For anyone serious about strawberry farming, knowing about organic strawberry farming is of prime importance. This is especially applicable for small scale farmers.

These days with the growth of demand in locally produced berries, the commercial prospect of organic strawberry farming has increased manifolds. Strawberry farmers around the world are busy upgrading their farming methods in a bid to suit agro-farming to all climatic conditions.

Organic strawberry farming has really taken off with these berries commanding the best prices today. As most of us would probably be aware of organic strawberry farming is all about growing strawberries without the help of pesticides and synthetic fertilizers. The stress here is on growing fruits with the help of biological pest control and soil building measures that are completely natural in nature.

Before plunging into organic strawberry farming remember that the Federal organic standards have stringent standards for farms that claim to have organically grown crops. The farms have to be certified as organic by a USDA-accredited certification agency before it can actually claim to be a producer of organically grown strawberries.

While preparing your farm for organic strawberry farming make sure you have a few things planned ahead. Here are a few tips that could be used-
– Prepare your the soil well, make sure the soil contains a large amounts of organic matter within it. Remove all the grass and the weeds too, a pH level of 5.5 to 6.6 needs to be maintained in the soil. Further, you need to burrow two to three inches of compost on the top of the soil.

– Adequate sunlight is an absolute must for organic strawberry farming. Make sure that your far has at least six to seven hours of sunlight every day. If your plants are in the shade, you would do well to shift them to a sunny patch.

– Organic strawberry farming needs, good and reliable supply of water through the season. The plants should get regular supply of at least one inch of water every week.

– Strawberry plants need a well drained soil. Make sure that the water does not stand on the roots, otherwise the roots could rot leading to death of the plants. For this you could raise the bed of your plants, this will help drain the water fast.

– Since you don’t apply artificial fertiliers tour strawberry plants, make sure that you boost your plants with bone meal and blood meal. This needs to be done once a month within the period of June and September.

– Weeds are a big problem for those who do organic strawberry farming. biggest problems that organic strawberry growers face. Because of this basic weed-control ideas are an absolute necessity. Farmers using black plastic mulch have also at times been frustrated because weeds have emerged from the holes that had actually been made for the strawberry plants.

– Organic growers will find that some hand weeding is necessary. Weeds in organic plasticulture systems can become troublesome even where black plastic mulch is used. In such situations, the weeds emerge from the planting holes made for the strawberry plants. The rows must be straight and the plastic laid precisely to allow mechanical cultivation of the furrows without damaging the beds and plastic.

Organic strawberry farming can be a satisfying and lucrative process if you know how to do it well.

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Growing vegetables together with kids in your garden can be quality time spent for all members of the family, and the kids actually love it, when they can mess round and actually plant their own saplings. While you help kids grow strawberries teach them how to place the plants on the soil, water the plants and tend on them once they are older.

If you thought helping kids grow strawberries, would be difficult think again. It’s an easy and fun process, lets see how. Strawberries are easily grown with kids and because they come in different varieties, you can pick one that suits your climate well.

While trying to help kids grow strawberries, remember that the process begins from choosing a plant that the child likes from the nursery. You’ll have plenty of choices if you browse through local nurseries; they would probably advice you on varieties that should grow well in your locality.

When you help kids grow strawberries, let them pick a healthy looking annual plant since it is less likely to have diseases. Growing strawberry requires sun; keep that in mind while planting the sapling. Before children can actually plant the sapling, they have to make the ground ready and this is usually the most fun part for them.

Help kids grow strawberries, by asking them to first measure and then dig holes for placing the plants. Depending on the space you have and how many plants you want make arrangements. Teach children that the strawberry plants should be placed approximately 14 to 18 inches apart from each other in neat rows that are separated by 2-3 feet each.

While helping kids grow strawberries, they also need to be taught how to maintain the plant and look after it once the planting has been done.
The strawberry plant needs to be watered every day. You can make this more fun for children by buying them their very own small cans with which they can water the plants. Show kids how to pinch off the plant runners for larger sized berries. From time to time guide children on how to thin the plants so that thin out the plants so that diseases and insects can be avoided.

Teach children to keep their plants healthy by keeping away pests and insects that are sure to pester the plant. Slugs and snails are commonly seen around strawberry plants. The children should be trained how to keep the plants free from disease and bugs.

Teach kids to remove the yellow and diseased leaves. They should also learn to pick the fruits before they start rotting. You might also help kids grow strawberries in their own pots. This can be done very effectively; one however needs to remember to place the pot in a place that has sunlight.

If you teach the children to take good care of their plants, it might yield them delicious berries all through the season. There is no other plant that is so much fun to grow in terms of colour and the fruits that it produces.

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You can grow strawberries just about anywhere. If you have a garden you need to prepare a bed for the or else you can start planting strawberries in hanging baskets, window boxes or patio containers too. Before you go about the preparations for planting, decide on how many plants you actually need depending on the size of your family. A small family could happily make do with about 25 plants for their regular strawberry needs. A bundle of 25 plants could cost you anywhere around 8-10 $.

Usually strawberries are usually sold in bundles of about 25 plants. Get yourself one such bundle and start the process of planting strawberries. It is better to buy your plants from a reputed nursery or grower, this way; you’ll be assured of a healthy plant, a correct price, tips on planting and important suggestions on which variety would grow well in your circumstances. It is always to grow a variety that suits your locality and climate rather than go for exotic varieties that may not yield well.

There are basically three types of strawberries, these are:

– Musk strawberries
– Single crop plants, which bear fruit and ripen rather quickly( within few weeks)
– The day-neutral types which yield fruit all summer.

For about 25 plants you will need to prepare a double row which is about 25 feet long and 3 feet wide, this is enough space for the plants to grow. If you keep the row narrow, it is more practical since it allows you to reach between the plants while picking the fruit. Planting strawberries is usually done in early spring so it would be best to start preparing the bed during fall. Make a raised bed, for solving drainage problems, preferably in a place that receives plenty of sunlight.

Check out some handy tips for planting strawberries-

– While buying new plants arrive, be wary of the health of the plant; try to spot for damages to the plant. Ensure that the crown should look healthy.
– While planting strawberries space out each plant about one foot away from the other.
– The bed should be watered the bed well before putting the plants in them, this will help force out the air gaps too, leading to better plant growth.
– Make your planting hole big enough to accommodate the roots well. Remember to adjust the plant in such a way that the crown is placed at soil level.

While picking the strawberries from the plant, make sure that you remove infected or bad fruits as this could lead to diseases in other fruits too. It is important that after planting strawberries you also take good care of the plants. Keep them well watered and occasionally spray them with fish emulsion or with liquid fertilizers.

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