Rules for growing strawberries using Dutch technology

Today it is possible to grow strawberries on your own all year round. For these purposes, specialists have developed various methods. One such way is to grow strawberries using Dutch technology. In this article we will look at everything related to this technology.

The essence of Dutch technology

The principle of Dutch strawberry cultivation technology is that the plant is planted indoors. This can be a greenhouse, special bags, pallets, boxes and flower pots. The choice of a place for year-round growth depends on how much crop you want to harvest and for what needs.

Since any plant "falls asleep" for the winter, this method involves the "awakening" of strawberries in order to obtain a harvest. This is achieved by creating the necessary conditions for the growth of seedlings. To provide strawberry bushes, it is necessary to ensure the supply of all the necessary nutrients for them, in this case, a nutrient solution is used, which is dripped (using various tubes) to each seedling.

The placement of seedlings when using Dutch technology is allowed both vertical and horizontal. The placement method depends on you and the available space. In addition, when growing strawberries using Dutch technology, it is necessary to provide the plant with additional lighting so as not to reduce the yield. Harvesting all year round, in this case, is achieved by constantly planting new plants (the time interval is about two months).

Advantages

Due to the presence of a number of advantages, this method of growing strawberries has become one of the most popular. Consider all the advantages of growing strawberries using Dutch technology:

• the possibility of planting seedlings in absolutely any containers: pots, bags, boxes, pallets;
• the possibility of vertical placement of plants (when breeding in bags), which makes it possible to obtain a sufficiently large crop volume even on a small area;
• the ability to achieve maximum natural light (when using greenhouses with transparent walls);
• the possibility of planting seedlings at home: on the balcony, windowsill, garage;
• the possibility of avoiding infection of seedlings with various bacteria, since the above-described container can withstand repeated sanitization;
• getting a harvest every 1.5-2 months, which allows the use of this technology for commercial purposes;
• strawberries using Dutch technology are in no way inferior to berries grown in the usual way;
• simplicity and convenience of the method. Having adjusted the installation once, you can only engage in its support, spending a minimum of effort on it;
• the taste characteristics of the grown berries do not differ from the natural growth.

Such an impressive list of advantages allows us to state that the Dutch strawberry cultivation technology is practically the most optimal method for obtaining large volumes of harvest year-round.

Which varieties are suitable?

Before any person, when he decides to apply a similar method of strawberry production, the question becomes: which variety is best to use in this situation? In this case, it is recommended to use remontant strawberry varieties, which, when grown outdoors, give very impressive harvest volumes. In addition, remember that any plant that has been grown indoors is devoid of natural pollination. Therefore, experienced gardeners recommend using only self-pollinated varieties for the Dutch strawberry cultivation technology. Otherwise, you can get flowers without berries.Or you will have to run around with a brush and pollinate all the flowers yourself, and this is already quite problematic (especially with large growing areas).

The most preferred varieties for growing strawberries with Dutch technology are: Maria, Tristar, Selva, Elsanta, Sonata, Tribute, Marmolada, Polka, Darselect, Mrak.

Growing

After the varieties have been selected, you can proceed to direct cultivation.

The first step is to get seedlings. You can grow it yourself from seeds, or you can use mustaches and rosettes from mother bushes that grew in the open field. To do this, in the first year, you need to cut off all whiskers and peduncles from the mother plant. Next year, such a bush will give about 20 whiskers. They need to be rooted and then strong rosettes will turn out from them in the fall. We dig these outlets and either plant them in a specially prepared indoor ground, or put them in storage at an air temperature of -2 degrees. A refrigerator is perfect for these purposes. At the same time, do not forget that all leaves and vegetative shoots should be removed before storage; it is forbidden to trim the roots or rinse them.

The day before planting planting material, the seedlings are taken out of the refrigerator and thawed. The disembarkation is carried out in November. The disembarkation process does not differ from planting under normal conditions. In order to grow strong and healthy bushes and then get a bountiful and tasty harvest, it is necessary to adhere to all conditions in accordance with the requirements of strawberries.

Soil preparation and planting

Before you start planting planting material, you must first prepare the soil.

The preparation of the soil for the mother bush is carried out in the fall. The necessary fertilizers are applied to the soil: potassium chloride, superphosphate, lime, rotted manure or chicken droppings. Then, in the spring, the plants are planted at a distance of about 40 cm from the adjacent row.

Preparing soil in a container. The selected container is filled with a moisture-consuming, porous and non-toxic substrate. Usually mineral wool, peat, perlite, coconut fiber are used for these purposes. You can also use light sandy soil with the addition of rotted manure and sand (in a ratio of 3: 1: 1). However, it is not highly recommended, as pests quickly grow here. Remember that all soil must be sterile, free of germs and weeds.

After that, the seedlings are planted in a checkerboard pattern and using the 25 by 30 cm scheme.When this parameter is reduced, the bushes will grow too densely and, as a result, you risk getting small berries.

Conditions for growth

When using Dutch strawberry growing technology, certain conditions must be observed in order to achieve the desired result.

Conditions for the growth of strawberries:

• watering. It is necessary to ensure full and frequent watering of the bushes. For these purposes, you can use a drip irrigation system;
• creating additional lighting. All remontant strawberries are neutral day plants and require 18 hours of consultation for their normal growth. To achieve this effect, fluorescent lamps are used;
• temperature regime. The optimal temperature range for strawberry bushes is considered to be 20-22 degrees;
• Fresh air. To ensure this condition, it is sufficient to periodically ventilate the room;
• if necessary, carry out pollination of flowers;
• portioned planting of seedlings, which will allow you to get a constant level of yield.

It is enough to provide the conditions described above, and you will receive an excellent harvest.

Planting care

After you have planted the seedlings, it remains only to maintain all the specified growth conditions for strawberry bushes given in the previous paragraph.If you did everything correctly, then the rest of the planting care will come down to providing them with the necessary nutrients, drip irrigation and periodic ventilation. To get a harvest continuously, you need to repeat the process of planting new seedlings every two months. Since the soil was originally sterile, it is only necessary to carry out preventive spraying of the plants in order to prevent the introduction of infection when planting new seedlings.

Fulfilling all the requirements, thanks to Dutch technology, you are sure to get a bountiful and tasty harvest.

Video "Growing strawberries using the Dutch method"

In this video you can get acquainted with one of the variations of strawberry cultivation, where elements of Dutch technology are also involved.