The gardener from Jankoi N. Maksimov imparts experience cultivation of krupnoplodny and remontantny grades of wild strawberry in the conditions of the steppe Crimea.
12
From experience of the practician
Our correspondent V. Pashchenko met a grown wise wide experience of cultivation of wild strawberry and asked to share it with readers on newspaper pages.
Hothouses are released from vegetables, it is time to plant them with wild strawberry for an early-spring crop. For this purpose grades neutral most approach to duration of the period of light day with the closed root system – container saplings.
I, however, wouldn’t like to be limited only to it, and it would be desirable to share saved up for many years data on this culture and experience of its cultivation in the conditions of the steppe Crimea, to tell about grades tested by me and to characterize them.
You, say, received a country site or bought the thrown giving. To master it it is best of all since wild strawberry landing. What berry still can argue with it taste, aroma, beauty and in size of fruits and the fast introduction in fructification?! Berries of modern grades of wild strawberry on size don’t concede to apples of summer grades and on weight reach to 140 grams. Grades neutral to a longitude of day blossom in 40-45 days after landing if only there was enough heat. I speak about wild strawberry which is on sale in the market under the name strawberry. Strawberry, by definition, is wild strawberry muscat. The vast majority of its grades planted now, is descendants of a hybrid Chilean and Virginsky a zemlyanik.
If you took a site in the autumn, and there is no sprouts enough, don’t despair. Be engaged in its upclassing. Scatter grains of a rye and at once procapajte mattocks or process a mill all site on depth of 5 centimeters. All winter your site will be in emerald greens.
Rye – a plant almost wild as it is cultivated rather recently. It kept still ability to resist to adverse conditions of environment, allocating the substances suppressing weeds, pathogenic microorganisms and different parasites, say, nematodes and provolochnik. In the spring the winter rye early clusters and quickly grows. Here to you a fine mulching material initially for a zateneniye of spring landings of wild strawberry or vegetables.
To buy in the market saplings risky. After all there to the seller, the seller, instead of the gardener, it is interesting to get the goods off the hands in that that became. I developed a rule – before selling saplings, show arrived behind them the matochnik, I acquaint it with technology of cultivation applied by me.
In the catalog of grades of the garden krupnoplodny wild strawberry tested in the conditions of Jankoi grown up by me, detailed characteristics are given. But the indicators specified in them are possible for reaching at technology observance. First, a site chosen under landing of wild strawberry, it is not necessary to plow and dig over. Earth should be ulezhavshejsya, to level it it is necessary only a rake. If it is littered strongly, it is necessary to process mattocks, but isn’t deeper 5 see as when landing on svezhevskopanny, after watering or a rain, a part of bushes some which got on large lumps will fail in emptiness and zailitsya, and, will bare roots. Secondly, any furrows and crests it is not necessary to do. When landing on crests roots will be dried up, and in the winter in the summer also to be frozen.
The site should be contained constantly under a thick mulch. Under it, it is desirable light, the stable temperature and humidity provide necessary conditions for rapid development of soil microflora and, as a result, the nitrification and dissolution of minerals sufficient for receiving a big crop are provided. As a mulching material suit any loose and sheet organic chemistry: straw (the best for our zone), needles, sawdust and shaving, a grass, a young cane, a peel from sunflower, a cardboard and paper, manure solomisty and humus.
I consider perekopku and a plowed land as wrecking, at the best – waste of forces, means and time. At perekopke each time is destroyed the dwelling of soil microflora – the maker of the soil!
Never dig in organic chemistry. It should be always on a surface. Worms will transfer it and will lay where it is necessary, as they made it with lichens, mosses, horsetails, dinosaurs … They prosper millions years and during this time created the modern soil (that which the person didn’t manage to spoil). On a pure mulch of berry always pure, it is possible to bring together them right after a rain or watering, without waiting soil drying as it should to do it at its "naked" contents.
By the way, never water with overhead irrigation: it promotes reproduction of fungoid diseases. At high temperature in a water drop in 30-90 minutes sprout disputes of mealy dew and other fungi. Thirdly, be not greedy. Put less often, will trample down differently berries. If, are going to receive the income of berries, constantly delete moustaches if want to receive qualitative saplings, it is necessary to delete cvetonosy. Qualitative both berries, and saplings together don’t happen.
In row-spacings grow up garlic and different onions, they frighten off ticks. Hollows between the ranks, being formed further, after removal of the taken roots sockets fill with organic chemistry (a fresh mulch). In the course of time, when bushes will expand, on spring break out old sockets, leaving on 5-6 on a bush, berries will become shallow differently. In general that, it isn’t obligatory, it is possible to destroy each 2-3 years old landings and to put the new.
