How To Grow Your Own Organic Strawberries
By Larry Marragay
Imagine yourself eating your favorite strawberries that you grew it on your own. Is it nice to see a part of your garden or in your balcony that is full of strawberries? When you grow your own strawberries, you can save a few dollars from buying it in supermarkets. Surely, you will be delighted when you will now know on how to grow organic strawberries and yard pesticides will help you combat those pesky insects that destroy your crops. Growing strawberries is not as hard as you might think. Just follow these following tips and guideline and in no time you can harvest your own organic strawberries in your own home.
When planting strawberries, we need to consider these three important factors: the sun, fertilized or rich soil, and good drainage. These three are essential for the success of growing your own berries. The first one is the sun. These strawberries need exposure to the sun at least hours a day. So position your plant in the art of the garden where you can expose it to the sun. Next is the soil. When choosing an area to plant, you must clear the area with the weed and grass to make sure that they will not get the nutrients that is intended for the strawberries. Another important thing is that the soil must be well fertilized or has increased organic matter to let you berries grow faster and healthier. Next is proper drainage. Straw do not live well if they sit into the water, they need moisture but too much will kill them. That is why proper drainage is a must when growing strawberries.
After you have selected your site and prepared everything, what you need to choose is the type of strawberry that you will grow. There are three types of strawberries available in the market: the June bearing, the ever bearing, and the day bearing. They are harvested on different seasons according to its types and also, they have their own limitations and strengths.
For the June bearing type of strawberry, as its names says, it only bears its tasty fruits during the month of June. You can buy its seeds during its season, in the month of June. This type of strawberry is a large type and can produce a lot of fruit at the same time. But they will produce fruit during its season only.
The other type of strawberry is the ever bearing. These type produces its fruits between the late spring and early fall. They develop regularly but they are relatively small than the June bearing type. You can harvest these strawberries a lot of time in a season.
The third type is the day neutral type. They produce fruits regularly between spring and fall but they bear larger fruits during the fall season. They are small types but can be harvest a lot of times and the only disadvantage of this type is that they do not usually survive in areas that have hot climates especially in the summer.
Imagine yourself eating your favorite strawberries that you grew it on your own. Is it nice to see a part of your garden or in your balcony that is full of strawberries? When you grow your own strawberries, you can save a few dollars from buying it in supermarkets. Surely, you will be delighted when you will now know on how to grow organic strawberries and yard pesticides will help you combat those pesky insects that destroy your crops. Growing strawberries is not as hard as you might think. Just follow these following tips and guideline and in no time you can harvest your own organic strawberries in your own home.
When planting strawberries, we need to consider these three important factors: the sun, fertilized or rich soil, and good drainage. These three are essential for the success of growing your own berries. The first one is the sun. These strawberries need exposure to the sun at least hours a day. So position your plant in the art of the garden where you can expose it to the sun. Next is the soil. When choosing an area to plant, you must clear the area with the weed and grass to make sure that they will not get the nutrients that is intended for the strawberries. Another important thing is that the soil must be well fertilized or has increased organic matter to let you berries grow faster and healthier. Next is proper drainage. Straw do not live well if they sit into the water, they need moisture but too much will kill them. That is why proper drainage is a must when growing strawberries.
After you have selected your site and prepared everything, what you need to choose is the type of strawberry that you will grow. There are three types of strawberries available in the market: the June bearing, the ever bearing, and the day bearing. They are harvested on different seasons according to its types and also, they have their own limitations and strengths.
For the June bearing type of strawberry, as its names says, it only bears its tasty fruits during the month of June. You can buy its seeds during its season, in the month of June. This type of strawberry is a large type and can produce a lot of fruit at the same time. But they will produce fruit during its season only.
The other type of strawberry is the ever bearing. These type produces its fruits between the late spring and early fall. They develop regularly but they are relatively small than the June bearing type. You can harvest these strawberries a lot of time in a season.
