When it comes to strawberries, the hobby gardener wants to harvest large, sweet and juicy fruits. To achieve this goal, the strawberry plants need plenty of sun, loose soil and the right nutrients. There are special strawberry fertilizers available in specialist shops, but you can easily make the plant food yourself.
Home remedies as fertilizer
Home remedies that are suitable for fertilizing strawberries. Strawberry fertilizers that you can make yourself include the following.
- coffee grounds
- nettle manure
Other natural strawberry fertilizers are:
- Damn
- leaf compost
coffee grounds
It is no secret for the hobby gardener that coffee grounds are an ideal fertilizer for many plants. What is less known, however, is that it is also excellent as a strawberry fertilizer. Coffee grounds contain nitrogen (N), potassium (K) and phosphorus (P), all three elements that are also found in a store-bought N-K-P fertilizer. Since coffee also contains acid, the coffee grounds can also lower the pH of the soil. This pleases the strawberry plants, as they prefer slightly acidic soil. The coffee grounds also attract earthworms, which loosen the soil. The strawberry plants, which thrive best in loose soil, are happy about this.
coffee grounds
Tip: Aphids and ants don't like coffee grounds. It is also a preventive measure against these plagues.
Despite its extremely good properties, coffee grounds alone as fertilizer for strawberry plants are often not enough to achieve a high-yield harvest. Therefore, to supply more nitrogen to the plants, you should mix the coffee grounds with the nitrogen-rich horn meal. A mixing ratio of 1:1 is ideal. After planting, fertilize each strawberry plant with about 35 grams of the coffee grounds and horn meal mixture. Simply sprinkle the fertilizer around the plant and work it into the soil. So that the fertilizer can quickly develop its full effect, you should keep the soil evenly moist. Depending on the variety, the strawberries get 40 grams of the mixture after harvest and 15 grams in spring.
Tip: Pay attention to the dosage, because too much coffee grounds are harmful to the plants.
nettle manure
Nettle manure is a home remedy that can also be used as strawberry fertilizer. However, it should not be used too often, as its taste may "transfer" to the strawberries. Making nettle manure is easy.
For this you need:
- protective gloves
- knife or scissors
- wooden spoon or stick (long-handled)
- correspondingly large vessel made of wood, stone, plastic or glass
- fine-meshed net to cover the vessel
The home remedy can be made in different amounts. The mixing ratio is one kilogram of nettle manure to ten liters of water.
To prepare the nettle manure, proceed as follows:
- Harvest nettle with scissors or knife
- Place crushed nettle in the jar
- Fill the container with water and stir
- Place the jar in a warm and sunny spot
- cover with net against vermin
- stir once a day
nettle brew
The nettle manure is ready when no more bubbles form. Depending on the weather, this can take between one and three weeks. Now it has to be strained and diluted. Half a liter of nettle manure in 20 liters of water is suitable for young strawberry plants.
manure and leaf compost
Although you rarely have manure right in front of your house or stable door, it is a good alternative to bought fertilizer. However, this is used with strawberries as a preparation for the soil, because fresh manure is harmful to the plants. The ideal time for fertilizing with manure is one to two months before planting the strawberries. It is best to mix the horse manure with the excavation so that the nutrient-rich organic fertilizer is evenly distributed in the bed. There are about five liters of manure per square meter of floor space. If horse manure is not available, leaf compost can also be used. Leaf compost is incorporated in the same way as manure.
compost
Tip: Garden compost is not well tolerated by strawberry plants because it contains too much salt and lime.
ash
Disputed: ash
Whether ash is suitable as strawberry fertilizer is controversial. While some give wood ash as a special tip for a high-yield harvest, others warn against using wood ash from the grill or fireplace for strawberry plants at all. The problem lies in the fact that when it comes to charcoal, the origin of the wood is not known. In the case of firewood, the proportion of heavy metals in the wood ash cannot be determined without a precise analysis. There is a risk of enriching the soil with toxic substances, which you then ingest through the strawberries. Ash proponents point out that the ash is rich in potassium and other important trace elements. If you want to use ash as strawberry fertilizer, you should only use ash from sustainable wood cultivation and bring in a maximum of 30 grams per square meter.
Tip: Ash is often referred to as an organic fertilizer. Nevertheless, you should be extremely careful when fertilizing with it, especially with strawberries.
time
There is a wide variety of information about the right time to fertilize strawberry plants. They range from once to several times a year. The different information goes back to the different strawberry varieties. Therefore, fertilizing depends on the strawberry variety.
Strawberry plants in the garden bed
sorts
Once bearing varieties
Once-bearing strawberry varieties are always fertilized after the last harvest in midsummer or early autumn. Because these varieties put on their flower buds in autumn and need plenty of energy and nutrients.
Always bearing varieties
Everbearing varieties, also known as repeating varieties, continuously develop flowers and fruits. In order for the strawberries to have enough strength to do this, they must be supplied with nutrients throughout the season. Therefore, you should fertilize these plants about every two weeks with an organic fertilizer or leaf compost.
Tip: The supply of nutrients from always-bearing varieties should be dosed low, otherwise there is a risk of over-fertilization and the plants will no longer develop flowers.
Sometimes a distinction is made between always-bearing and always-bearing varieties in the case of the always-bearing varieties. In this case, a distinction is made between the so-called monthly strawberries and strawberry varieties that produce fruit twice a season.