Strawberries are a crop that is demanding on soil conditions. Berry bushes will take root in soil that warms up well and allows air to pass through, easily absorbs, but does not accumulate water. Black soil is considered the best option, but it is rare.
Therefore, you have to use the soil composition that is available, after making it as suitable as possible for the plant.
Preparing the site
It is better to plant berry crops in a new, previously unused area. If this is not possible, follow the rules of crop rotation: strawberries are allowed to be planted after garlic, carrots, legumes, dill, and beets. The predecessors of the crop should not be plants from the Solanaceae and Pumpkin families.
They begin to prepare the place in advance: they dig the ground deeply, clear it of weeds, stones, and branches. Check the quality of the soil - it should not be brackish, acidic or calcareous.
Increasing soil fertility
Neutral and slightly acidic soils, loamy or sandy loam in structure, are suitable for strawberries.
If the soil is clayey and heavy, add peat (a bucket per 1 sq. m) and sand (2 buckets per 1 sq. m). If sandy, per 1 sq. m add a bucket of dry clay substrate and 3 buckets of humus.
Wood ash (up to 800 g per sq. m) will cope with high acidity.You can replace ash with dolomite flour. Work is carried out 6 months before planting.
Fertility will increase after using fertilizers: simple superphosphate (50 g per 1 sq. m) and potassium sulfate (20 g per 1 sq. m). Compost is also added (6 kg per 1 sq. m). Good results are achieved by complexes of useful substances designed specifically for strawberries - ready-made formulations are easy to find on sale.
You need to fertilize the soil 3 weeks before planting, evenly distributing the substances over the dug up area. After adding nutrients, the soil is dug up again.
Destruction of pathogenic microorganisms
No less important is the procedure for neutralizing the soil - getting rid of fungal and bacterial infections and pests.
The soil is disinfected with the help of special preparations - fungicides (Fitoflavina-VRK, Akrobata MC, Gamaira). Biological insecticides are used to treat harmful insects. The procedure is carried out 2 weeks before planting.
The future place where strawberries will grow can be watered once with a solution of copper sulfate (50 g of the substance is diluted in 1 bucket of water), which will neutralize the soil.
The soil, prepared according to all the rules, will help the planted berry bushes to quickly take root on the site.
