To update strawberry beds, gardeners often use a simple and affordable breeding method - a mustache. Each strawberry bush can be a source of several seedlings at once. We will learn how to propagate a culture using a mustache, and what are the advantages of this method.
Fundamental rules
Strawberry bushes, as they grow, start up long shoots - a mustache with compact bushes, which eventually grow roots. It turns out an excellent planting material - a socket with a developed root system.
Many gardeners, propagating strawberries with a mustache, act at their discretion, not observing the rules of agricultural technology. This is a major mistake when breeding a crop.
In order not to lose the quality and quantity of berries when planting bushes, you should follow the rules of mustache propagation:
- Only the best sockets are used, strong, healthy, free from damage or defects.
- You cannot take planting material from bushes that have berries. It is necessary to determine in advance which bushes will bear fruit and which will become suppliers of planting material.
Fruiting bushes spend a lot of energy on berries, so they lack nutrients to form a strong planting material.
If strawberry bushes are used simultaneously for fruit and seedlings, their yield drops by 30%, and the berries become smaller and become less tasty.
Most strawberry varieties can be propagated with a mustache. This method of planting only remontant berries is not suitable.
Benefits of growing strawberries with a mustache
Mustache planting is a universal method of reproduction, which helps gardeners solve several problems at once. Without spending money on the purchase of seedlings, you can update the berries, plant a variety or plant new plots.
Benefits:
- no special containers for growing seedlings;
- do not have to sow seeds in the ground, grow seedlings;
- no special room (greenhouse, greenhouse) is required for growing seedlings;
- you do not have to spend money on the purchase of planting material;
- seedlings take root quickly and well;
- varietal characteristics are fully preserved.
Even hybrids can be propagated with a mustache, which, as you know, do not transmit their varietal characteristics through seeds.
Optimal timing
It is believed that strawberries provide the highest quality planting material in early summer. Each region has its own landing dates - you have to make a correction for the climate. When planting, it is recommended to focus not so much on calendar dates as on the readiness of seedlings.
The first rudiments of the mustache roots are formed no earlier than June. They are separated from the mother plant after a maximum of 8 weeks. In the Middle Lane, strawberry bushes should take root by the end of July, but no later than the end of August. Therefore, seating outlets should be done in the middle of summer.
What does the planting material look like, ready for transplant:
- the rosette is well developed and has at least 4 leaves;
- the bush is already rooted, it has powerful roots at least 7 cm long.
If you plant seedlings in the summer, it will have time to adapt to a new place in the time remaining before the cold weather, stock up on strength and prepare for wintering. The bushes, separated from the mother plant, bear fruit the next summer.
Transplanting strawberries should be done in cloudy and damp weather.
How to choose a mother bush?
The life of a strawberry bush in garden beds is limited to three years - then their use is not rational. They grow old, weaken, give a meager harvest. For the time allotted to the berry-grower, you need to find bushes with an optimal gene pool - the seedlings will be taken from them.
Rules for choosing mother liquors:
- In the first year of life, prune the shoots from each bush so that they channel the forces towards forming the crop. While the bushes are bearing fruit, pay attention to their development, how they bloom, how many berries they give, how large, sweet, etc. they are.
- For mother plants, select bushes that during the development and fruiting have shown their best side. Look for disease-resistant specimens that have produced many quality berries.
- In order not to confuse the bushes, mark the selected mother liquors. Use bright stickers, ribbons, etc. for this.
- In the second year of life, remove the growing shoots, buds and stems with inflorescences from the mother plants - the bush should direct all the forces to the formation of young rosettes.
How to choose a mustache?
On the mustache, which appears a few weeks after the start of the growing season, it is necessary to select the "first line" rosettes - they are located as close to the mother bush, have a developed root system and a spreading aerial part.
All other growth must be removed so that the bush does not waste energy. Often gardeners leave only one outlet at the mother bush, the largest. If seedlings are not enough, you can leave the “second line” sockets.
How to prune seedlings?
The preparation of a seedling for separation from the "nutrient base" begins as soon as roots appear on it. The rosettes are pinned to the ground, deepening them a little. This is done by pre-watering and loosening the soil. Further, the growing seedlings are looked after according to standard agricultural techniques.
A couple of weeks before transplanting the outlets to a permanent place, somewhere in early July, they need to be cut off from the mother bushes. The cut is made closer to the sockets so that they do not waste energy on the processes that have become unnecessary for them.
From the beds of mulched, or tightened with a film, the sockets have to be cut without roots. They are placed for 24 hours in a solution of a biostimulator - Epin, Kornevin, Zircon.
You can use peat pots - rosettes are planted in them at the stage of root formation, without separating from the mother liquors. In order for the shoots to take root faster and develop better, it is recommended to feed them with growth stimulants - Biolan, Ekosil, etc.
Growing seedlings
There is another option for the preparation of seedlings taken from a strawberry mustache. The mustache is cut off before the roots appear on the young.
How to grow seedlings:
- Dip the cut rosettes into well-moistened peat. The most convenient option is peat tablets.
- Arrange the planted seedlings on a tray filled with water.
- Cover the seedling tray with a transparent lid.
Thanks to the creation of a special microclimate, sockets take root faster. This method allows you to accelerate the formation of roots and planting seedlings. If the gardener does not have time to plant strawberries by the deadline, growing in a mini-greenhouse allows you to speed up the process.
