Strawberries have become standard in almost every hobby garden. These delicious fruits are even cultivated easily and frequently on balconies and terraces. If you would like to take the plunge this year and pamper yourself with this summer treat, you should of course take care of the right care. And that includes fertilizing. After all, plants need strength from nutrients in order to produce healthy, large and tasty fruits. In this article we are devoting ourselves to this topic: which fertilizer for strawberries can and should you use?
Which fertilizer for strawberries should you use?
With so many fertilizers to choose from, finding the right one doesn't seem to be an easy task. But that's not entirely true, because beginners can quickly find strawberry fertilizer in stores that is specifically tailored to the needs of this plant. The strawberry plants primarily need potassium, nitrogen and phosphorus.
It is important to know that only everbearing varieties should be fertilized in spring and when planting and then every two weeks. If you have chosen a variety that only bears fruit once, you need to add fertilizerin springnot necessary, but in autumn when these varieties form their flower buds. Which fertilizer is suitable for strawberries besides the commercially available strawberry fertilizer?
Organic fertilizers
It won't surprise you thatCompost, i.e. organic fertilizeris ideal for strawberries. However, the right compost must be chosen. The traditional one is quite salty, which the strawberry plants don't particularly like. They prefer soils that are poor in nutrients and humus. Leaf humus is therefore the best choice, or bark humus, for example.
If you don't have compost available, manure is also suitable (especially horse manure), which you can get at a farm. Regardless of whether the strawberry plants go into the bed or into a pot/bucket - the selected fertilizer is first mixed directly into the soil. Compost and manure are high-quality long-term fertilizers, so that the plants are well and permanently supplied.
Mineral strawberry fertilizer
Mineral fertilizers are suitable to a limited extent because they contain a lot of salt, which, as I said, the strawberry plants don't particularly like. Leaf growth is encouraged, while fruit formation is somewhat neglected. If so, many gardeners choose blue grain specifically. A good alternative idea would be to combine organic and mineral fertilizers, but only if you don't value organic quality. In this case, be sure to use organic biofertilizer.
Don't have the desire or time to go to the garden center or stop by a farm? And you don't have compost because you don't have a garden and want to cultivate your strawberry plants on the balcony? No problem! Then you can easily make fertilizer for strawberries in the pot yourself. And the best thing is that this is also suitable for bedding plants.
Tea and coffee grounds as fertilizer for strawberries
Coffee grounds contain all three minerals we mentioned above, making them a wonderful fertilizer for your strawberry plant. At the same time, its acidity also balances the pH value of the soil. However, coffee grounds alone are not sufficient and must be combined with an additional agent (1:1). Blue grain, but also horn flour, is ideal. Horn meal works wonderfully here due to its high nitrogen content. The mixturewith coffee groundsuse at a rate of 15 g per square meter in spring. After harvesting, you can fertilize everbearing varieties again at 40 g per square meter.
The used tea leaves from the tea bags, for example, which you mix into the soil, are also suitable. However, keep in mind that tea is significantly weaker than coffee grounds.
Fertilize with pure wood ash
Wood ash can be used as long as you are sure that it is actually made from pure wood - no varnished wood and no ash from the grill or fireplace, as this could be contaminated by metals. Otherwise, 30 g per square meter is completely sufficient to supply the plants.
Prepare nettle manure
Nettle manure is also very effective. After you do theNettle manure producedIf you have water, dilute half a liter of manure with 20 liters of water and use it to water the plants. But don't do this too often. There is a risk that the fruits will take on a certain nettle flavor.
Crush potassium-rich banana peels
You can get a good fertilizer for strawberries very quickly and easily with theBanana peels. All you have to do is cut the shells into small pieces and then mix them into the substrate. You don't even have to wait for the shells to rot for this purpose. This process then takes place gradually in the soil, gradually releasing nutrients.
Tips for potted plants
Potted berries need the same nutrients as their relatives for the garden bed. However, fertilizer is applied much more frequently, namely every two weeks. Also, avoid using regular potting soil for planting theStrawberry plant in the pot, as it also contains a lot of salt. The better alternative is herbal soil, which you mix with a little leaf humus.
