The best choice of strawberries for your family
Yes, covering strawberries with straw for the winter makes sense.😄
Continue reading “Does Straw Mulch Make Sense for Winter Strawberry Protection? A Match Made in Winter Heaven”
To ensure that strawberries in containers overwinter well, perform the following actions🙂:
Continue reading “Winterizing Potted Strawberry Plants?”
Diet plays a crucial role in combating diabetes and insulin resistance, two common metabolic diseases. However, the question often arises whether sweet fruits, such as strawberries, can be safe and beneficial for those affected by these conditions?
Strawberry 🍓 enthusiasts, rejoice because we have good news for you! Strawberries not only provide pleasure in terms of taste but are also low in calories, rich in fiber, and full of nutrients that offer numerous benefits for diabetics, individuals suffering from insulin resistance, and other metabolic diseases.
Continue reading “Strawberries: A Miraculous Treat for Diabetics?”
The ketogenic diet,🙂 also known as the keto diet, is gaining increasing popularity as an effective weight loss and health improvement method. It is based on the principle of limiting carbohydrate intake and increasing fat consumption. In such a case, many fruits may be excluded from the diet due to their sugar content.
Continue reading “Keto and Strawberries: A Healthy Pairing on Your Plate”
Growing your own strawberries has numerous advantages that can benefit both our health and the environment. In this article, I will present the most important reasons why it’s worth considering growing these beautiful fruits on your own.😊
1. Freshness and Taste 🍓
Nothing beats the taste of freshly picked strawberries from your own garden. By growing strawberries ourselves, we can be sure that they are the freshest and most delicious. Access to fresh fruits straight from the bush is not only a guarantee of the best Continue reading “Benefits of Growing Your Own Strawberries: Why You Should?”
Growing strawberries in polytunnels is an excellent way to extend the harvest season and protect the plants from adverse weather conditions and pests. For amateur, home cultivation in polytunnels, it’s particularly suitable to choose varieties that are disease-resistant and have good taste properties. Here are a few strawberry varieties that may prove successful in this type of cultivation:
‘Honeoye’: An early variety known for its hardiness and abundant harvests. ‘Honeoye’ strawberries are quite attractive in taste and appearance. Plants of this variety thrive very well in the tunnel.
‘Elsanta’: A very popular variety valued for its large, juicy fruits with excellent taste and appearance. ‘Elsanta’ responds exceptionally well to tunnel cultivation.
‘Clery’: A very early variety yielding sweet, aromatic fruits. ‘Clery’ is also relatively disease-resistant, making it just right for tunnels.
‘Korona’: This variety is known for its large, tasty fruits. ‘Korona’ adapts well to various conditions and is relatively easy to cultivate, even under covers.
Vibrant: A very early variety with long fruiting (up to 60 days) and beautiful, delicious fruits. An excellent choice to plant in a tunnel.
‘Kent’: Characterized by tasty, vividly red fruits with exceptional post-harvest durability. This very fruitful variety is resistant to gray mold and begins to fruit very early in tunnel cultivation.
‘Aprica’: Valued for its tasty and extremely attractive fruits, which are large, shiny, and durable. A fruitful variety that is resistant to many diseases of the leaves and root system, and it loves to grow in a tunnel.
‘San Andreas’: A repeat-flowering variety distinguished by large, shiny, and extremely tasty fruits. In tunnel cultivation, San Andreas fruits from the end of May to late autumn.
‘Ania’: Similar to San Andreas, it fruits from spring until the first frosts. This variety features large, oval, highly shiny, and extremely sweet fruits. Thanks to its relatively high resistance to many diseases, it is quite easy to cultivate, even in tunnels.
Slugs can be a problem in strawberry cultivation, as these soft, moisture-loving creatures often feed on the leaves and fruits. There are several methods of combating slugs in strawberry crops that can be applied:
Physical Barriers:
Spread materials around the strawberries that make it difficult for slugs to move, such as ash, sand, fine gravel, or eggshells. Slugs do not like to squeeze through sharp or rough surfaces.
You can also apply special rings or barriers around the plants, made of plastic or metal.
Traps:
Setting traps for slugs is a popular method. The simplest trap is a bowl of beer, buried in the ground so that its edges are at ground level. Slugs are attracted to the smell of beer, fall into the trap, and drown.
You can also use traps purchased at a garden store.
Manual Collection:
Regularly checking the crops in the evening or early morning (slugs are most active at these times) and manually collecting slugs is a simple, but time-consuming method.
Biological Control:
Using natural predators, such as ground beetles or certain species of birds, can help control slug populations.
Introducing entomopathogenic nematodes, which naturally attack slugs, is another biological control method.
Chemical Means:
Chemical agents, such as slug pellets containing metaldehyde or iron phosphate, are effective but should be used with caution, especially in amateur crops. I personally advise against using these types of preparations, but if you decide to use them (they are effective), always follow the manufacturer’s instructions.
Maintaining Garden Cleanliness:
Removing plant residues, old leaves, and other shelters for slugs will help reduce their population.
Cultivating Repellent Plants:
Planting plants that naturally repel slugs, such as garlic, sage, or plants with a strong scent, near strawberries, can help deter slugs.
Remember to always choose slug control methods that are safe for the environment and do not harm beneficial organisms in your garden. In the case of using chemical agents, always follow the recommendations for their use to ensure that eating our strawberries is safe
On large production plantations, the standard for combating weeds is the use of herbicides. Unfortunately, many studies indicate that they are not indifferent to our health, which is why I advise against their use in amateur strawberry 🍓 cultivation Continue reading “Weeds In Strawberries – How To Deal With Them? Natural Methods”
Of course, you can and definitely should.
Finely ground branches left over from pruning fruit trees can be successfully used as mulch for strawberries🍓 Continue reading “Shredded Twigs as Mulch for Strawberries: Feasibility and Benefits?”
Strawberry pests can be diverse and require different control methods. Here are some common strawberry pests, ways to recognize them, and methods to deal with them:🙂
Recognition: Small, usually green or black insects, often gather on the underside of leaves. Control: Use of natural predators, such as ladybugs, application of garden soap or chemical agents suitable for controlling aphids.
Recognition: Visible slime trails on plants and fruits.
Control: Manual collection, beer traps, use of anti-slug granules (with caution), maintaining a dry environment around plants.
Recognition: Damage to leaves and fruits, larvae may be visible on plants or in the soil.
Control: Manual removal of larvae, use of appropriate insecticides, encouraging the presence of natural predators.
Recognition: Small, shield-like insects on plants or white, cottony spots.
Control: Spraying with isopropyl alcohol or garden soap, use of neem oil, manual removal.
Recognition: Tiny, red or yellow insects, spider webs on plants.
Control: Use of garden soap, neem oil, increasing air humidity, use of acaricides.
Recognition: Damage to plants, presence of insects in the soil.
Control: Maintaining a dry environment, traps, limiting shelters.
It’s important to remember that the best approach is to use integrated pest management, which combines different pest control methods, from natural to chemical, depending on needs. Always use chemical agents in accordance with the label and pay attention to the possible impact on the environment and other organisms in the garden. Moreover, regular plant inspections and maintaining a healthy cultivation environment can significantly contribute to reducing the pest problem.
