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Strawberries are not strawberries
Now gardeners are laying new plantings of garden strawberries. Quite often it is called strawberry. It even happens that people lively argue: which of them is right - those who call it strawberries, or those who call the culture strawberries.
The reasons for their justification are sometimes very funny. For example, they say that it is correct to call a garden strawberry a strawberry only because it grows in a garden plot, but one that grows in a forest is small-fruited - this is just a strawberry.
In fact, it is correct to call only nutmeg strawberries strawberries. This is the only type of strawberry, and all other varieties are garden strawberries. At the same time, wild strawberries differ from garden strawberries only in that the latter turned out as a result of spontaneous hybridization, that is, with the help of wind or insects, an actually new plant was formed, which annually gives us large, sweet, magnificent-looking berries.
But, probably, few people would disagree with the fact that garden strawberries are the most widespread and beloved by most people culture. In a number of regions, the areas occupied by garden strawberries surpass the plantings allocated for black currants. You should not be surprised here, a person chooses garden strawberries because their fruits contain a large set of biologically active substances and vitamins. It ripens earlier than many berry plants - already in June, slightly yielding only to honeysuckle, and can give several harvests per season if you have plantings of remontant strawberries, which we will also talk about soon.
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Features of culture
In Russia, garden strawberries appeared a long time ago, around the end of the 18th century. It gained popularity in our country quite quickly, perhaps because it grew in forests, and everyone was familiar with this culture, but there the berry was very small, and then a real miracle appeared with fruits that were many times superior to those that grow in the forest.
A little later, the selection work began with the culture of garden strawberries. The first variety, which has received the widest distribution in Russia, was the Victoria variety. It is so firmly established in our garden plots that people even appropriated the name of the variety to the culture itself. And to this day, in many regions of Russia, garden strawberries are stubbornly called Victoria.
From a biological point of view, garden strawberry is a perennial plant with rather wide leaves and snow-white flowers, which are located on long peduncles. The flowering of garden strawberries is rather long, it is gradually replaced by an equally long ripening period. Quite often you can see flowers on the plant, fully ripe fruits and those that are just beginning to ripen.
Garden strawberry is a very convenient culture, it tolerates frost well, especially when there is enough snow cover on the site, it tolerates short-term drought, is not afraid of pests and diseases, and its flowers can withstand temperatures down to 1-2 degrees below zero. Naturally, under conditions close to ideal, - on a nutritious soil with sufficient moisture, strawberries will bear fruit annually and will not disappoint you with abundance and the amount of harvest.
Agricultural technology of strawberries is not complicated either. All that is needed is to carry out periodic watering, especially in dry periods of the year, sometimes loosen the soil, remove weeds, and during the ripening period, under the bushes under the bushes, fresh straw or covering material so that the berries remain clean and they are not affected by rot. Indeed, most often the fruits that come into contact with the soil begin to rot. Especially a lot of rot in wet years, then the bedding of straw or covering material under the bushes is required, otherwise you can lose most of the crop.
Breeding strawberries
As it is not difficult to care for garden strawberries, it is not difficult to propagate them. The easiest way from the vegetative series is to reproduce with a mustache. As you know, many varieties of garden strawberries form a large number of mustaches. To prevent the plantation from thickening excessively, as well as to prevent strawberries from falling on areas not intended for it, the mustache must be trimmed.
You should not throw away the trimmed mustache, it is enough to plant them in a suitable, well-lit place, and soon a new bush of strawberries will form there, which after a couple of years will give the first harvest. The mustache retains all the characteristics of the variety. This is a complete planting material.
By the way, since we are talking about varieties of garden strawberries, let's look at the most interesting and fairly widespread. It is simply not possible to present all varieties, since selection work with this crop began quite a long time ago, and over the years a lot of them have been created. The first varieties were not characterized by the complexity of the signs, each of them stood out with something of its own: one gave very large fruits, the other ripened very early, the fruits of the third were distinguished by a fantastic dessert taste. Gradually, however, breeders began to tune in to the production of varieties that combine not one, but a whole range of traits. There are real standards among such varieties, even if they are not supernova, but they can give the newest cultivars a head start.
Strawberry varieties
Among such excellent varieties, the cultivar Zarya can be noted. It is a rather powerful plant with very large light green leaves and strong peduncles that form large flowers. The berries of the first collection, which ripen earlier than others, are very large, their weight often exceeds 25 grams, then the berries become smaller, however, they are all characterized by pink and rather dense pulp, very tender and very sweet, with a slightly noticeable sourness.
