Festivalnaya strawberry is a popular garden berry variety, bred back in the 50s of the last century. Despite its age, the variety is still a favorite among many gardeners. Festivalnaya belongs to unpretentious varieties, has a special taste and aroma, as well as a number of other advantages, which are described below.
Description strawberry Festival chamomile
This variety is considered one of the best among mid-ripening strawberries. The variety was bred in the last century by the famous breeder Yu.K. Katinskaya, by crossing of varieties Abundant and Premier.
The plant has tall compact bushes. Peduncles are dense and strong, which allows you to easily keep a fairly rich harvest... They are located almost at the level of the leaves or slightly below. This structure provides the fruit with good ventilation and warming up by the sun. In addition, the berries are perfectly visible, so they are easy to pick. Flowers on the bushes are bisexual.
Fruit ripening occurs in early Julyhowever, in the northern regions this period occurs later. The variety is distinguished by long-term fruiting. Sometimes the berries can appear until late autumn. The variety has a high and regular yield. The first berries ripen rather large - up to 50 g... Subsequent fruits will be smaller, about 20 g. Their color is deep red, glossy. The shape is conical, slightly flattened, with small grooves.
The pulp is bright pink, medium density, juicy, tender, very pleasant to the taste. The stalk is easily separated, therefore, when harvesting, the fruits are not injured, they remain dry and clean. One medium-sized berry contains approximately 7% sugar, 1.4% acid, and vitamin C approximately 90 mg... Another distinctive feature is a delicious, pronounced aroma.
The main advantages of the variety:
- Elegant berries with excellent taste characteristics.
- High, regular yield, with a long fruiting period.
- Resistant to frost and drought, therefore it is suitable for growing in different regions.
- Good transfers transportation.
- Rarely exposed diseases.
Of the shortcomings a weak resistance to diseases can be noted - powdery mildew and verticillium wilting.
How to get seedlings of this variety
To get a good harvest, you need to provide quality planting material. It can be purchased from private sellers or specialized stores. When choosing seedlings, you should pay attention to the following points:
- The seedling must have at least 3 leaves.
- Leaves without signs of disease, pests and other visible damage.
- The core is alivenot dry or decayed.
- Root collar strong enough, without rot and stains.
- The root system is healthy, not dry, well developed.
You can also get good seedlings yourself.
From seed
For this in late February, early March, seeds are sown. Since they are small and germinate well in light, they must be spread out on the surface of a moistened soil.... To prevent them from falling into the soil, the top layer can be sprinkled with a small layer of sand. Then the container with the seeds must be covered with foil to keep the moisture longer.
Shoots will appear in 10-14 days... When the first two leaves appear on the seedlings, they must be dived. To do this, transplant into a suitable container, well burying the roots into the soil. This must be done carefully. As a rule, plants tolerate picking well.
The seedlings should be lit most of the day, so it's best to provide additional lighting, even if they are on a windowsill.
In the planting tank, seedlings are grown until mid-June. Then they are transplanted into open ground. The seedlings will yield only next year.
Mustache reproduction
In bushes that bear fruit, the mustache must be removed. Since this takes away their strength, as a result of which the harvest decreases. Therefore, for growing seedlings, it is recommended to choose individual bushes, and harvest from the rest. In order for the mustache to grow actively, peduncles are removed from the uterine bushes... For reproduction, a strong healthy bush is selected, on which five antennae must be left.
When a rosette appears on the mustache, it must be fixed to the soil (you can use a wire), deepen it a little, and wait for the roots to appear. It is necessary to separate the seedling from the mother bush when it is already sufficiently rooted.... Seedlings for next year are harvested at the end of November. The seedlings are placed in a dark, cool place and stored until early spring.
Preparing the soil for planting
Strawberry is a thermophilic plant that loves the sun. It is not recommended to plant it in too humid places and lowlands.... Shaded areas should also be excluded. In the shade, as a rule, excess moisture is formed, so the plant can be exposed to fungal diseases.
Strawberries are unpretentious to the type of soil... An exception is too clayey or sandy soil. Such soil can be diluted by adding humus. So it will become more saturated and friable.