The third type is the day neutral type. They produce fruits regularly between spring and fall but they bear larger fruits during the fall season. They are small types but can be harvest a lot of times and the only disadvantage of this type is that they do not usually survive in areas that have hot climates especially in the summer.
Now, let us go to the fun part, planting the strawberries. It is quite simple to plant these delicious treats, you just prepare the area you chose then, dig a hole and plant it, make sure that the crown of the plant is overlapping the soil. After planting it, water the plants and put some organic materials like dead leaves, manure, or straws to keep it nourished. There are some advices from planters that you must not plant it near tomatoes, eggplants, potatoes, or peppers because these plants can have Verticillium wilt and this can infect and kill your strawberry plants.
After all the hard work of choosing the location and planting the berries, let us now go on with the exhausting part, its maintenance. Strawberries do not like to be soaked in water, but they need sufficient moisture to keep them hydrated and alive. Water it as much as possible but make sure you proper drainage to it. Next is fertilizing the soil. Strawberries really need nutrition so that they can produce healthy looking and delicious fruits. Continuously provide organic materials to continuously give the strawberries the nutrition they need. Also, you need to remove all those weeds that grew out of nowhere.
Next is the pest control. Having pests can really be a big problem in your crops and if it becomes severe you might lose all of your hard work. One of the most annoying pests in growing strawberries is not those insects, but instead, the birds. They love to snatch those berries even if they are still not ripe. If you want them to keep them away from your beloved berries, cover the fruit or the entire plant with nets. There are a lot of bird nets available in your local garden stores or you can buy it online because it is more affordable.
There are also other pests that can feast on your berries, these are the snails. For some reason, they really like these fruits. If you want those snails away from your berries, put copper fences around the plant. They will not try to cross these copper fences because they will create an electric reaction when the copper and their slime come in contact.
Lastly, the most destructive of all the pests are the fungi called verticillium wilt. They can make your plants not grow any fruit and will eventually kill your plants. When your plant exhibits signs of infection with these fungi, you cannot control or remove it. The best thing to do is to discard the infected plant immediately and plant to other areas to prevent re infection. The best way to prevent these from happening is to spray a little pesticide and choose a variety of berries that are resistant to it.
If you follow these guidelines and tips, you will surely harvest a lot of your favorite strawberries and all your efforts will be worth it.
After all the hard work of choosing the location and planting the berries, let us now go on with the exhausting part, its maintenance. Strawberries do not like to be soaked in water, but they need sufficient moisture to keep them hydrated and alive. Water it as much as possible but make sure you proper drainage to it. Next is fertilizing the soil. Strawberries really need nutrition so that they can produce healthy looking and delicious fruits. Continuously provide organic materials to continuously give the strawberries the nutrition they need. Also, you need to remove all those weeds that grew out of nowhere.
Next is the pest control. Having pests can really be a big problem in your crops and if it becomes severe you might lose all of your hard work. One of the most annoying pests in growing strawberries is not those insects, but instead, the birds. They love to snatch those berries even if they are still not ripe. If you want them to keep them away from your beloved berries, cover the fruit or the entire plant with nets. There are a lot of bird nets available in your local garden stores or you can buy it online because it is more affordable.
There are also other pests that can feast on your berries, these are the snails. For some reason, they really like these fruits. If you want those snails away from your berries, put copper fences around the plant. They will not try to cross these copper fences because they will create an electric reaction when the copper and their slime come in contact.
Lastly, the most destructive of all the pests are the fungi called verticillium wilt. They can make your plants not grow any fruit and will eventually kill your plants. When your plant exhibits signs of infection with these fungi, you cannot control or remove it. The best thing to do is to discard the infected plant immediately and plant to other areas to prevent re infection. The best way to prevent these from happening is to spray a little pesticide and choose a variety of berries that are resistant to it.
If you follow these guidelines and tips, you will surely harvest a lot of your favorite strawberries and all your efforts will be worth it.
