushes need large quantities iron, because it is required for the formation of ovaries. According to experienced gardeners, in a folk way, to enrich the soil with this chemical element, you need to stick a rusty nail into the pot a few centimeters. Of course, it would be more modern to use special purchased mixtures and preparations that contain iron; they should be used to spray the plantings 1-2 times a month.

After harvesting, the bushes are fed occasionally or not at all.

Trimming

Many will be surprised, but strawberries need pruning, the purpose of which is to increase yield. How to prune strawberries grown at home on a windowsill?

• On seedlings grown from seeds, the first few flowers are plucked.

Important! But there is no need to pick off flower stalks on strawberries planted as seedlings.

• If further expansion indoor plantings It is not planned, and there is no need to replace mature bushes, it is necessary to regularly remove the tendrils. As a result of pruning, the plants will not be wasted on forming unnecessary rosettes, but will direct everything nutrients to the fruits.

Pollination

In order for the berries to set after flowering, it is recommended to pollinate the strawberries. There are several methods of artificial pollination at home:

Diseases and pests

If you have dry air and heat indoors (on the windowsill), then the strawberry will most likely be attacked spider mite . To get rid of this worst enemy, plantings can be sprayed with this folk remedies, How garlic tincture. To prepare the solution, crush 2 cloves and add 100 ml of water. The mixture infused for 2-3 hours is filtered, poured into a spray bottle and treated with the affected plants. But it is much more effective to use special insecticidal preparations(For example, Fitoverm, Bitoxibacillin- these are all biological agents, they are not phytotoxic and do not accumulate in plants and fruits).

Germination and harvest dates

Strawberry seeds planted in an apartment take quite a long time to germinate: the first seedlings make their way to the surface 20-30 days after sowing.

Remontant strawberries, planted with seedlings and grown at home on a windowsill, begin to bloom in about 30-35 days, and ripe berries begin to be collected after about a couple of months after landing.

Year-round cultivation of remontant strawberries on the windowsill is a fascinating activity that does not require much time and effort. To do this, you need to choose the right planting material, follow the rules and conditions of growing on the windowsill, skillfully care for it after planting and harvesting, and also fight pests. And in the end, all the troubles and difficulties pay off a hundredfold with environmentally friendly and tasty fruits.

Video: growing garden strawberries (strawberries) in winter

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