We save bushes from cold weather or how to cover strawberries for the winter

Preparing for the cold

It is a known fact that the roots of this plant can die even at temperatures of about minus 8 degrees. And the part of strawberries growing on the surface may not fully recover when the thermometer drops to minus 9. What should gardeners do in this situation? To avoid trouble and protect the plant in the cold season, you should cover the strawberries in advance.

To have time to do this before the onset of the first cold weather, to protect the roots, you need to make a special shelter and hide the strawberries under a snow cap. But not only snow will become your faithful assistant in covering the plant. It is also recommended to feed the root system with manure or other components of organic origin. Mulching will also help protect the plant.

Beginning in the middle of autumn, you should prepare strawberries for the upcoming winter. If this is done a little earlier, then in the presence of a high air temperature, the opposite effect can be achieved - plants can rot in covered ground. Freezing of the ground by 4 - 5 centimeters should be a guideline for starting a complex of measures to shelter a plant.

Shelter technique

Strawberries should grow healthy leaves by the onset of winter, which will be an excellent protection for the buds from frost. In the fall, you should follow the rules of agricultural technology, applying fertilizers and removing pests. At the end of summer, it is advised to loosen the ground near the bushes. Do not transplant strawberries late. Weeds are also best removed in the spring. Snow can serve as the best thermal insulation for a plant, since it does not allow the soil to freeze.

A layer of mulch, consisting of humus, reeds, peat, pine and spruce needles, and reeds, can prevent cracking of the soil. Its stock should be stored in bags or simply dumped near the strawberry beds. The mulch should be used in an amount of approximately one bag per 24 to 26 bushes of the plant. Dry mulch, taken in an armful, should be overlaid on all sides with adult strawberry bushes, the layer should be about 10 - 15 cm.

After the onset of the first slight frosts, the strawberries must be covered. It is important to take into account factors such as the geographical location of the site and its microclimate. Cover the strawberry bushes with plenty of straw to protect them. Just make sure that the straw does not come across seeds that can attract rodents, or sawdust.

In order to properly make a shelter for a plant, a material such as agrofibre is used. The thickness of the strawberry shelter layer should be about 6 - 8 cm. In the event that a little snow falls in winter, the bushes not covered with it can die due to the onset of sharp frosts. To delay the melting of snow in your garden, it is recommended to shade it with large boxes or other materials that are at hand. When the heat comes, the bushes of the plant should be freed from the covering material so that they can have an area for normal growth and development.

Agrofibre is also capable of helping in the fight against the negative impact of spring frosts on strawberries. They need to cover the plant at night and remove material in the morning to allow the bees to pollinate the plant. Experts advise, whenever possible, to grow those strawberry varieties that are most suitable for your region. In the presence of a sufficiently large layer of snow, they can overwinter even without a special shelter.

Shelter material

Many gardeners are concerned with an important question - how to cover strawberries for the winter? In a snowless winter, the best plant materials that will help you cover and protect strawberries from freezing are leaves, hay, straw, spruce branches. Experts call spruce spruce branches the best option, under the layer of which dry raspberry branches or brushwood can be placed in order to provide plants with air access.

Another plant material, pine needles, has also proven itself well. It is sufficiently breathable, while it has thermal insulation properties and does not allow strawberry bushes to evaporate. Adult plants should be sprinkled with needles, as if hilling them in a circle, and young bushes can be covered completely. Even if there is no snow at all, and the thermometer drops to minus 25 degrees, with this method of protection, a sufficient amount of heat will be retained on the ground.

If it is impossible to get the needles or spruce branches, you can use the purchased material for the shelter, which bears the name "Agrotex". It will not allow rodents to settle near the bushes, is breathable, is able to provide access to light and water, and can neutralize unwanted temperature changes.

Even in the presence of severe frosts, the temperature under such material will be much higher than in an open space. This air-dry method is quite good for small beds. In addition to Agrotex, you can also use Spunbond or even a film. Some gardeners have adapted to making strawberry cover with these materials without the use of arcs. But experts do not advise covering plants without arcs with materials, because there is a danger of freezing in places of contact.

Video "Preparing strawberries for winter"

The video shows one of the methods for sheltering strawberry bushes for the winter.