It is not recommended to plant seedlings twice in the same place or beds on which cabbage, tomatoes, potatoes previously grew. A good place will be the soil where carrots, garlic, onions, pumpkin were previously fruitful.
When the area for planting is selected, it should be prepared. The place must be freed from weeds, especially from their roots. Then organic fertilizers are applied (chicken manure, cow dung), the site is dug up and leveled.
Planting Festivalnaya strawberries
Plants can be planted in a single-row and double-row method. In the first case, the spacing in the rows is 60 cm, and between the seedlings 20 cm... This planting is recommended for spring-autumn planting. In the first year, the strawberry does not bear fruit, but puts antennae into the space between the rows.
Two-row planting is considered more effective, well suited for the spring. Saplings are located between themselves after 15 cm, between rows - after 30 cm, between ribbons - 70 cm... You can plant bushes together even more densely. This will rid the rows of seedlings that did not bloom in the first year of growth or were exposed to diseases. By removing unusable seedlings, there will be free space for healthy plants.
Planting of this variety is carried out in spring (early April) or autumn (early September). Since Festivalnaya needs sufficiently moist soil for healthy development, it is not recommended to plant in summer. The optimal root length of seedlings for planting is 8-9 cm.
Before planting, shallow holes or furrows are made, thoroughly moistened. The roots of the bushes need to be well straightened and lowered into the hole in an upright position... Gently sprinkle with earth, tamp a little. Then water again and cover the soil under the bush with a layer of mulch, humus or straw will do. This will prevent a large number of weeds and retain moisture.
Garden berry care
Caring for the Festival bushes is as follows:
- Watering... It is recommended to carry out it depending on the drying out of the soil. Watering is best in the early morning. As long as there is no color, water in the form of a shower can be poured onto the leaves of the plant. When the color and berries appear, you need to water it under the bush. On hot days, the watering procedure is carried out 2 times a week. With the appearance of fruits, watering is reduced.
- Weeding and loosening... Weeding should be carried out as the weed appears. You should not allow heavy contamination of the beds, as weeds take nutrients and moisture from the soil. After harvesting weeds, the soil needs to be loosened so that it breathes.
- Fertilizer... The feeding process is carried out in spring and autumn. Fertilizers are not recommended during the flowering and fruiting period. For feeding, you can use organic matter (cow dung, chicken dung, humus) or special mineral fertilizers that are sold in stores.
Like any cultivated plants, strawberries can be attacked by pests. If this happens, treatment is necessary. Processing can be done before flowering and after harvesting.
Pests
- Transparent mite... It affects foliage, as a result, the leaves turn yellow, and the berries become small. After harvesting berries, the plants need treatment with karbofos.
- Nematodes... They are located in the foliage and completely affect the bushes. The strawberries stop growing. Such diseased plants must be removed from the garden.
- Ants... They spoil the fruits of the plants. To remove them, you need to sprinkle the ground near the bushes with soda.
- Slugs, snails... They love to feast on sweet berries. If there are many of them, then they can completely destroy the crop. You can deal with them with the help of special purchased drugs. You can also make a fence of thorny branches or shells around the perimeter of the beds. It is difficult for slugs to overcome such an obstacle. Also shellfish are afraid of soda.
For prevention purposes, in the fall, the soil is treated with disinfectants. Timely it is necessary to remove dry foliage and control soil moisture.
Diseases
Strawberry diseases include:
- Powdery mildew... The plant becomes covered with a grayish bloom, the fruits begin to mold. To prevent the disease, you need to spray the bushes with a soda solution before the color begins.
- Verticillary wilting... Dark spots first appear on the leaves, then the leaves begin to die off. The plant looks withering and soon dies altogether. Infected bushes must be removed from the garden in time and burned so that the disease does not spread.
Also, the care of strawberries includes preparing it for wintering. First of all, the bushes need to be spud. It is better not to do weeding so as not to damage the roots.
Plants winter well under the snow, but if the winters in your area are not snowy, the bushes need to be covered.
For these purposes, fit: straw, foliage, spruce branches, grapevine. From synthetic materials, you can use agrofibre. Preparation must be carried out even before the onset of frost.
Growing strawberries of the Festivalnaya chamomile variety is a simple process. But still, to get a good harvest of delicious berries, it is necessary to provide the plants with proper care.