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Gardening lovers always try not only to grow delicious fruits on their plot, but also to decorate it. Some ideas can save significant space. For example, for growing strawberries a fairly large area is required. But experienced gardeners know how to cope with this task so that they get a good harvest and do not take up too much space. This way, you can make room for other crops or create a beautiful flower bed. This unique way is to grow strawberries vertically.
Features of vertical growing
This method is gaining more and more popularity every year. At first glance, it may seem that such technology requires too much effort and expense. However, it has a huge number of advantages:
- saving space on the site;
- the berries do not rot due to touching wet soil during rains and do not get dirty;
- many pests simply cannot get to strawberry bushes;
- no need to constantly delete weeds. Their seeds do not fall into containers, which makes caring for berries much easier;
- fertilizers are evenly distributed through the pipes. Fertilizing becomes more effective;
- to pick berries you don’t need to bend down and look for them under the bushes;
- vertical beds They also perform a decorative function, decorating a summer cottage.
Nothing can be perfect, so right after the advantages, let's look at some of the disadvantages of this method:
- Such beds should be watered much more often. The sun easily penetrates containers with strawberries, which is why the soil dries out very quickly.
- The soil in such containers is not naturally filled with nutrients. Without regular fertilizing, it will not be possible to grow a good strawberry crop.
- Cold also penetrates easily into vertical beds. You will have to take care of a warm shelter for the winter or move them to a warm room.
Strawberry varieties for vertical growing
To grow strawberries vertically, you should choose ampelous or remontant strawberries. Such strawberries not only have high yields, but also greatly decorate the beds.
Queen Elizabeth
This is one of the most popular varieties for vertical growing. Fruits from these bushes can be collected from the beginning of June until October. Queen Elizabeth has beautiful large berries of regular shape. They are very juicy and dense. During the season, you can collect up to 1.5–2 kg of strawberries from a bush. The variety quickly adapts to new conditions, is undemanding to care, and resistant to many diseases.
Alba
A climbing early variety. Alba tolerates frost well in winter. It has elongated red berries with a pleasant sweet taste. Strawberries tolerate transportation well and can be stored for a long time. From 1 Alba bush you can collect at least a kilogram of fruit.
Homemade delicacy
Great remontant strawberry variety. It has red berries with a dark tint.They taste pleasant, with a slight sourness. Each fruit reaches up to 2.5–3 cm in diameter. The bush has beautiful long peduncles, making the variety look very aesthetically pleasing.
Of course, list all varieties of strawberries for vertical beds It will be difficult, since there are a lot of them. Suitable for lovers of sweet strawberries Honey variety. More productive berries include: Moscow delicacy and Finland. Eros boasts frost resistance, and the most disease-resistant are Geneva and Aluba.
Types of vertical beds
Vertical growing beds You can make strawberries with your own hands from ordinary scrap materials. For example, any barrels, flower pots, tires, slate, wooden and plastic boxes, pipes and even plastic bags.
Tire beds are not only practical, but also very durable. They can stand on your site for many years without losing their attractive appearance. To build such a bed, you need to stack the prepared tires on top of each other. Then holes are made in them. Some gardeners are against this planting method, since tires are made from toxic material and can be hazardous to human health.
The plantings look very nice strawberries in flower pots. The most important thing is that such containers are easy to transport, and you can change their place and placement method every year. Some people hang these containers from special supports or branches. They can also decorate a gazebo or balcony.
But the most economical vertical way to plant strawberries is in plastic bottles. The prepared containers are mounted on poles or mesh. Unfortunately, this method also has some disadvantages.The bottle volume may be too small, making it difficult to control the amount of water and fertilizer during feeding.
Very beautiful beds can be obtained using barrels. Many gardeners paint them in various bright colors. The disadvantage is that moving such containers is quite difficult. Strawberries cannot be moved to a warm place, so you will have to take care of a warm shelter for the winter.
Vertical cultivation of strawberries in poles
Unlike previous methods, growing strawberries in tubes has much fewer disadvantages. Most gardeners prefer this method. You can build such a bed with your own hands from PVC pipes. This design usually has a height of no more than 2 meters. This is the optimal height, which allows you to water and pick berries without unnecessary equipment.
The construction of such a vertical bed is carried out in the following way:
- It is necessary to prepare the main pipes, the diameter of which is about 200 mm, as well as smaller pipes (20 mm) for irrigation. The length of the smaller pipe should be 15 cm longer than the main one.
- The thin pipe is conventionally divided into 3 parts. I make small holes in the upper two parts, and leave the lower part untouched. The diameter of the holes should be no more than 0.5 cm. Liquid will not wash soil out of the pipe if the outside of the pipe is wrapped in burlap. Then you should wrap the pipe with rope.
- Now start making holes in the pipe. They are placed in a checkerboard pattern at a distance of about 25 cm from each other, as shown in the photo. Each hole must be at least 10 cm in diameter. This size is quite sufficient for the normal growth and development of strawberries.
- There is no need to make holes at a distance of 25 cm from the bottom of the pipe. It would be good to leave one side of the pipe without holes; it should be turned in a northerly direction. The bottom of the pipe must be closed with a lid. This way, it will be easier to move the structure for the winter.
- Then a watering pipe is placed in the main pipe. Gravel, expanded clay or pebbles are poured onto the bottom. Their height should be no more than 20 cm. This material will hold the pipe in strong winds.
- After this, the prepared soil is poured into the pipe. To prepare it, mix turf soil (50%), peat (50%), compost (30%) and cow manure (20%). After filling the soil, you should water it thoroughly with a hose. The soil will settle a little and you can add a little more.
- Now it's time to plant the strawberries themselves into the holes.
Caring for vertical beds
The first step is to decide on the location of the garden bed. Remember that strawberries love sunny areas. Also, the location of the bed should not be in the wind. Growing strawberries in vertical beds requires frequent watering. This is especially important in hot weather.
2 weeks after planting, the bushes should take root well, after which you can reduce the amount of watering. The first flower stalks should be removed. Up to 5 mustaches are left on the bush, the rest are torn off. In the second year, it is customary to fertilize strawberries so that yields do not fall. For this purpose, mineral and organic solutions are used. In autumn, all old leaves and flower stalks are cut off from the bushes.
Strawberries from vertical beds should be replanted every 3 years.Some, instead of replacing the bushes themselves, simply change the soil in the pipe or container. For the winter, it is better to move the beds to a suitable warm room. But you can also leave it outside, covering it with special material. For this purpose, hay, slate, leaves and burlap are used. Pipe beds are laid vertically to the ground and well covered.
Conclusion
Growing strawberries vertically may seem like too much of a task. But, as we see from the article, this is not only an excellent growing method, but also a fun activity. Growing strawberries in the greenhouse and in open ground requires a large plot of land. Vertical beds can be placed even in the smallest yard. They are easy to build with your own hands.
