Strawberries are a very tasty and healthy berry. True, you can only buy truly healthy ones in the summer from grandmothers or summer residents. What to do if you want to enjoy homemade berries all year round? There is a solution: you can grow berries on the windowsill. This process is not easy, but nothing is impossible.
Growing in soil
For planting strawberries, ordinary universal soil, which is sold in any flower shop, is suitable. There are also no special requirements for the pot, the main thing is that it has drainage holes. A layer of drainage is poured onto the bottom of the pot: it can be expanded clay, small crushed stone or broken brick.
Soil is poured on top of the drainage and a strawberry seedling is planted in it. For strawberries, free space is important, so 1 seedling is planted in a 3-liter pot; if long flowerpots are used, then the distance between the bushes is left at least 15 cm.
Strawberries need a lot of light to grow actively. Therefore, it is better to start growing it in June on a window that faces the south or southeast side. In winter, the plant will have to extend the daylight hours with the help of a phytolamp.
The berry does not like drought, so it needs to be watered often - 3-4 times a week in the hot season and 2-3 times a week in winter, but you should not overwater the bushes so that the roots do not start to rot. In addition, during the period of flowering and berry growth, the plant must be fertilized.Universal mineral fertilizers are suitable for this.
Gardeners recommend the following varieties for growing on a windowsill:
- Queen Elizabeth II;
- Zenga-Zengana;
- Brighton;
- Elsanta;
- Alexandrina and others.
DIY hydroponics
This method of growing strawberries is used mainly for production, as it requires special knowledge, skills and equipment. The essence of this method is that the plant does not need soil at all, but instead uses coconut substrate, mineral wool or expanded clay. But not all varieties are suitable for growing using this method. The varieties mainly used are Fresco, Mount Everest, Olvia, Shchedraya, Korona and others.
To grow berries using the hydroponic method, it is best to purchase special grow boxes in which all the rules for watering and fertilizing are already followed. But if this is not possible, then you can build it yourself.
We take an ordinary plastic bottle and cut off the top part of it, leave the neck open, through this hole the strawberry roots will receive nutrients. Pour hard substrate into a plastic container and plant the seedlings shallowly. We make holes in the PVC pipe with a diameter of 2–3 cm, depending on the neck of the bottle. We drill holes at a distance of 10–15 cm and insert “pots” with a plant into them. One edge of the pipe must be closed with a plug, and a corner must be screwed to the other, which will serve as a watering can for supplying water and fertilizer.
Hydroponics is almost ready. You just need to equip the lighting for at least 14–16 hours a day. Regular fluorescent lamps are suitable for this. The air temperature in the room should be maintained at 18 degrees at night and 25 degrees during the day.
The “working solution” is poured into the PVC pipe and aerated using a compressor.
A ready-made “working solution” can be purchased in specialized stores or prepared yourself. But in this case you need to be very careful, since an overdose of one or another substance will lead to a deterioration in the taste of the berries or even to the death of the bushes. Prepare a solution based on distilled water and add the following microelements (per 1 liter of liquid):
- Ca – 200 ml;
- N – 150 ml;
- P – 70 ml;
- Mg - 50 ml;
- K – 100 ml;
- Mn – 0.5 ml;
- Zn – 0.5 ml;
- B – 0.5 ml;
- NH4 - 4 ml.
It is also worth remembering that at different stages of the growing season the plant needs different amounts of nutrients. For example, during the ripening stage of berries, the amount of nitrogen should be reduced. Potassium is required by the plant at the very beginning of the growing season, and is not added during the flowering stage.
By and large, caring for strawberries is no more difficult than caring for an orchid. But the result will please and surprise everyone. Not every family eats fresh, aromatic strawberries in winter.
