Strawberry cultivation using Finnish technology

Each gardener process of growing strawberries takes a lot of time and effort.Finland is the leading country in this craft. Regardless of the harsh weather conditions, this northern country continues to thrive in this niche. Growing strawberries here is the predominant direction of the agricultural economy.

Cultivation and reproduction of strawberries according to Finnish technology are two ways: in the garden or greenhouses. This method of growing strawberries differs from others in that the soil under sowing is covered with a film. This procedure is called mulching. Using this method, you can reap the fruits within 50-60 days after sowing.

So fast ripening of berries is explained by the fact that the soil heats up much faster because of the film. Another advantage of this technology is that weeds cannot multiply in this land, sockets are also strengthened in it.

The ways in which strawberries are propagated and grown in Finland are very different from the usual methods that ordinary gardeners are accustomed to using. High yield directly depends on the density of planting material. Often, 30-40 thousand bushes can be placed on one hectare of land. The distance between shoots should be 25-35 cm.

However, not only the density of planting affects the wealth of the crop. It is important to take into account the variety of strawberries. In Finland, the varieties Korona, Bounty, and Rumba are very common. Their strawberries are much sweeter and sizzles before the other varieties.

The mulch coating is considered the main material in this growing method. The film is used during seedlings in 1 or 2 rows. For single-row planting, you will need a film 1 meter long, and for the second case - 1.1-1.3 meters.

Mulch coating comes in different shades. Experienced experts recommend to purchase dark gray, black or chestnut film. Dark colors have a positive effect on the growth of fruits, but these shades attract sunlight to themselves - it is likely that your culture will dry out because of the heat.

On the market you can find polypropylene non-woven material. Many gardeners replace the film with this canvas. This material is not very expensive, but it is likely that your fruits will be unprotected.

Finnish strawberry cultivation technology provides drip irrigation system. It can be purchased on the market or do it yourself at home. To create it yourself, it is enough just to make small holes in the hose and “drown” it a little in the ground. So you can be sure that your bushes do not exactly dry.

In order for you to reap a rich harvest, the Finnish method of growing strawberries should be used only in areas that are well lit by the sun. It is desirable that at the site of planting, in general, there were no buildings or trees. The soil must be carefully loosened, pre-enriched with the necessary fertilizers and minerals. But also the land on the site can be sated with mineral compounds containing nitrogen, or use chicken droppings.

After the done actions, the soil is loosened, so that the earth is saturated with oxygen, and useful fertilizers are evenly distributed throughout the territory. After loosening the soil is leveled using a rake in order to facilitate the process of arranging the beds.

After you have coped with the previous item, you can start creating beds. To future plants are well lit by the sun, the beds are recommended to be located in the direction from north to south.

The length of the beds depends on the size of the territory, and breadth - on how many rows of strawberries you want to arrange. You can equip 1, 2 or 3 rows of beds. And you can make more rows, but it is not desirable, since it will be very inconvenient for you to walk between the bushes.The more rows there are, the more difficult it will be to get oxygen to the ground, as it is under the film.

The most popular option is the formation of beds in 2 rows. In this case, the distance between them is about 50-70 cm. The width of the beds is about 70-90 cm. The height of the beds is no more than 10-13 cm. This height is needed to ensure that the earth warms up well.

Dimensions of the beds themselves may be different.

The edges of the beds should always be fixed so that they do not subside and retain their initial appearance. For this you need to make a special frame. It is a box without bottom, whose height is 40-50 cm. The box is completely made of wooden boards.

In each of the four corners of the bed we hammer in pegs or thick slats about 25 cm high. The frame itself is attached to them. Therefore, it is desirable that the area selected for planting, was fairly smooth. With such beds you will get a rich harvest. The main thing is that the soil is fertile and fertilized every spring.

Even in the southern countries, high beds have a large number of positive qualities. Berries are illuminated by the sun from all sides, and also reduces the risk of various diseases.

Using the Finnish method of growing strawberries, you can grow your crop in any country, even with the harshest climate in any weather.

Before you start planting strawberries, you need to select and prepare the soil. So let's deal with landing technology step by step.

1. Select the site on which the work will be done. It is desirable that during the year no culture was grown on it.
2. To start digging up the ground.
3. The soil must be well loosened so that not a single large lump of earth is left. Due to loosening the soil will be saturated with oxygen.
4. Next, add fertilizer. This may be humus, horse manure, or a mixture of soil and plant humus.

After you have completed all the above points, you can prepare the irrigation system. Decide on the width of the bed: measure about 80 cm. After you have fertilized the ground, it should be brewed for 15 days. At this time, the irrigation system is being prepared:

• prepare the hose and put it between the beds;
• the hose over the entire length should be buried in the ground at a depth of 5 cm;
• at the very end of the hose you need to install a homemade plug in order to prevent water from flowing.

Two weeks later, the fertilized land will settle and settle. Now you can start working with film.

• The film is stretched all over the territory of the site, and at the edges from all sides they are fixed with boards or stones.
• Holes are made in the film, in which sprouts are placed. Experienced gardeners are advised to plant plants in a checkerboard pattern. So, grown bushes will not interfere with the neighboring.
• After you have planted the sprouts, they should be watered. The first time you need to water only manually. Next, strawberries should be watered using the irrigation system that you have prepared in advance.

Then you just have to wait until your culture starts to give the first fruits. Please note that the Finnish method of cultivation does not require much effort and cost.

So you can harvest a rich harvest of strawberries grown by the Finnish method, you should carefully look after her. Let's understand the features of care for this culture.

• The water you water your beds should not be too cold. Watch the territory carefully: it is important that the beds are not heavily flooded.
• Periodically feed a kidney with fertilizers or microminerals.
• Make sure that the shoots are not damaged from various diseases. Regularly carry out prevention.
• Periodically remove antennae with garden shears.

In the process of preparing the land, a special film of a dark shade is used. It is made in Finland and is characterized by a long service life and high quality products. If you decide to grow strawberries with the Finnish method, then it is desirable to use this particular plastic film.

So, let's deal with the positive aspects of this method:

• Because of the presence of a film, sodium nitrate accumulates in the upper part of the soil, which is an additional nutrient for strawberries;
• weeds cannot develop in such a land, and the film creates an additional barrier to their growth;
• the film allows you to constantly keep the soil moist;
• thanks to her, not a single berry stains the ground;
• the earth warms evenly, and the shoots are not frozen even in winter.

Thanks to this method of cultivation in Finland each year they harvest about 15 thousand tons of crop.

On how to grow strawberries, see below.