Strawberries! How to choose the perfect variety and grow them properly?

Berries

Strawberries are a fragrant berry that every self-respecting gardener should have in their garden. Although this plant is easy to care for, there are still some secrets to successfully growing this crop. Knowing these secrets will be useful for those who have never grown strawberries or have tried without success, as well as for those who are eager to find the perfect one. strawberry variety for yourself and your garden.

The ideal place for planting garden strawberries

  • It should be as sunny and bright as possible. In addition, it is very important that before this strawberries did not grow in this soil.
  • This berry thrives in fertile soil. To make the soil as suitable as possible for growing strawberries, simply add two buckets of compost or high-moor peat to the soil. Naturally, it's also important to keep the planting area free of weeds.
  • The planting site size is up to you, but a bed width of approximately 90 centimeters is ideal for growing strawberries. To feed the whole family with strawberries and leave enough berries for harvesting, planting about 50 plants is sufficient.

Features of planting and growing strawberries in the garden

It's recommended to plant strawberry seedlings around the end of April. It's important to properly prepare the bed for planting beforehand. You can also plant strawberry bushes throughout the summer. Some strawberry varieties can already produce their first harvest in the spring after planting.

Care for garden strawberries includes regular watering. Another interesting way to grow this plant is by shading it—placing some material (preferably not fabric) over the newly planted plants for a couple of days. This method helps the strawberries establish themselves in the garden by protecting them from excessive sun and strong winds.

Important!
If you start planting strawberries later, from mid-May, you will need a special frame for protection so that the plants are not burned by bright sunlight.

As for harvesting strawberries, during the main ripening period, which occurs in early July, it is necessary to pick berries quite frequently - every other day or every day in hot weather.

Regarding how this plant survives winter, it's worth noting that it generally does well, even for foreign varieties. The key to preserving the plant over winter is snowfall. If there's no snowfall for a long period during severe frosts, you'll need to insulate the strawberry plant yourself.

How to choose a garden strawberry variety

It's believed that 50% of strawberry growing success comes from choosing the right variety. The most important characteristics a gardener looks for when choosing a strawberry variety are flavor and berry size. However, each variety also has many advantages and disadvantages.

Interesting!
Disadvantages include poor cold tolerance and susceptibility to disease, so it is important to pay attention to these issues when choosing your variety.

When choosing strawberries for the most vibrant flavor, consider varieties such as 'Malvina,' 'Vivaldi,' 'Holiday,' 'Honey,' 'Polka,' and 'Eliani.' The current leading flavor variety in Russia is 'Borovitskaya.'

When choosing among everbearing varieties—those that bear fruit several times per season—the leaders are 'Elizabeth II' and 'Irma.' Their main advantages include increased yield, frost resistance, and disease resistance. Furthermore, these strawberry varieties are virtually equal in taste to their non-everbearing counterparts.

Important!
When choosing a garden strawberry variety, it's important to consider all the specifics of planting, growing, and caring for it in summer and winter. It's important to remember that gardening is a creative process, so experimentation is an option here too.

You can choose varieties to suit your taste, try combining completely different ones in your garden, but the most important thing is to remember proper care so that your strawberries will delight you with a harvest for a long time.

Add a comment

Apple trees

Potato

Tomatoes