What is the purpose of autumn processing of strawberries?

All gardeners agree that processing strawberries after harvest is not only a useful, but necessary procedure. However, very few people can say which actions to perform. What does the autumn processing of strawberries involve? Weeding, loosening, pruning the mustache or, perhaps, all at once?

Analysis of the situation

The first thing you need to assess the state of the bushes after harvest: how much they have grown over the season, whether there are many dry and damaged leaves, whether there are signs of the presence of any pests or diseases. It is also necessary to analyze the yield: its quantity will give information on the content of nutrients in the soil, and the quality will again allow us to judge the presence of pests or diseases. Competent treatment of strawberries for the winter is simply impossible without this information.

So, first you need to determine whether it is worth leaving the berry in the same place or more appropriate to transfer it to a new one. Strawberries grow in one place from 3 to 7 years, so after a three-year period, it is the state of the berry and the yield that determines if plants need a transplant.

Pruning of the tops and fertilizer

If you decide to leave the berry in the same place, then first of all you should take care of cleaning the extra leaves. Some gardeners do not consider this procedure mandatory, and some believe that foliage protects the roots from freezing. Others mercilessly remove all the leaves, even crop the beds with a lawn mower. However, most gardeners choose the medium variant: removing part of the old haulm, removing excess mustaches, except those needed for breeding, and weeding. This procedure should be done immediately after harvesting the latest berries.

Autumn processing of strawberries, if necessary, includes spraying plants and land from pests and diseases. Removing old foliage and sick and infected plants will not help get rid of larvae and harmful spores, since they will still remain in the soil. Therefore, it is necessary to use special preparations, for example, carbofos from a transparent tick, methaldehyde from slugs and snails, copper oxychloride from gray rot, and so on.

Another autumn treatment of strawberries involves loosening and fertilization. Loosening is the best way to make the soil easier, which will promote good plant growth in the spring. Strawberries should be fertilized after harvesting, but it is important not to exceed the dosage. This berry is very sensitive to the concentration of salts in the soil, so it is so important not to exceed the volume of fertilizers.

Shelter for the winter

The last thing to do is to cover the strawberries for the winter. Protection will be needed if the winter is cold or little snow. As a covering layer, a mulch layer 20 cm thick is used. This can be straw (only without seeds, otherwise the voles will be started), needles, tarsa or dry corn leaves. Even you can hide the beds with agrofiber, although this is quite expensive material. But the film can cover strawberries, only if there are no other options - it prevents the circulation of air, so that the foliage prohibits and decays. An ideal environment for the development of fungi and bacteria is formed, and plants are easily affected by gray and brown rot.

Autumn processing of strawberries takes a long time, but it guarantees a high yield for the next year.