When growing seedlings, in any way - in pots or in soil, you must:
- Monitor moisture level. Water has to be added to the pan periodically. The seedlings are watered so as to prevent dryness or waterlogging. On the ground, seedlings are watered every 2-3 days.
- Feed with nitrogenous fertilizers. For example, a solution from bird droppings (1:50).
If the seedlings grow next to the mother bushes, it is necessary to loosen the soil around them. Do this very carefully, trying not to hurt the roots.
Preparation of beds
A few days before planting the seedlings, they begin to prepare the beds. The plot is chosen sunny, with protection from the winds. Favorable predecessors are carrots, radishes, beets, garlic, herbs. You can not plant strawberries after tomatoes, potatoes, zucchini, pumpkin, raspberries.
The soil in the berry should be loose, soft, airy. For this:
- Dig the area to the depth of the shovel bayonet. Remove all weeds, roots, stones and debris as you dig.
- Add wood ash to the ground - approximately 300 g per 1 sq. Km. m, peat and sawdust - a bucket per 1 sq. m.
- Shovel the fertilizer applied. Use a pitchfork for this purpose.
In parallel with organic chemistry, you can also make mineral fertilizers - 40 g of superphosphate per 1 running meter, and complex fertilizing for berries, for example, Kemiru-Lux.
Transplanting
Planting seedlings is carried out in the morning or evening, when there is no sun. Bushes are placed in rows, nests or separately. There is another option - carpet, in which the bushes are planted in random order.
The most popular growing method is in rows. Two options are practiced:
- One line. The intervals between the bushes are 25 cm, the row spacing is from 60 to 80 cm.
- Two-line. Between the bushes leave a distance of 25 cm, between rows - 30-40 cm, row spacing - 60-80 cm.
The procedure for planting seedlings:
- Using sharp scissors, cut the rosette from the mother bush at a distance of about 10 cm. The rosette should have a mustache about 20 cm long - it will protect the seedling from drying out.
- Sanitize seedlings. To do this, prepare a solution by mixing 3 tbsp. l. table salt, 1 tsp copper sulfate and 5 liters of water. Immerse the roots of the seedlings in the solution for 10 minutes.
- Prepare seedling holes according to the selected planting pattern. Pour them with warm, settled water. The norm of water per one fathom is 500-700 ml.
- Place the rosette in the hole so that its foot goes deep into the loose substrate, the uterine "tail" should remain on the surface.
The core of the outlet cannot be deepened, it must be at the level of the surface. If it is sprinkled with soil, it will begin to rot, if left too high, it will dry out or freeze. - Water the planted sockets abundantly - the beds should be literally filled with water. This will allow the roots to start rooting immediately.
- To make sure that the bush is properly planted, pull it slightly towards you, it should not be pulled out.
In one row it is allowed to plant no more than two varieties of strawberries.
If it is rainy weather, the bed is covered with a film - it is pulled over strong wire or plastic arcs. The makeshift greenhouses are left open to allow free air circulation.
Outlets do not need to be transplanted if there is room on the beds. They will not experience the stress of moving from place to place. The mustache is simply directed to the place where the outlet is supposed to be rooted, and fixed, creating new rows.
Care of young plantings
Outlets planted at the end of summer have to be looked after until the very cold. During this time, they will have time not only to take root, but also grow a little.
How to care for strawberry seedlings:
- Cover the beds with clear material. Shelter protects plantings not only from rain, but also from the sun - it can damage young plants.
- Water the strawberries regularly to keep the soil from drying out. Watering rate - 1 liter of water per bush. After watering, loosen the aisles, simultaneously removing weeds.
- To prevent evaporation of moisture from the soil, mulch the aisles with peat, humus, sawdust. This will save time and effort on weed control - mulch inhibits their growth.
- A month after planting, top-dress. Apply potassium sulfate or any compound fertilizer for berries. Then gently spud the bushes (this promotes the formation of roots).
- Warm the strawberry beds for the winter. For example, with needles - it protects from frost and lets air through.
When caring for strawberry seedlings, the current weather conditions must be taken into account. If the disembarkation is made closer to autumn, rains may begin and the beds will not have to be watered (if the shelter has already been removed by then).
Typical mistakes
Mustache propagation is a simple, at first glance, way. But he has many subtleties that gardeners do not know, forget or neglect.
Mustache propagation errors:
- Early mustache trimming. If you hurry with the separation of the outlet from the uterine bush, he does not have time to form a developed root system.
- Uncontrolled mustache growth. If too many rosettes are formed on the bush, they turn out small and underdeveloped. They are not viable and take root in a new place for a long time.
- Repeated transplants. If you transplant the sockets several times from place to place, their roots are damaged, the bushes weaken, take root for a long time and do not tolerate winter well.
- Landing in heat or rain. Transplanting seedlings in rainy weather leads to the development of fungal diseases and other infections. In the heat, the plant weakens, its immunity decreases.
- Untreated soil. Strawberries need loose soil with a neutral pH for growth. If you plant seedlings in the ground that is not properly prepared, they will be weak, will not give a good harvest, or will not take root at all.
Propagating strawberries with a mustache, the gardener not only expands and renews the berry, but also lays the foundation for the future harvest. The future yield of new bushes depends on how correctly the mustache transplant is carried out.
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Russia. City Novosibirsk
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