Is it possible to grow strawberries on a windowsill. Is it possible to grow strawberries on a windowsill in winter? Good seedlings are the key to success

Strawberries on the windowsill all year round are the dream of not only any child, but also an adult. How often do we want to arrange a romantic evening or decorate a cake with fresh berries. However, the prices for this delicacy in supermarkets make you shudder. But do not be sad, because the opportunity to grow a berry at home on the windowsill, although it seems almost unrealistic, is more than feasible in practice.

Strawberry, strawberry or victoria?

It's funny that the same plant is called differently throughout our vast country. Strawberries are often called strawberries, in some areas the older generation calls her Victoria, many are generally sure that these are 3 different names for the same berry. The truth is that strawberries and strawberries are 2 different plants from the same genus Strawberries of the Rosaceae family. The common belief that a wild plant is called a strawberry is partly true. Berries growing in clearings and edges are wild strawberries.

The same bushes that sit in our country beds, surprisingly, are also not strawberries. This is how we call musky strawberries or pineapple strawberries. These are 2 species from the genus Strawberry. So what is a strawberry? This is a specific word that is used only in Russia to describe all possible garden, and not wild, varieties of strawberries. "Club" our ancient Slavic ancestors called something large and spherical. In the scientific literature, all these berries belong to the Strawberry genus, but are different species. An even more interesting situation occurred with the name "Victoria". Victoria is one of the garden strawberry varieties, which first began to spread through the gardens and orchards of Russia back in the 19th century. Thus, it is quite acceptable to call garden varieties of strawberries strawberries, but the word victoria is an unjustified synecdoche - a private name for a general phenomenon.

So, having figured out what kind of crop to grow, you can proceed to the analysis of how to grow strawberries at home. And to make it more than real. It is quite possible to get a monthly harvest from your garden on the windowsill for almost the entire year. To do this, you need to know the cultivation technology and a few tricks, as well as be patient.

Choosing a place for bushes, varieties, soil and containers for planting - these are the questions that will need to be resolved by those who undertake to grow strawberries on the windowsill. So, it’s worth starting with the choice of variety and form of planting material. There are 3 ways strawberries can start life in your home: whiskers, seeds, or seedlings. The first option is used for soil and is inconvenient with a small area of ​​\u200b\u200bthe soil, so the choice remains between seeds and seedlings.

An important point is the variety of berries. Stop your choice on one of the remontant high-yielding varieties with self-pollination. It is convenient to cultivate such varieties at home, because they behave almost like houseplants, but at the same time they bear fruit almost every month. The berries of this variety are divided into 2 types: DSD-group and NSD-group. Between themselves, they differ in productivity. If DSD varieties produce 2 crops during the year (and the second is almost 2 times more than the first) with a long daylight hours, then NSD varieties bear fruit almost without stopping for 10 months of the year. In addition, the NSD group grows with a neutral light day, i.e., a slightly smaller amount of hours of light is needed.

For home cultivation, preference should be given to cultures of the NSD group. There are a huge number of varieties of remontant strawberries, so it makes no sense to list them, but any of the NSD group will be a good option for a balcony garden. Buy seeds and seedlings only in specialized stores. The purchase of strawberries from unknown unscrupulous sellers is fraught with a complete loss of seedlings, because under the guise of a remontant variety, they can sell the most common berry of the Victoria variety.

The material of the container for seedlings or seeds does not play any role. You can take pots, cups, bags - everything that will not interfere and take up a lot of space. It is impractical to use a container of more than 3 liters, pots of 2-3 liters are suitable for seedlings, and seeds at the initial stage will only need cups of 200 ml. A convenient option would be long pots, they do not take up much space on the windowsill. However, in such a long container, more than three bushes should not be planted: the plants will overwhelm each other, and they will also receive an insufficient amount of light and moisture. Expect that it is not necessary to transplant strawberries growing in an apartment, the bushes will live in one pot for up to three years, depending on the characteristics of the variety.

Soil for planting can simply be collected in the forest. In this case, do not forget to disinfect the soil with a solution of potassium permanganate and / or high temperature in the oven. Soil from natural places should be mixed with a baking powder substrate: sand or sawdust. If it is not possible to collect natural soil, then universal soil, which is sold in all flower shops, is quite suitable. You can add sand if you like. The main requirement for the land is that it should be loose, because it is in such soil that strawberries are most comfortable to be.

How to plant strawberries for growing on a windowsill

The next step is planting strawberries. The viability and fruitfulness of the plant will depend on how well this stage has passed. Seedlings are planted already in fairly large bushes with 5-6 leaves at a distance of 25 cm from each other. Planting seasons are autumn and early spring. Seedlings are placed in the soil so that the root is covered with earth, but the strawberry leaves remain on the surface and do not touch the ground.

The seeds are planted in small containers, after which a small bed needs to be watered, covered with cling film and put in a warm place in the room. When the seedlings grow to 3-4 cm, they will need to be determined for permanent residence in a pot.

