Strawberry is one of those crops for the cultivation of which, in the classic version, land space is not rationally used. Every gardener knows that planting in the ground in the usual way occupies a very large area, while the crop that can be harvested from this area is small. Therefore, planting strawberries in a pipe is aimed at increasing the yield per square meter of land.
Vertical Strawberry Growing
Using vertical plants and structures for growing strawberries is a practical way to save land space. To arrange vertical flower beds and beds, you can use various designs that are commercially available, or make them yourself. One of these options, which is quite new in use, is the vertical planting of strawberries in a PVC pipe designed for sewer installation. Planting strawberries in a tube is already a proven and reliable method recommended by leading gardening experts.
Materials forworkmanship
To make a vertical flower bed you will need:
- Pieces of wide diameter PVC pipes.
- Electric drill, wide hole bit or regular wood drill.
- Pipe cap.
- A narrow PVC pipe used to supply water to plant roots.
- Scotch.
- Knife and cork.
- Sacking, for winding a watering pipe.
- Twine or twine.
- Soil mix.
- Gravel or expanded clay.
- Strawberry seedlings.
- Fasteners.
How to make a tube for planting strawberries
If you decide to start planting strawberries in vertical tube beds, decide on their height. It is necessary to measure the length of the pipe and cut it off by installing a plug on one side. In a thin pipe designed to moisten the soil, small holes are drilled over two-thirds of the entire surface. This is done so that water flows mainly in the upper part of the vertical flower bed. In order for the lower plants not to become waterlogged, and the upper ones to receive a sufficient amount of water, the tube is wrapped with burlap and secured with twine or twine. This is necessary so that the strawberry roots do not penetrate the tube and do not disturb the water supply system. A cork is inserted into the lower end of the tube and secured with adhesive tape. The bottom side is the one where there are no holes.
In a wide pipe, it is necessary to make windows with a large nozzle on a drill, or drill their contours with a thin drill andcut them with a knife. These holes are located mainly on those sides that will be facing the light. On the side that will inevitably face north, they will not be needed. The last holes are made at least 20 centimeters from the ground. The watering narrow tube is inserted into the main wide one and attached to it in any convenient way. The pipes are installed at a permanent location, turning the holes to the sunny side, and fixed with clamps or other available fasteners.
Soil
Planting strawberries in a pipe involves the use of ready-made store-bought universal soils or their own harvesting. To do this, you need to mix in equal parts ordinary garden soil, peat, turf. For air permeability of the soil, sand and sawdust are added. Also, ash is added to the prepared mixture for growing strawberries, which prevents rotting, since strawberries have a superficial, rather delicate root system.
For planting strawberries, land on which crops such as strawberries, raspberries, tomatoes or potatoes were grown for the previous 2-3 years is not suitable. This contributes to the transmission of diseases that are characteristic of these plants. Also, humus or manure can be added to the earthen mixture in small proportions. Pipes 10 centimeters from the bottom are filled with coarse gravel or any other suitable material to create good drainage. From above, the soil mixture is poured and slightly compacted to the very top.
Planting strawberries inpipes
In the lower wells of the pipe, plants such as marigolds or marigolds are placed. These flowers are good at repelling pests, preventing them from reaching strawberry plants. If varieties are planted that propagate by abduction of the antennae, then the plants can be planted through one hole in order to further guide the antennae into free holes where they will take root. Vertical planting of strawberries in a pipe consists in the careful placement of plants in an unusual position for them. You can fill the pipe with soil in advance and then make small indentations in it with your fingers to plant seedlings or place plants in stages, filling them with earth.
This is what planting strawberries in a pipe looks like (photo below).
Caring for strawberries in pipes
It is quite simple and differs little from the usual when growing a plant in the ground. This is timely watering, periodic top dressing and disease prevention. Water is supplied to the irrigation pipe. For convenience, at the end of it, towering above the bed, you can place a watering can with a wide neck. The tube is filled completely, to the top. It gradually releases water through the stretched burlap and the earth compacted around. With good drainage, you don't have to worry about flooding your plants. It is easy to determine the condition of the soil, for this you just need to feel it with your fingers in the holes where the strawberries are planted. It does not tolerate drying out of the soil, so constant moistening should be carried out.
Strawberries are fed during the period of active growth and flowering. When does it startfruiting period, top dressing is stopped. Foliar feeding with microelements is most effective. To do this, use a mixture of boric acid, zinc sulfate, cob alt nitrate and manganese sulfate. To prepare the solution, these substances are taken in equal proportions and mixed with water in an amount of 0.025%. Universal fertilizers are used as root dressing, as well as solutions of mullein or bird droppings.
If strawberries are planted in pipes, wintering in such conditions differs little from ground. However, the advantage of this technology is that these beds can be wrapped with improvised materials or brought indoors.
Varieties for vertical cultivation
Planting strawberries in pipes involves the acquisition of high-yielding varieties that are resistant to most plant diseases and pests. The maturation period does not really matter, since the pipes are easy to install not only in the open air, but also in greenhouses or greenhouses. The following varieties are considered the most fruitful: "Pomegranate", "Zagorie", "Roxana", "Early Makherauha", "Desnyanka", "Pavlovchanka". As well as varieties of foreign producers: Gigantella, Bogota, Cardinal, Troubadour.
Pest and disease control
The most common pest for strawberry seedlings is the strawberry transparent mite, which damages the leaves. Its easydetermine, since when it appears, strawberry leaves curl and turn yellow, and the berries on the bushes become small. To combat it, spraying with karbofos is used. For this, a solution is prepared: for 10 liters of water, 3 tablespoons of karbofos. This treatment also eliminates insects such as weevil, strawberry beetle and whitefly.
Also, strawberries are often attacked by the Colorado potato beetle and May beetle larvae, which must be removed from the plant. It is not advisable to use chemicals as a control for these pests, as they are long-acting and not suitable for strawberries that ripen rather quickly.
Pests for strawberries can be slugs, centipedes, snails. Most often they settle on plants when the soil is waterlogged. You need to fight them with the help of the drug "Metaldehyde". It is a granular powder that does not require dissolution in water. Its granules are distributed on the soil.
Planting strawberries in a pipe has long established itself as a rational method of using the usable area and obtaining high yields from each square meter. This method is quite cheap and affordable even for a beginner gardener.
