The most delicate, tastiest and, without a doubt, the most beautiful berry in the garden is the strawberry. This is recognized throughout the world. Everyone loves this magnificent berry, no garden culture has as many admirers as hers.
That is why breeders do not stop working on breeding new varieties with more and more improved qualities. Such a culture is the queen strawberry - a magnificent table berry of Russian selection, which will be discussed in the article.
Features
Fully true to its royal name, this strawberry impresses with its size. Ripe berries of the first order reach 40-50 g, since large-fruitedness is a kind of visiting card of the variety. Subsequent fruits ripen with a gradual decrease in size, but, as a rule, there are no berries weighing less than 12-15 grams on a bush. In addition to this undoubted advantage, the queen strawberry perfectly tolerates all the ups and downs of the harsh climate of temperate Russian latitudes - cold, unkind winters and dry summer periods that occur in June and July. Only snowless winters are dangerous for her. In similar conditions, with frosts below -15˚Сflower buds are seriously damaged. Covering strawberry bushes with spruce branches or special materials, such as spunbond, will help them survive these seasonal trials. The presence of snow cover significantly increases the frost resistance of plants, and they can withstand temperatures as low as -25-40˚С.
Strawberry "queen": variety description
A mid-season crop, strawberries are tall, fairly spreading shrubs with large white flowers peeking out from under bright green foliage.
They are located on strong peduncles, not exceeding the height of the leaves. Ripe berries of excellent burgundy-red color with a glossy appetizing surface have the correct conical shape. The consistency of the fruit is juicy, quite dense, of a pale red hue, the pulp is sweet with a pronounced sourness and a moderate strawberry aroma. The density of the berries ensures high transportability, and their excellent appearance greatly increases the sales efficiency of this product. The seeds are greenish-yellow in color and slightly sunken into the berry. Thanks to large fruits, the Tsaritsa strawberry variety is good, first of all, for fresh consumption, although it is also excellent in any berry processing - compotes, jams, marmalades and other dishes. Quality crop care will provide a yield of 2-2.5 kg per square meter.
Due to immunity to various types of autumn rot and many fungal diseases, the “Queen” strawberry bears fruit for a long time and remains active until the very cold.
On the benefits of berries
In addition to excellent taste, the culture has very high useful properties, since it contains a huge amount of vitamins and various organic compounds that have a beneficial effect on the human body. The use of berries has a rejuvenating effect, improves memory and hematopoietic function, strengthens the immune system and has a positive effect on the state of blood vessels. A unique set of trace elements - potassium, magnesium, calcium, helps to strengthen the nervous system and stabilize neural connections. And the presence of endorphins in berries, called hormones of joy, improves mood and adds optimism.
Queen strawberry variety: how to grow?
The prospect of obtaining a good harvest of strawberries is provided by competent soil preparation. Before planting, the area should be treated from insect pests - wireworm and May beetle larvae, which can destroy young plants. You can protect them by treating the soil with ammonia water.
Strawberry "queen", the description of the variety of which is presented in the article, like other representatives of this type of berries, is undemanding to growing conditions, but certainly responds to care and quality care, giving high yields. It can be planted in spring or autumn. Both methods are good, and each has its own advantages. It is believed that bushes planted in spring will take root better and get stronger over the summer. Although the rosettes, which began an independent life in the garden at the end of August, have time to take root well, because before the onset of cold weatherthere is still a lot of time, and the vegetative capacity of strawberries is very high.
The best soils for growing crops are light, sandy, slightly acidic soils without close groundwater standing, located in open sunny areas and protected from strong, through winds that can cause significant damage - interfere with pollination or take away the necessary moisture.
Preparing the beds
The soil for planting should be prepared - dig on a shovel bayonet, adding a bucket of humus and the necessary trace elements available in any complex mineral fertilizer for each square meter.
In spring planting, the emphasis is on nitrogen supplements, and in the fall, a set of potassium-phosphorus fertilizers will be required. If the soil is too acidic, add a deoxidizer, for example, dolomite flour.