For a berry growing on a windowsill, there are a lot of care rules and growing conditions. If you neglect at least one of them, then the strawberry may cease to bear fruit or even die completely. So, the basic provisions for caring for strawberries at home:

1. Culture needs a lot of light. In the summer, in the garden, she receives up to 14 light hours, but in winter in the apartment she will need to ensure that the bushes are almost constantly under a phyto- or fluorescent lamp.
2. Watering should be carried out according to the principle of the golden mean: do not overdry or overmoisten. Do not forget about drainage at the bottom of the pots (a few medium pebbles will be enough) and holes through which excess moisture will come out.
3. Strawberry bushes need to be fed constantly, except for winter. However, if inflorescences appeared on strawberries in winter, then fertilization should be resumed. From fertilizers, top dressing "Ovary", "Rainbow", "Palm", "Strawberry", etc. is recommended.
4. Do not forget about ventilation. Stagnant air will not be the best companion for bushes. In this case, as with watering, everything is up to you.
5. The minimum temperature suitable for growing strawberries on a windowsill is 20⁰С and above.
6. Pollination is the most important moment in the cultivation of berries. If the variety is self-pollinating, then the garden will not create problems. However, if the berry is not able to pollinate itself, then you can do it manually: with the help of a soft brush, “stroke” each flower. Another, less time-consuming option is to place a small fan near the bushes.
7. For the ovary of berries, iron should be added to the soil. Some gardeners advise sticking a rusty nail into the soil, but it would be wiser to spray the leaves with a special iron solution that can be purchased at any flower shop.
8. When the berries begin to ripen, they become a desirable target for spider mites or gray mold. If you notice that the plant has undergone such an attack, spray the bush with garlic infusion. The algorithm for its preparation is simple: 2 cloves of garlic must be crushed and placed in warm water with a volume of 100 g, let it brew for 2 hours, then strain and spray on the plant.
9. During active growth, the bushes will begin to throw out the so-called mustache. Of these, if desired, you can grow a new generation of culture. For this, the rosette formed on the mustache, without separating it from the main plant, is rooted on the soil. After the young shoot has given roots, the mustache can be pinched off.

Strawberry plantation in plastic bags

Growing strawberry bushes in large plastic bags is almost a production scale method. Such bags take up a lot of space, so it is better not to keep them on the balcony. A good solution in this case will be a closet, which will allow you to maintain constant humidity and will be equipped with enough lamps. So, the technology for growing strawberries in bags is as follows:

1. Dense bags with a diameter of about 20 cm are filled with a soil-sand mixture, which was described above. The neck of the bags is tightly tied, after which you can either put them on the shelves or hang them.
2. Slots up to 8 cm long are made in the bags in a checkerboard pattern with a distance of about 20 cm. Strawberry bushes are placed in these holes.
3. The most difficult thing in this design is watering. It will be convenient to create an irrigation system from bottles and plastic pipes that are stuck into the bags every 50 cm. Holes must be made in the bottles so that water can pass through the pipes. About 2 liters of water is needed per 1 meter bag per day. It is necessary to care for such a plantation in the same way as for bushes in pots.

Fresh strawberries all year round sounds like a pipe dream for any Russian child. However, this is a fantasy that is quite possible to translate into reality. If growing strawberries at home still seems like something laborious for you, then take courage and try it. You will only need to be patient and painstakingly look after your garden on the windowsill. Then the taste and aroma of wonderful sweet berries will settle in your home for a long time and will delight relatives and friends.

Every year there are more and more people who want to taste self-grown berries, fruits and herbs in the home garden. In addition to the usual tomatoes, cucumbers and a variety of greens, strawberries can be grown year-round on the windowsill of the house. In winter, it is especially nice to eat homemade berries. About the features of growing strawberries on the windowsill, how to choose suitable varieties, not to miscalculate with the timing of planting, to plant and grow a healthy berry correctly, skillfully cutting and feeding, will be discussed in this article.

Some gardeners argue that an ordinary variety cannot be forced to bear fruit 3-4 or more times a year, since the plant is guided by the length of daylight hours and has a biological clock like animals. And if you try to grow it, you get a much smaller crop and a maximum of 2 times a year.

In fact, everything is far from it. Each plant has its own time of formation of generative buds, from which fruits are then formed. The usual variety is genetically "coded" for 1 harvest and it can be both in the middle of summer and in winter, depending on the conditions of its cultivation.

Fortunately, modern breeding plots have bred special remontant varieties, in which there is no periodicity in the formation of generative buds. That is, the main thing is to create optimal conditions for the development of the fetus, and there is no difference when this happens. This can be in the summer, spring and at any other time every 2-3 months. Getting 5 harvests during the year is not difficult. Remontant varieties bloom constantly, but greatly deplete the soil, so very serious plant care is required.

Consider the best varieties that are acclimatized on the territory of the Russian Federation.