Grades, neutral to a longitude of the light period of day it is desirable to update annually as their vital processes proceed much quicker, during the season manage to create 3-4 crops and quickly grow old, for the second year already almost don’t give new sockets. Here, in brief, our principles. They, however, not so coincide with classics.
For landing of container saplings in the dense soil holes on the size of the container are dug out, and in the friable soil the hole is squeezed out by a trambovka corresponding to the size of the container, for restoration of capillary conductivity the container is broken off and, without breaking a substratum lump, the sapling is inserted into the prepared hole. The gap between walls of a hole and a lump of a substratum is filled with the loose earth or humus, pours down and is in addition mulched.
Landing terms.
Container saplings (in this case in glasses), that is saplings with the closed root system, are thought up it was possible to replace them irrespective of a season. Only not in frosty days, certainly. The wild strawberry with disposable fructification is better for replacing in July-August, but in our district these months the hottest and dry, and therefore, in these terms change here is possible (saplings with open root system), under condition of two times watering in day and zateneniye of landings in the first few days. Saplings of wild strawberry of neutral day can be replaced in any bezmorozny season, they will start to blossom in 40-45 days after landing. Let’s tell, for receiving the main thing, a big crop it is necessary to put these grades at the end of November. And saplings with the closed root system if nevterpezh, it is possible to replace both with flowers, and with zavyazyami fruits.
Described below a grade practically all can be grown up both in hothouses, and in film shelters, only late grades don’t need to be grown up under a film. The wild strawberry of neutral day yields a harvest practically all the year round; at first under spring film shelter, and I will dawn upon it is possible to cover once again to prolong autumn gathering berries.
Gigantell Maxim – a late-ripening and krupnoplodny grade. Berries very large, average mass of 60-70 g, the maximum mass of berries of the first collecting – to 140 grams (at sufficient watering and a mulchirovaniye), color of berries light-red, taste sweet-sour, good, aroma of usual wild strawberry. Bushes very powerful therefore it is necessary to put less often – to 40 centimeters between bushes among.
Starkrimson King – a sredneranny grade. Berries large, average mass of 30-40 g, maximum – to 70 g, fragrant, excellent taste, very transportable (when falling on a floor from height of 1 m aren’t rumpled). Shows a partial remontantnost – for the second year some bushes blossom repeatedly and fructify to frosts.
Velitin – a sredneranny grade. Berries large, average mass of 30-40 g, maximum – to 60 g, light-red, with very long tsvetolozhny leaves (pushistiki), transportable, fragrant, tasty, oblong – an excellent trade dress.
Gummi Grande – an early ripe, krupnoplodny grade. Zasukho and heat resisting, with powerful root system. It is capable to yield a harvest without watering in the conditions of the steppe Crimea. Fruits transportable, fine trade dress.
Bogota – an early ripe grade. Berries almost same as at Velitin, only are more darkly painted. Bushes are slightly weaker growth.
The Crimean foothill – an early ripe grade. Berries large, average mass of 25-30 g, maximum – 40 g, excellent taste and aroma. The grade differs high drought resistance. Gives many moustaches.
Brighton – a grade neutral to day length, that is, fructification doesn’t depend on duration of the light period, can fructify in a shadow, in the glazed room (loggias, balconies, hothouses) without additional illumination. Berries large, the maximum mass of berries in my garden of 70 g (in the middle of August, 2005), tasty, fragrant. At reproduction, keep in mind, for the second year almost doesn’t give moustaches.
Selva – a new American grade of neutral day. Its characteristics are similar to characteristics of Brighton, but berry of more correct, classical form.
The reviewer – a grade of neutral light day. Berries very large for reusable grades – average weight 30-40, trifles practically don’t happen, the largest more than 70 grams, marketability and transportability high, taste good, fragrant. For the second year, practically, doesn’t give moustaches. Well it is possible in film shelters, both in the spring, and in the autumn that gives the chance to prolong a berry season considerably.
Queen Elizabeth – a new grade of neutral day with large, to 110 g, excellent berries. In open soil plentifully blossoms and fructifies since early spring to frosts. Bushes of average size, differ excellent drought resistance. A fine grade for cultivation in hothouses and film shelters.
Elizabeth II – the Clone of Queen Elizabeth with higher consumer qualities and larger, to 130 g, berries. Is in a reproduction and approbation stage naturally Jankoi. On numerous responses, the champion on productivity and on all hozyaystvenno to useful qualities.
N. Maksimov, Jankoi, Ph. (06564) 3-56-97.