Reproduction
Strawberry "Queen" is propagated by seeds and rosettes (whiskers). Growing from seeds is a rather long process and is used in cases where you want to breed a new variety, but the seedlings have not yet appeared on sale. Easier and faster is the process of reproduction by rooted rosettes obtained from the mustache processes of the mother bush. Rosettes of the "queen" variety are large, moderately developed with dark green leaves. When buying, you need to pay attention to the presence of a he althy central bud and the condition of the root system of seedlings.
The presence of rotten roots should alert, especially if there are quite a lot of them. the bestplanting material are seedlings in separate containers that protect the plant from stress during transportation and transplantation.
Clone selection: what is it?
Given that a bush can bear fruit productively for 4-5 years, and then the yield decreases and the berries become smaller, many gardeners select rosettes formed in the beds to plant new plants and use them as planting material. Professionals advise you to first look at the bushes and highlight the most productive of them with some markers, that is, those on which fruit formation is especially plentiful. As a rule, such bushes produce a little mustache. Only the first, strongest and strongest rosettes from each mustache are taken from them. This approach is called clonal selection, which guarantees future high yields. In the same way, the “queen” strawberry also propagates. The description above applies to her as well.
Boarding rules
Although it is difficult to find a garden that does not grow strawberries, gardeners often make serious mistakes when planting, subsequently losing part of the crop. Sockets should be planted according to certain rules:
• holes are dug at a distance of 0.5 m from each other, thickening of plantings should be avoided;
• inspect the roots of the seedling and shorten them a little if they are longer than 8 cm;
• at the bottom of the planting hole pre-watered, make a small mound and place the plant on it so that the roots are directed down and go down the sides of the mound;
•close the socket with earth so that the central kidney, the so-called "heart", is by no means buried and is above the soil surface. This is important because the bud will start to rot, rot and the plant may die or be very retarded in development, which will undoubtedly affect the quality and size of the crop.
After planting, young plants are well watered again. With the correct algorithm of actions, the “queen” strawberries (reviews confirm) take root perfectly and after a while release new leaves.
Irrigation
The most basic thing in caring for a crop is regular watering, since it is the presence of moisture that activates fruit formation. With a decrease in the required level of humidity, yields fall. The ideal option for maintaining it is a well-organized drip irrigation system. But it must be remembered that excessive watering will provoke the development of pathogenic, in particular, fungal pathogenic flora.
It is best to water the strawberries in the morning, because by the evening the wet leaves will dry completely. Strawberry "queen", the photo of which is presented in the article, prefers watering under the root. However, any variety does not welcome water on flowers and leaves.
Crop care
Loosening, periodic weeding and feeding are the main concerns for the development of the plant. During the summer, strawberry plantings are fed several times: in early spring, before and after flowering, and also in autumn. An infusion of well-rotted manure is used as a fertilizer, dissolvingit in the proportion of 1/10 l. In autumn, just before the cold weather, humus, compost or mullein is placed under the plants. Such care is highly appreciated by the strawberry "queen". Reviews of gardeners are unanimous: the culture loves organic top dressing.
Fructifying bushes also need care. Immediately after harvest, yellowed, old or disease-prone leaves are removed. Some gardeners practice complete pruning of old foliage from a bush, but this must be done carefully and in a timely manner, since if the “heart” is damaged in the growing young leaves, the laying of flower buds for the next year stops. It is possible to carry out a total pruning of bushes at the end of July, later it is not worth it, because the bush needs to recover by winter.
At the same time, strawberries are inspected for pest damage. The “queen” strawberry variety (gardeners' reviews confirm) is very resistant to diseases, but pests can cause very significant damage. If pathologies are found, plantings are treated with insecticides, the range of which is very wide today.
The presented article lists the main agricultural practices and features for caring for such a crop as the "Queen" strawberry. The description of the variety, the reviews of those who already successfully grow this magnificent berry on the plots, and their own experience suggest that strawberries are well adapted to temperate latitudes, productive and unpretentious.