• Queen Elizabeth 2. An excellent variety, it became famous due to its high yield - about 5 kg of berries grow on one bush in one harvest and this is not a record! With excellent care, you can get up to 19-25 tons per hectare, which is why Queen Elizabeth is the best option for those gardeners who are seriously engaged in growing berries for sale. The mass of one fruit can reach 150-200 grams, the average berries - 60-80 grams each. Has a very sweet taste. The remontant variety allows you to get up to 4-5 crops per year with good soil fertilization and constant watering. Resistant to powdery mildew and fungal diseases - they almost never happen on the stem when grown in greenhouses.
• San Andreas. California remontant variety, but for more than 15 years acclimatized by Russian breeders, recommended for industrial use. The high density of berries allows them to be easily transported over any distance and stored in the basement. Up to 2 kg can be collected from one bush, up to 10 tons per hectare. Resistant to fungal diseases, especially brown spot. The fruits have a very sweet taste.
• Temptation. One of the best remontant hybrids, which is characterized by high yields and large fruit sizes. From one bush you can collect up to 1500 grams, each of which will be at least 60 grams. Thus, with good irrigation and constant fertilization of the soil with organic matter, you can get up to 50 tons per hectare. It has a high decorative effect, the inflorescences are bright, the bushes are not sprawling. Harvesting can be carried out as early as 2 months after planting a new bush in the soil, the full maturity of the bush comes in a year.
• Lyubava. If you are looking for year-round cultivation of strawberries in a greenhouse, then you should pay attention to this variety. Despite the small size of the berries (30-45 grams), the yield reaches 2 kg from one bush and up to 250 c/ha, since the planting density is relatively high. It is very sweet, has an excellent presentation and smell. Even young bushes bear fruit, and they begin to bloom immediately after they take root. The remontant variety practically does not require pollination, it is enough for him that the bushes will be in close proximity. Another advantage of this plant is that it forms very few whiskers, as a rule, no more than 7 pieces. Thus, you do not have to constantly care for the plants and cut them off to increase yields.

The main secrets and subtleties of year-round strawberry cultivation

Technology for growing strawberries

Those who are not yet familiar with this technology and do not know how to grow strawberries in a small room, while getting the maximum yield, should know that the technique is very simple. Its essence is the regular planting of new seedlings, which ensures continuous harvesting even in cold winters. Of course, this can only be achieved by creating favorable conditions for active vegetation, flowering and fruiting of strawberries.

Commercial cultivation of berries according to the Dutch technology involves the use of a stationary greenhouse with a full set of equipment that provides plants with additional lighting, drip irrigation, and regulates humidity and temperature. In addition, the required number of seedlings should always be available, which are planted to replace the old bushes (after the end of fruiting, the bush is simply thrown away). Such an enterprise requires financial investments, but its profitability is so high that all expenses pay off literally in the first months.

If you are not going to plant strawberries in such volumes, but plan to grow several pots on the windowsill for yourself, the Dutch technique may also come in handy. Growing strawberries at home in small containers does not require any additional investment, except for the purchase of seedlings or seeds for growing them, as well as the purchase of a substrate and pots. Estimate the usable area planned for year-round cultivation and decide on how to place the containers. According to the Dutch method, seedlings can be planted in any container, even plastic bags, which are very convenient to hang vertically.

How to plant and grow on a windowsill - features, conditions and step by step instructions

In order to successfully plant and grow strawberries at home on the windowsill, certain rules and conditions must be observed. We will talk about them in more detail later.

Place

The best place to grow remontant strawberries is on a windowsill facing south or east. It is possible to grow a crop on the eastern and northern windowsills only under the condition of constant supplementary illumination.

Daylight hours

For rapid growth and ripening of garden strawberries, daylight hours should be 12-14 hours. If in summer the bushes have enough sunlight, then in autumn and winter, when the bright part of the day is very short, strawberries need to be illuminated with fluorescent lamps. Lighting devices are switched on 2 times a day: from about 6 to 9 o'clock (in the morning) and from 16 to 20 (in the evening).

Temperature

When growing strawberries at home, it is important to maintain the temperature in the range of +18..+20 C. If the temperature is a few degrees lower, the plants begin to get sick. To prevent such unpleasant consequences, in autumn and spring it will be necessary to turn on additional heating devices (heaters).

Humidity

Strawberries will feel good if the air humidity is in the region of 70-80%. In the midst of the heating season, in winter, when the air in the apartment is very dry, the bushes are sprayed with settled water at room temperature from a spray bottle. However, even in this case, it is worth adhering to the measure: due to too much moisture, strawberries reduce resistance to fungal diseases.

What container to plant

Initially, the seeds are sown in small cups, and as soon as they release the first pair of leaves, they are transplanted (dive) into larger containers. When strawberry seedlings have already formed 5-6 leaves, they can be transplanted into a pot for further home cultivation. Small pots are suitable for growing bush seedlings. Ampel species (for example, F1 Home Delicatessen) feel great in hanging planters.

