How and When Should I Prune Strawberry Plants?

In the summer months, juicy sweet strawberries are one of the best delights you could have. Although these plants do not need serious pruning as other berry bushes do, they require simple maintenance in the summer towards the end of the season as they grow.

The strawberry plants give out runners with plantlets at the end, which end up getting a root whenever they touch the soil. If you want your berries to grow in patches, then free the runners and let them grow.

But if you want these new plants to get their power from the adult bush, then you will end up getting smaller fruits that you may not like.

Tips for Pruning Strawberry Plants

First Season Pinching and Trimming Back of Strawberry Plants

Get rid of the flower stalks of the strawberries, which grew out in June. You should get more berries if you let the plants grow in size before the fruiting. Let the flowers get fruit for the period of the season. Get rid of the flower stalks patiently with your forefinger and your thumb, and try as much as possible to prevent spoiling the stalk of the strawberry plant.

If you’re not sure of the type of strawberry you are pruning, you need to ask any berry pruner around for you to be specific.

Trimming the Runners

Cut back the runners from behind. These runners are little shoots and trails from the main berry plant. Cut these back to the original plant. This is necessary, so the important nutrients are not drained. Some berry pruners prefer to allow the runners to remain on strawberries from June. These work also, but a lot of the strawberry patch could be lost in their control and the quality of your berries would decline at a high rate.

Runners could also be used. When the runner begins, it would start rooting. And after it has properly rooted, lose it from its mother plant.

Post Season Trimming

At the end of the season of production, the strawberry plants should be pruned back to the end. Trim them about an inch higher than the soil, then run the streets with a lawnmower. Arrange the mower high so the plants will not be ripped from the roots.

This would keep them productive through the pruning season. Settle down and prune roots that are damaged, and cut very long roots to about 5 inches.

Winter Protection for the Strawberries

After mowing the berry plants, to protect the berries from injury through the winter, a huge layer of mulch is necessary. If the plants are not protected, the low temperatures from winter could easily kill the buds of the fruit and destroy the crowns and roots.

And this is how and when you should prune strawberry plants.

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Photo by Massimiliano Martini on Unsplash

How to Manage Outdoor Allergies When Working in Your Garden

We all want to have a perfect garden, but some of us have different allergies, which could be affected by the pollen around. Some tricks could help you in controlling the allergies you have when you are making the best landscape ever.

Ways to manage your outdoor allergies include the following:

1.              Getting the right plants. Get plants that have fragrant and bright flowers. These flowering plants are normally pollinated by insects instead of those pollinated by the wind. Their pollen is not so big and it doesn't get in the air to cause allergic symptoms.

2.              Get native plants. These are very easy to grow because they easily adapt to the environmental climate. Non-native plants have issues with the release of pollen, because they are stressed and don't easily adapt to the climate around.

3.              Female trees should be requested. A lot of the pollen comes from male trees. They are usually advertised as fruitless or seedless. For easier breathing, it is best to get a female tree. This is because they won't release pollen.

4.              Get rid of high pollen trees and plants from your garden. Get all plants and trees that have pollen far away from your doors and windows. This prevents their pollen from getting inside. Have it in mind that this would not save you from the pollen which comes from the trees of your neighbors.

How to Get Ready for your Gardening

Get medicine for your allergy medicine. Start taking the allergy medications about a week before the season of your allergy begins. For natural allergy relief, try MediNatura’s ClearLife Allergy Relief.

Go for gardening when there are low pollen counts.  Around late evenings are the best times to go gardening. This is because pollen counts are lower at this time of day.

Make sure you look at the forecast. On cloudy, damp or cool days, pollen counts are very low. On windy or dry days they are quite high.

Make sure you wear the necessary gear. Get like a shirt with long sleeves and pants, which would shield your skin from all the allergens. Get sunglasses, gloves, and googles too. A dusk mask would be extremely nice.

Don't touch your eyes and face while at the garden working.

Get someone to mow the lawn. This gets pollen into the air, which could cause your allergies. Get a family member to handle it, or pay someone to handle it for you.

Take a bath after gardening. After your done gardening, you should have mold and pollen on your clothes and body. To reduce issues, get rid of these triggers and clean up immediately after you’re done. A nice bath should do the trick.

When you’re done gardening, leave all tools outside. This way, no triggers follow you inside your home.

How do you manage your allergies when working in your garden?

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Photo by Emiel Molenaar on Unsplash