Why is strawberry sour and how can it be fixed?

Strawberries are considered to be one of the most popular garden crops, on the homestead and suburban areas of our compatriots, it has consistently occupied a leading position for many decades.

This berry is loved for its color, aroma and, of course, delicate sweet taste with light sourness. However, sometimes there are situations when sourness becomes too much. Understand the reasons.

There are a lot of reasons why the berries grow not sweet, but sour.

The first reason is related to the wrong grade. It so happens that when replanting your bushes to a new place, the gardener simply confuses plants of different species and then discovers with surprise that those berries that should be sweet are completely different. To avoid such confusion, you should be more careful and sign the seedlings when changing the planting area.

The second reason is the too long growing time and the natural aging of the shrub. It is believed that strawberries need to be renewed every 4-5 years; if it grows in one place longer, then the berries invariably shrink, and their taste loses its sweetness and aroma. This is easily explained - the root system for a long time wears out and is no longer able to provide either the proper size or the favorite taste of strawberry fruits.

The fifth reason is related to the height of the strawberry planting. If you are the owner of uneven land with slopes, then often there is a stagnation of moisture, which significantly impairs the taste of berries and the development of strawberries in general. In this case, it is worthwhile to equip the inflated beds, aligning them on the surface, and you can enjoy a good harvest.

The sixth culprit for lowering the level of sugar in the fruits are also the beds, but this time they are incorrectly located in relation to the sunlight. Strawberries love light and the most delicious fruits grow in the sun; in order for the fruits to fully ripen they need at least 8 hours of natural light a day.

The third reason is excess watering. Of course, if the summer was rainy, then you cannot do anything here, the only advice is to loosen the ground near the bushes and between the rows as often as possible, this will allow the moisture to evaporate faster. But gardeners themselves are more often to blame - out of ignorance or in pursuit of the size of the berries, they flood their plantings. As a result, the berries become watery and absolutely not tasty.

The fourth reason is related to the characteristics of the soil. The fact is that strawberries prefer fertile and well-drained land, slightly acidified. If you noticed that in the current season the strawberry slightly changed its taste and became more acidic, then in the spring, be sure to feed the earth with compost or rotted manure mixed with river sand in equal volumes - dilute with water and thoroughly pour the whole area where growing strawberry. Such processing can not be attributed to a full feed, however, it was noted that the fruits actually turn out to be more sweet and rather large.

The seventh reason is high thickening of landings. It seems to some owners of the dacha plots that the more bushes they plant on one bed, the more crops they will harvest. This is not so - strawberries love space and it needs to provide a lot of space. The best option for planting berries on the site is the square-nesting method, when the distance between shrubs on the same bed is 30-40 cm, and the length of the aisle is about 50. If the planting is thicker, the bushes will feel nutrient deficiencies small and sour.

Another reason is culture disease. When buying bushes, inspect them as thoroughly as there should be no signs of rot, mildew and spotting on the leaves and shoots: all fungal infections cause plant depletion, which at best causes loss of fruit taste characteristics, but most often leads to the death of the bushes. Such preventive examination should be mandatory from year to year.

The ninth factor, which often leads to an increase in acids in the fruit - this is the wrong time for planting. Garden strawberries should be planted in August, but many do it when they decide what is fundamentally wrong. Strawberries should be planted exactly in the last summer month, because only in this case, before the onset of cold weather, does she have enough time to build up the necessary root system. If you live in a temperate climate, then before the arrival of frost, you also need to mulch the ground or cover it with agrofiber - then the young bushes will be able to survive the winter, and the fruits will be juicy and sweet.

The tenth reason is associated with excessive haste. Do not wait for the first year - immediately after planting - a bountiful and sweet harvest. Give the plants to gain strength and energy - then after a year you will be able to enjoy the delicate taste of berries.

And, finally, the taste qualities of berries are significantly reduced if gardeners at the end of the season resort to mowing in order to remove all the leaf plates from the plot. Most often, as a result of such actions, damage is caused to the point of growth, and this provokes deformations that lead to a decrease in the sweetness of strawberries. It is better to comb out all sheet plates with a small rake.

If you notice that the strawberry has become more acidic - do not despair. In most cases, the situation can be corrected in the next season to enjoy delicious fruits.

• Give the plant a light. It is proved that the aromatic compounds that give a special strawberry flavor, characteristic only for this berry, are very closely related to the amount of light that the plant receives. Scientific studies have confirmed that if you triple the light, then the sweetness of the fruit will also increase.

• Give more red color. Surprisingly, but true. Plants, the land near which is mulched with red fiber, produce fruits that are 20% more than others, and also much sweeter and more fragrant. This is confirmed by research conducted at the University of California at the beginning of our century. In such conditions, more ascorbine and anthocyanin are produced in the berries, which are responsible for staining the culture.
• Provide strawberries with potassium. Experiments conducted by breeders have shown that plants that are grown on acidified soils with a high content of potassium, have a much sweeter taste. If you live in regions where the land cannot boast of such parameters - just make raised beds with a high amount of organic matter, for example, peat and compost; in addition, every two weeks, apply potash fertilizers throughout the growing season.

• Sit right. Competent planting gives half the sweetness of the berries. In order for the plant to enjoy a sweet and bountiful harvest, you should observe the distance between the seedlings, as well as regularly loosen the land and remove weeds. Optimally pulling out extra herbs immediately, as soon as they arise - this not only improves the taste of strawberries, but also significantly increases the content of vitamin C in it, and, consequently, will make the fruits more useful and nutritious.
• Comfrey and aspirin. Studies have clearly shown that the specific taste of the berry is due to the presence of Methylobacterium extorquens bacteria that live on the leaves. Their content increases dramatically if the plant is sprayed with infusion of comfrey, which is popularly called adam grass. To prepare such a composition, you need to collect half a bucket of grass, pour water and leave for a month under the closed lid. For processing, 1 part of infusion takes 15 parts of water, diluted and leaf sheets are sprayed every two weeks.

• Collect only ripe berries. In order to get truly delicious berries, they need to be harvested only ripe, best in sunny weather and after lunch. It is noticed that at this time it is especially juicy and sweet, since sugar level is elevated, and wateriness, on the contrary, is minimal. There are varieties that, even after turning red, do not yet reach technical ripeness, therefore take into account the characteristics of the variety when harvesting.
• Use the mechanism of organic farming. Organically cultivated strawberries accumulate more antioxidants and beneficial vitamins than the one used for the chemical cultivation. The use of natural dressings allows not only to make the taste more vivid and rich, but also more environmentally friendly and, therefore, safe for children and adults.

To grow a good harvest of strawberries should follow the rules of agricultural technology. Weeding is very important for the plant. Culture does not tolerate competition, and if the planting is overgrown with weeds, the crop is sour and small.

Do not forget to loosen the plant, because the strawberry prefers free air access to the roots. These works should be carried out at least twice a month. Starting from the second year of the plant's life, the bushes should be spud, since adventitious roots are formed in the near-stem zone.

Observe the irrigation mode. The plant needs water, especially in June, when it grows berries and mustache. Moreover, watering should be continued after harvesting, since at this moment roots and buds are formed for the next growing season.

If you competently care for the plant, feed and water it in time, you will definitely get a good harvest of hard, juicy and sweet berries.

You will learn more about the proper care of strawberries in the following video.