Dutch greenhouse

Growing strawberries using Dutch technology is, in fact, a classic greenhouse, but with one difference. During the application of this technique, there is no direct contact of the berries with the soil, since the seedlings are grown in film sleeves.

The bags are filled with soil substrate - steamed peat, perlite. The substrate has a high level of moisture absorption, which exceeds its own volume four times. The incoming liquid is enriched with nutrients, introduced into the roots already saturated with useful substances.

Ways to plant strawberries

You can apply vertical and horizontal landing method. This allows you to minimize the occupied area.

Horizontal placement implies the arrangement of bags in a checkerboard pattern, at a distance of thirty centimeters from each other. They are placed in several tiers, observing a gap of about half a meter.

The vertical method involves the placement of sleeves in polymer pipes, which are strengthened in several rows. The holes in which the bags are located are at a distance of thirty centimeters from each other.

How to care after planting and before harvest

Watering. For watering strawberries, like other indoor plants, use only settled water at room temperature. In order not to wait until the chlorine settles to the bottom of the tank, water can be passed through a filter.

Adhering to the technology of cultivating strawberries at home on the windowsill, the soil in containers is moistened 2 times a week. It is best to moisten the soil in the afternoon. After watering, the soil in the planting container is loosened.

Important! Despite the fact that the growth of strawberries after the next moistening is activated, you should not get carried away with watering. Overwatering the plant is fraught with the appearance of rot on the roots and fungal diseases. Stagnant water is especially dangerous for bushes.

Top dressing.

Strawberries need to be nourished with useful substances. For this, you can use mineral and organic complexes: nitrophoska, potassium nitrate, potassium sulfate, wood ash, etc. The first top dressing should be carried out during the growing season, with the formation of a couple of real leaves. Choose your favorite dressing recipes, and alternate their use 4 times a year, excluding the fruiting period:

1 tsp nitroammophoski for 5 liters of water;

1/2 tsp boric acid, 15 drops of iodine, 1/2 cup wood ash per 5 liters of water;

soak a liter jar of crusts and slices of rye bread in two liters of warm water, keep for 7 days in a warm place. Add three parts of warm water to one part of the sourdough, and add plant nutrition;

1 part sour milk or whey diluted with 3 parts water;

mix a tablespoon of nitrophoska with a teaspoon of potassium sulfate in 5 liters of water;

1 st. l. dissolve potassium nitrate in 5 liters of water;

50 grams of wood ash per 5 liters of water.

Top dressing should be carried out during the growing season and flowering, as well as after picking berries. At this time, new roots are formed, buds are formed for the next fruiting season. It is important at this time to pay maximum attention to strawberries.

As a rule, strawberries at home are not susceptible to disease. The only feature is the lifespan of plants. Since strawberries of NSD varieties bear fruit more abundantly and more often, which means they age faster, their lifespan is 1 year. As for the DSD varieties, the fruiting of which is several times poorer than the NSD, then their life span will increase proportionally and is 2–3 years.

Pruning. Many will be surprised, but strawberries need pruning, the purpose of which is to increase yields. How to prune strawberries grown at home on the windowsill?

1. On seedlings grown from seeds, the first few flowers are plucked. It is not necessary to cut flower stalks on strawberries bred from seedlings.
2. If further expansion of indoor plantings is not planned, and adult bushes do not need to be replaced, the antennae must be cut. Pruning is also recommended when there is a lack of lighting. As a result of shearing, the plants will not be wasted on the formation of unnecessary rosettes, but will direct all the nutrients to the fruits.

Pollination. In order for berries to set after flowering, strawberries need to be pollinated. There are several ways to artificially pollinate at home:

1. The blooming flowers are alternately carried out with a brush for drawing throughout the entire flowering period.
2. A fan is sent to the plants. Under the air flow, pollen from one flower is transferred to another and the strawberry is pollinated.

All year round to please your tomboy with sweet berries of garden strawberries, knowing exactly how they are grown and what they are fertilized with - some parents not only dream about it, but also try to bring their unusual desire to life. Although the word "unusual" for classes in growing strawberries or garden strawberries is already irrelevant now.

Breeders have long been offering not only strawberry varieties intended for outdoor cultivation and not suffering from rain and drought, from the difference in morning, evening and daytime temperatures, but also those that bear fruit best at constant air temperature and humidity.

In order for the ardor of a lover of berries plucked from a room garden not to fade from the fact that the berries have grown bitter, the leaves on the bushes have turned yellow and dry, some bugs have gnawed out the pulp from the berries, it is necessary to deal with the peculiarities of growing strawberries on the windowsill.

• If strawberry-strawberry bushes are dug out of a garden plot for transplanting into containers for home maintenance, then it is best to use native soil for plants, previously fertilized and disinfected from rot and pests, to fill the pots.
• You need to choose only healthy, disease-free bushes.
• The strawberry variety should belong to plants with a remontant ability to bear fruit (that is, a strawberry bush does not take a break for rest for the entire period of its development, but constantly blooms and sets berries).
• It will be necessary to allocate time for manual pollination of blossoming flowers, or use self-pollinating varieties for planting on the windowsill.