The second known variety is Festivalnaya. How can you write it off, because it still grows on almost every garden plot and gives good yields. Plants of this variety grow rather quickly, filling all the voids with their ruby and very fragrant berries. The plants of this variety themselves are not tall, but quite strong, with large leaves and snow-white flowers.
The German variety Zenga Zengana is also interesting. It attracts not only the name, but also the high, as well as stable yield, excellent dark red berries, which ripen in mid-June, and bushes that are very resistant to the whims of nature and to diseases.
A little later, the berries ripen from another famous variety - Festivalnaya chamomile. This cultivar is distinguished by an average ripening period, tolerates even severe frosts, being hidden under a snow cover, is characterized by dense berries of excellent taste. The very first fruits, which ripen earlier than others, often weigh 40-45 g.
Of the additional bonuses that a gardener receives when buying a variety is resistance to verticillary wilting and powdery mildew, but berries are sometimes affected by gray rot, but the degree of this defeat is usually small.
If your site is located in a lowland, where cold air often accumulates, then you need to choose the most winter-hardy varieties for this, such as Solovushka and Vityaz. These plants are powerful, forming up to 10 peduncles each. More than five dozen berries can be harvested from one bush. In the Solovushka cultivar, the mass of the first fruits often exceeds 50 g, the mass of Vityaz's fruits ranges from 25 to 30 g. Both of these varieties are not damaged by ticks, are resistant to fungal diseases and give very tasty fruits.
If you want to grow a real dessert in your garden, in general, if you are a real sweet tooth, then choose Marishka or Slavutich varieties for planting. In addition to aromatic and tasty fruits, these varieties are also characterized by resistance to all fungal diseases and high winter hardiness. Up to ten peduncles grow on one bush of the Slavutich variety, on each of which up to six dozen large berries with an average weight of 20-25 g are subsequently formed.
The berries of the Marishka variety are slightly smaller in size, but they are no less aromatic and pleasant to the taste and appearance due to somewhat unusual bright yellow achenes, which are clearly visible against the bard background.
Of the foreign varieties, one cannot fail to mention the famous Scottish cultivar Red Gauntlet, the fruits of which ripen last, thereby prolonging the season for the consumption of fresh, non-repaired strawberries. This variety is characterized by erect, numerous peduncles that grow above the leaf blades. As a result, the berries are easy to pick, they do not get dirty and are not affected by rot.
Nikolay Khromov, Candidate of Agricultural Sciences, Researcher, Department of Berry Crops, GNU VNIIS im. I. V. Michurina, member of the R&D Academy
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Expert advice
As Nikolai Vladimirovich already noted, there are many varieties of garden strawberries. Therefore, we decided to turn to our other author - Galina Dmitrievna Aleksandrova - a strawberry breeder, the author of many famous varieties of this wonderful berry. And even though now she is no longer engaged in breeding work, she continues to grow and multiply her own and other promising strawberry varieties at her summer cottage. We asked her to suggest varieties that gardeners in the Northwest region can grow. Of course, the best time to plant young bushes of this culture is August. But even now it will not be too late to plant plants, especially if you can plant bushes with a good root system and provide them with a reliable shelter with snow in the winter. For insurance, you can cover new plantings with lutrasil - until spring. So, here are the varieties recommended by G. D. Alexandrova:
Early varieties
Of these varieties in my mother liquor reproduce:
The beauty is a variety of my selection - large-fruited (up to 35 g), early-fruiting (begins to bear fruit in new plants), fruitful, winter-hardy, resistant to verticillosis, with berries of high taste and commercial qualities for dessert purposes. Peduncles are located above the level of the leaves. Berries are blunt-conical, bright red, shiny; red juicy pulp with excellent sweet and sour taste, with aroma.
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Sudarushka is also my variety - high-yielding, large-fruited (up to 28-32 g), winter-hardy, resistant to verticillium, with one-dimensional berries, good taste and marketability, universal purpose. Has a high coefficient of vegetative reproduction. The bush is powerful, the peduncles are located at the level of the leaves and below. Berries are oval-conical, red, shiny with light red, dense, juicy pulp, good sweet and sour taste, with aroma, ripen somewhat later Krasavitsa variety.