Choosing a strawberry variety for growing at home

In addition to the method of pollination and the period of fruiting, there are several more signs of varieties of garden strawberries.

Breeding strawberries with a mustache

The most famous indicator is based on the characteristics of mustache (type of reproduction) of strawberries. Having chosen a variety of cascading strawberries that reproduces with mustache shoots, a homemade strawberry lover must prepare not just capacious containers with high sides so that the strawberry bush can lower the shoots down. Additionally, smaller containers with soil will be needed in which young shoots will take root.

The second option for choosing a strawberry variety based on the propagation method is to deal with varieties that are grown from seeds. They do not grow a mustache, that is, there is no need for thinning the bush. But even such species (most often small-fruited ones) lend themselves to vegetative propagation, which consists in crushing an adult bush that has been growing in one place for several years in a row, by dividing the root system into parts.

The best strawberry varieties for growing on the windowsill

The following varieties of strawberries have become popular with apartment gardeners:

The variety is very resistant to diseases and pests. This is a remontant cascading strawberry that tolerates frosts down to 30°C. The bush grows the largest fruits with the taste of honey weighing up to 50 g in the first three years of its life. Then the fruits shrink. The bush is planted with shoots and by dividing the mother plant into parts. To enlarge the fruits, gardeners remove all flower stalks of the earliest fruiting, preventing the first ovaries from appearing. The next wave of harvest will bear fruit up to 80 g in weight. Requires hand pollination.

"Baron Solemacher"

This is a beardless small-fruited variety with low spherical bushes, short peduncles and a taste of wild strawberries. Propagated by seeds. The seedling is doing well. Resistant to cold, but intolerant of heat. Fruiting may stop if the plantings become very dense. When grown indoors, it needs artificial pollination.

"Brighton"

Remontant large-fruited variety, has cone-shaped fruits with a hint of pineapple, pollinates itself, because the peduncles grow flowers of both sexes. Propagated by a mustache with rosettes, characterized by abundant shoot formation and weak foliage.

How and when to plant strawberries on the windowsill: step by step instructions

If you use strawberries of remontant varieties of an indefinite length of daylight hours, then you can start planting them at any time of the year. The limitation may be the inability to control the humidity of the air, because dry air is not suitable for strawberries. But autumn is considered the best period, after the harvest, the bushes have not yet had time to go into a state of rest and are ready to continue laying flower buds.

Strawberries are planted after finding free space near windows, preparing nutrient soil, and sterilizing planting containers. The best place to keep strawberries will be window openings facing south and east. Window sills should be wide enough to prevent leaves from touching the glass.

Seeds or seedlings

To decide what to prefer, buy or pick up adult strawberry bushes from the garden plot or grow young bushes from seeds on your own, it must be taken into account that seed germination can last for a whole month and not all strawberry varieties have good seedling survival. If you do not plan to get the first harvest in 2-3 months, then you can choose the seeds of your favorite strawberry varieties and experiment with growing young seedlings.

When transplanting bushes from the garden into home pots, care must be taken to ensure that the central bud is not covered with soil.

What container to plant

For a good harvest of strawberries, it is better not to transplant bushes once again, not to damage the root system. Therefore, even for young strawberry bushes, pots with drainage holes and a capacity of at least 3-5 liters are necessary. In a large pot, two or three seedlings will not be cramped. An interesting option would be hanging planters with cascading (ampel) strawberry varieties or a hanging vertical garden bed, based on a wide polypropylene pipe up to 1 m high.

Planting seeds

The most effective method of planting seeds for growing strawberry seedlings is the use of peat humus tablets for this purpose. Strawberry seeds begin to germinate in the central recess of the tablet. The duration of germination depends on the quality of the seeds and the characteristics of the variety.

But there is a feature common to all types of strawberries - this is that strawberry seeds, when they hit the soil substrate, must remain on top of the soil or in a very small depression. It is not difficult to keep the tablets moist because they are installed in trays, on the bottom of which water is poured. It penetrates from below to the seeds. And the long-proven method of sowing seeds on the surface of the soil, poured into glasses or other flat planting containers, in the case of small strawberry seeds, may not justify itself. You will have to water the seeds from above, there is a risk of washing them deep into the ground to an unacceptable level for germination.

And containers with peat tablets, and any other utensils for growing seedlings at the stage of seed germination should be covered with lids or film to create the effect of a mini-greenhouse. The seeds must not dry out.

Seed preparation

If you plan to use seeds taken from the berries you like, you should adhere to the following rules:

• The berry should be ripe, without rot and signs of disease.
• It is required to choose from the fruit the places with the largest seeds in size.
• Pieces of pulp with seeds are dried and rubbed in the palms.
• Before planting in the soil mixture, the seeds are stored in a closed, clean glass container.
• A month before the planned sowing date, the seeds, wet on a napkin in a closed jar, are placed in conditions of low positive temperatures, and the temperature is gradually reduced. Then also gradually increase the temperature. Periodically check the condition of the moisture level of the seeds. Once every 2 weeks, the seeds are mixed.
• Before sowing, the seeds are slightly dried.

Soil preparation

Any commercially available general purpose potting soil is best mixed with sawdust for added breathability and lightness. Strawberries will develop well in a soil mixture of sand, leafy soil and humus in a ratio of 3: 1: 1. The soil should not be too nutritious, should not retain moisture, because the root system of strawberries easily rots. In the tank, despite the presence of holes for water drainage, drainage materials are poured to ¼ of the height.

Sowing seeds

Strawberry seeds can germinate in 5 days, and hard-growing seeds will not germinate even in a month. The period of germination, and then the ease of picking the sprouts, will largely depend on how the sowing is done. Strawberry seeds will not sprout if they are buried more than 2-3 mm into the soil.

The soil, placed in transparent plastic containers with an attached lid, is lightly compacted. Seeds can be sown in rows or scattered. To mark the rows with the edge of the ruler, grooves are made up to 3 mm deep at a distance of up to 3 cm from each other. Seeds are picked up with the wet end of a wooden toothpick and placed in grooves 5 cm apart. Sprinkle a thin layer of dry pre-roasted sand on top.

It is possible to sow hardened seeds on a layer of snow. 1-2 cm of compacted snow is poured onto the soil and seeds are laid out on it. Melted snow, if it pulls the seeds into the soil, then no more than 1-2 mm. Mini-greenhouses are stored in a warm, lit place, the soil moisture is monitored daily, airing is arranged for a few minutes, preventing condensation from accumulating on the inside of the container lid. Seedlings are illuminated so that the length of the day reaches 14 hours.

Picking strawberry seedlings

Seedlings with 2 toothed leaves dive into small cups filled with 2/3 of moist soil. A deep narrow hole is made in the cups. The soil in containers with seedlings is also well moistened. With a pointed wooden stick, a clod of earth with a strawberry bush is lifted and transferred to a place where it will be possible to free the root of the seedling from the ground. It is necessary to pay attention to the length of the root, if its ends are wrapped when placed in a cup, then it will have to be shortened. The minimum root length is 3-4 cm.

For better survival of seedlings, the root is immersed in finely crushed charcoal. The roots of the plant are lowered into the recess in the cup to the level of the growth point, it should remain on the surface. Using a stick, gently press the soil around the root. The soil must be moistened again, but the water should not fall on the growing point.

The grown seedlings at the stage of 4-5 trifoliate leaves are transplanted into more fertile soil, in containers for constant growth. An increase in fertility gives impetus to the intensive growth of the plant. When transplanting, it is again necessary to shorten the roots to a length of no more than 10 cm and dip them into a clay mash, evenly distributing the roots over the entire volume of the seat.

seedling care

Caring for strawberry plantings on the windowsill consists in sufficient lighting of the bushes, timely watering and feeding, trimming the mustache and leaves if necessary, pollination, disease prevention and protection from pests, maintaining air humidity near the bushes at least 70%.

Without additional lighting in an apartment, it will not be possible to achieve fruiting. The longer the artificial day, the faster the strawberries will bloom. In addition to fluorescent lamps, lamps with a yellow tint of luminosity are used. On the wall in front of the window sill, a mirror, white paper, aluminum foil are installed or fixed, acting as a reflector of light penetrating through the windows.

Watering

Strawberries love to keep the roots moist and the stems and soil under the leaves dry. The best option is drip root irrigation. If there is no room irrigation system, proceed as follows: once every 5-7 days, the container with the plant is lowered 2/3 of the height of the pot into a bucket of water and the water is allowed to drain through the drainage holes. Water is used at room temperature, settled tap or spring.

top dressing

It is necessary to fertilize strawberries in an apartment with complex fertilizers according to the manufacturer's instructions. The older and larger the bush, the more often it needs top dressing.

pruning

If there is no need to propagate the cultivated variety, then regular pruning of the shoots will help increase the yield of strawberries. Instead of directing forces to the formation of rosettes, the bush will begin to increase the berries.

Pollination

It is carried out with a soft brush or feather every time a new flower opens. Hairs touch alternately the middles of all flowers growing nearby. You can direct a stream of air from a hair dryer or fan towards the bushes and thus spread the pollen through the flowers.

Diseases and pests

In the conditions of an apartment, when the first signs of rot appear, the bushes are treated with phytosporin or other biofungicides. If there are berries on the bushes, then you need to use them only after the expiration date of the drugs has passed. Very often, strawberries are damaged by a spider mite. It settles on the underside of strawberry leaves and feeds on their juice. The leaves turn yellow and dry up. An effective way to deal with a tick is to spray the leaves with an aqueous solution of laundry soap. Leaves can be wiped with a swab dipped in 96% alcohol.