Strawberries. Variety Sudarushka
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Junia Smides is a Latvian variety - fruitful, winter-hardy, large-fruited (up to 28-30 g), resistant to fungal diseases, with berries of good taste and marketability. The bush is powerful, the peduncles are located at the level of the leaves. The berries are red, shiny, blunt-conical, with a short neck. The pulp is red, juicy, tender, sweet-sour taste with aroma. The appointment is universal. By the end of the harvest, the berries become smaller.
Medium ripening varieties
Divnaya - large-fruited (up to 35-38 g), high-yielding, resistant to verticillium and other fungal diseases, with berries of high taste and marketable qualities. The bush is tall, compact, peduncles are located at the level of the leaves. The berries are large, of the correct rounded-conical shape with a smooth surface, light red, shiny. The pulp is light orange, dense, juicy, excellent sweet and sour taste, with aroma. The berries remain large in all harvests. The appointment is universal.
Strawberries. Variety Divnaya
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Onega is a highly winter-resistant, large-fruited (up to 30 g), high-yielding, resistant to fungal diseases, with berries of high taste and marketable qualities. The bush is vigorous, densely leafy. Peduncles are located at the level of the leaves. The breeding rate is high. The berries are elongated-oval, bright red, shiny with a small neck. The pulp is pink, tender, fibrous, sweet and sour taste.
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Favorite - highly winter-resistant, high-yielding, large-fruited (up to 32 g), resistant to verticillium and other fungal diseases, with berries of high taste and marketability. The bush is powerful, the peduncles are located at the level of the leaves. The berries are elongated-oval, large, bright red. The pulp is pink, juicy, dense, sweet and sour taste, somewhat inferior to the Onega variety.
Medium late ripening varieties
Tsarskoye Selo is a variety of my selection - high-yielding, winter-hardy, large-fruited (up to 33 g), resistant to verticillary wilt. Berries of excellent taste and commercial quality. The bush is medium-sized, the peduncles are located below the level of the leaves. The coefficient of vegetative reproduction is high. The berries are large, of the correct rounded-conical shape with a slightly hilly surface and a small neck. The color of the berries is dark red, almost cherry, with shine. The pulp is evenly colored, bright red, dense, juicy, excellent sweet and sour taste, with aroma.
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Lakomka is a large-fruited (up to 34 g), productive, winter-hardy variety, resistant to verticillium wilt and other fungal diseases, with berries of excellent taste and marketability. The bush is powerful, the peduncles are located at the level of the leaves. The berries are large, round-conical, intense red, with a small neck, shiny. The pulp is evenly colored, red, dense, juicy, of excellent sweet and sour taste, with aroma.
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The souvenir is a large-fruited (up to 33 g), high-yielding, highly winter-resistant variety, resistant to verticillium and late blight, with berries of good taste and marketability. The bush is powerful, the peduncles are located at the level of the leaves. The berries are large, round-conical, bright red, with a small neck, for universal use.
Late ripening varieties
Michurinsky variety Surprise Olympiad is large-fruited (up to 33 g), fruitful, winter-hardy, resistant to fungal diseases, with berries of a good sweet and sour taste with a strong nutmeg aroma. The bush is medium-sized, the peduncles are located at the level of the leaves. The berries are large, regular obtuse-conical shape with a deepened cup, with a smooth surface, burgundy-red color, with shine. The pulp is bright red, dense, juicy.
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Carmen is a Czech variety - large-fruited (up to 30-35 g), fruitful, resistant to fungal diseases, with berries of excellent sweet and sour taste, with aroma. The bush is vigorous, the peduncles are located at the level of the leaves. Berries are rounded-conical, not aligned, with a smooth surface, a recessed cup. The color of the berries is carmine-red, without shine. The pulp is dark red, firm, with a shaft. In terms of winter hardiness, the variety is inferior to all domestic and some foreign varieties, but it recovers well in spring.
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Crown - a Dutch variety - large-fruited (up to 36 g), quite winter-hardy, fruitful, with berries of good taste and marketability. The bush is medium-sized, the peduncles are located below the level of the leaves. The berries are very beautiful, truncated-conical with a sharp top and a small neck, with a smooth surface and a thin skin. The color of the berries is dark red, with shine, the pulp is light red, dense, good sweet and sour taste with a pronounced aroma. By the end of the harvest, the berries become smaller. Winter hardiness of plants is slightly lower than the zoned varieties, but rather reliable, resistance to fungal diseases is average.
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In addition, I can recommend the Original, Polka, Carmen, Cinderella, Zenith, Talka, Kapelka, Yonsok, Yubilyar varieties.
Galina Aleksandrova, breeder