Even if you are not a summer gardener, but a simple lover of indoor plants, then you will probably also be interested in the article "Strawberries on the windowsill in 60 days."

What is remontant strawberry

To grow strawberries at home, you need special repair varieties. The remontant strawberry differs from the usual one in that it bears fruit not once a year, but during the season it can bring 2 or more crops. But she also makes demands that correspond to her need for high-quality fertile soil and frequent watering.

In addition, it is divided into two groups:

1. One group of remontant strawberries lays flower buds only with a long daylight hours, such a group is abbreviated as DSD.
2. The second group is able to lay the kidneys with a neutral light day, it is abbreviated as NSD.

DSD varieties produce 2 harvests per year in July and August-September. At the same time, the second crop is almost twice as large as the first, its share is 60-90% of the total weight. Unfortunately, not all bushes can endure such a load, many die after harvesting.

NSD varieties bear fruit almost continuously for most of the year up to 10 months. Moreover, their fruiting is not particularly affected by weather conditions, time of year and day, which is why they are called neutral-day varieties.

It is these NSD strawberry varieties that are most suitable for growing at home. Therefore, when buying, ask the seller which group this or that variety belongs to.

Varieties of remontant strawberries

To date, breeders, both here and abroad, have bred a huge number of varieties of this berry. I will list you a few, perhaps the most popular.

Types of DSD:

• autumn fun
• Garland
• Crimean remontant
• Inexhaustible, etc.

Types of NSD:

• Queen Elizabeth
• Queen Elizabeth II
• Roman F1
• Tristar
• Brighton etc.

Each of these varieties has its own advantages and disadvantages, and any of them can bring a good harvest. But "Queen Elizabeth II" surpasses all others in terms of yield and size of berries.

It is better to buy strawberry seedlings (and they can also be called strawberries) in a specialized store, and not from people in the market. It will cost a little more, but you can be sure of the name of the variety and the quality of planting material.

Pay attention to the "development" of the seedlings, the bushes should have 3-5 healthy green leaves and preferably a large bud (heart).

Many people who care about the benefits of products sooner or later think about growing various crops at home. Growing strawberries on the windowsill all year round will allow you to get a quality crop, which, with proper care, gives excellent fruits.

At home, country varieties should not be used due to the presence of a central heating system, the air in the city is dry. It will not work to create the desired greenhouse effect. Also, when choosing a variety, many mistakenly look only at its appearance, completely forgetting about the characteristics of the varieties.

Not every variety is suitable for growing berries at home. Remontant strawberries, for example, are undemanding to key factors such as soil composition and day length. As a decor, ampelous strawberries are sometimes grown in hanging containers.

Strawberries at home on the windowsill will feel comfortable if they are representatives of one of the following varieties. For example, Geneva or Queen Elizabeth. If these varieties cannot be obtained, you can use analogues like Aisha or Supreme varieties.

When wondering how to grow a plant on a windowsill, many are wondering how to choose a container. It is believed that at first the most optimal is a glass. Which, after it gives the first sprouts, is changed to more spacious container options.

In a pot on the windowsill, you can grow after it gives a minimum of 5 leaves. If the seedlings are bush type, growing in small pots is ideal. For ampel-type strawberries, you can look at spacious options for hanging planters. On the windowsill, you can grow it in pots or boxes, up to 10-15 liters.

Advice! When growing several bushes in boxes, a distance of at least 20 cm between them must be observed.

When growing on a windowsill in any container, it is important to monitor the presence of a drainage layer. It will save the berry from the accumulation of excess water and, consequently, the occurrence of a fungal infection.

What soil to plant

On the windowsill, the berry can be planted in several soil options. For example, special soil mixes are sold in specialty stores. Strawberries in pots can be grown with these mixtures without fear - they are universal and suitable for any variety.

The composition of the soil is not the main condition when choosing it. It must meet such requirements as friability, air permeability and moderate humidity. If the mixture is prepared by hand, then it is important not to forget to add fertilizers containing potassium and phosphorus to the soil after completion of work.

Many mistakenly use land from a summer residence for planting berries in urban conditions. This approach is undesirable, since the soil can be infected with various infections. If there is no other option for extracting land, then before planting on the windowsill it should be disinfected with a weak manganese solution. Planting strawberries is allowed 7 days after the soil disinfection procedure.

How to prepare material for planting

Growing strawberries in pots on the windowsill is available in two ways: from seedlings and from seeds. For beginners, it is best to use the first method. Since the second option is too time consuming and requires certain skills. Planting material is purchased either in specialized nurseries, or is made by hand from country soil.

When wondering how to grow strawberries on a windowsill, it is worth remembering the technology for preparing seedlings. It includes a few simple but important steps:

1. From the sockets, the most healthy and suitable options for planting are selected.
2. Transplantation into the pot and onto the windowsill occurs after the material is separated from the mother bush.
3. Before this procedure, the foliage should be removed, leaving 2-3 of the strongest and youngest.

To ensure that the strawberries have a stable period, they are placed in a cool place for a couple of weeks.
Ideally, the place for strawberries should also be dark. A cellar or basement area is best suited.

How is the boarding

Before planting a berry, it is important not to forget to place a special drainage layer on the bottom of the selected container to drain stagnant water. For such purposes, pebbles, crushed stone or expanded clay are best suited. Planting berries on the windowsill is as follows:

1. The drainage layer is poured into the selected container, as well as the substrate.
2. Strawberry roots are dipped in a weak manganese solution for disinfection for 2-3 minutes.
3. The seedling is planted in a pot, helping the strawberries to spread the roots over the ground. It is important that the strawberry root is placed in containers in full growth. If you have to bend the ends of the rhizome, it is usually shortened.
4. If the roots had to be shortened, a heteroauxin solution will help speed up the recovery. The process of its preparation is usually written on the packaging of the substance. For 5 liters, you usually need 1 tablet.
5. Then you need to compact the soil, being careful not to damage the roots of the strawberries. After they put the plant on the windowsill and water it with plenty of water.

In order for the seedlings to take root better in a new place, you can use watering with the help of strawberry growth simulators. Strawberries in pots are watered by some, for example, with the help of the Kornevin preparation.

Nuances and pitfalls

Growing strawberries on a windowsill all year round is a doable task. But it is important to take into account a number of important nuances. Since, although it is unpretentious, urban conditions are strikingly different from the suburbs.

Choice of landing site

Strawberries at home will take root on a windowsill facing South or Southeast. Growing strawberries in pots in other parts of the world is acceptable if you provide it with additional lighting.

daylight conditions

For strawberries, a day with a duration of 13 hours is considered ideal. Growing berries, and strawberries on the windowsill in winter, will require additional lighting with fluorescent lamps due to the short daylight hours. In summer, additional devices are usually not needed. Grow tools are turned on twice a day, too much use can be harmful. Devices on the windowsill include from 6 to 9 in the morning and from 16 to 20 in the evening.

Temperature conditions

Growing strawberries in the city on windowsills requires compliance with a temperature range of up to 20 degrees. When the temperature deviates a few degrees down, the plant usually gets sick.

In order for strawberries on the windowsill to feel comfortable all year round, gardeners recommend using additional heating devices.

Air humidity

On the windowsill, the humidity of the air should not exceed 80%. If the air in the apartment is very dry, for example, in winter due to heating devices, the berry can be additionally sprayed with ordinary water at room temperature using a spray bottle. Growing the crop on a windowsill in an overly humid climate can lead to fungal growth.

The process of growing strawberries on the windowsill using seeds

On the windowsill, the berry can be safely grown with the help of seeds. Despite the longer planting process, many horticultural enthusiasts are not afraid of this nuance. For a friendly shoot of seeds, you must first harden them. Seeds for this are laid out on a damp cloth and put in the refrigerator for a month. It is important not to forget to fold the fabric in half.

If we consider step-by-step instructions, it includes the following steps:

1. A container, for example, a box, selected as a planting container, is covered with prepared soil and moistened a little.
2. Further, observing intervals of 20 cm, lay out the strawberry seeds using the technique in a row.
3. Next, the material must be sprinkled with a small amount of soil.
4. The selected container is covered with glass. After the procedure, they are placed in a warm area.
5. After the initial emergence of seedlings, shelters can be gradually removed, and the container itself can be rearranged to the selected window sill.
6. It is advised to transplant strawberries into the selected container only after a couple of young leaves appear on the berry.

Many people wonder if it is possible to grow strawberries on a windowsill in the autumn season. The most optimal time period for the procedure is August 15 - September 21.

Watering

Summer residents are advised to use only settled water at room temperature for watering berries when grown on a windowsill. If there is no time to wait for the chlorine to be filtered out, you can pass it through the filter. To improve air humidity, you can periodically spray the berry with a spray bottle. The procedure is especially relevant in winter.

Gardeners advise moistening the plant a couple of times a week. The best time for the procedure is the second half of the day. After the watering process, the soil should be carefully loosened.

Fertilizer

Top dressing is relevant when the first leaves appear. Usually the procedure is carried out no more than a couple of times in 3 weeks. As a fertilizer, some use complex-type top dressing. Which are relevant when growing berries in urban conditions. They should be applied according to the instructions on the package. As an alternative to mineral fertilizers, chicken manure or mullein can act.

pruning

The purpose of this event in the cultivation of strawberries is to increase its yield. Pruning tips include a few key points:

1. If the seedlings are grown from seeds, then at the first shoot it is important to pick a few flowers from it.
2. If there is no need for further breeding of the berry, an additional mustache must be removed.

As a result of the procedure, the plant will not waste its substances on maintaining rosettes, but will direct them in a more necessary direction.

With the help of these tips, you can simplify the process of planting strawberries on the windowsill at home. And also reduce the number of errors in the care process.