STRAWBERRY "HONEY": DESCRIPTION AND FEATURES OF CULTIVATING THE VARIETY

Strawberries are very healthy, tasty and popular berries. Therefore, every gardener should grow it in his country house or garden plot.

However, it is not so easy to decide on the choice of variety.

Consider one of the early varieties of this berry, deservedly enjoying the attention of gardeners.

Features grade

Strawberry "Honey" - one of the earliest varieties of strawberry American selection. Bushes are dense and vigorous, and the leaves grow in length to 23 centimeters.

Already by the middle of March the growing season begins in this variety. Beginning in mid-May, fruits that need to be collected every 2-3 days for two weeks ripen.

The characteristics of this variety are:

high transportability of fruits, because they retain their freshness up to 3 days;
excellent taste and appearance of berries;
good immunity to leaf and root diseases.

Landing technology

Planted in open ground need only those strawberry seedlings "Honey", which have at least five leaves.

Important! The distance between plants when planting must be at least 25-30 cm.

This variety does not like the increased soil moisture, and therefore, in low places, seedlings should be planted in beds with a height of 10-30 cm. In the autumn it will be good to make furrows to ensure the best outflow of water from strawberries.

The main nuances that should be observed when planting strawberry seedlings "Honey":

the area where you are going to plant the berry, should be fairly flat or with a slight bias;
the soil for this variety of strawberries should be slightly acidic, as well as well-fertilized and friable;
planting holes should be sized to fit the root system of the strawberry seedlings;
It is best to plant the plant in beds where mustard or garlic were grown, but you should not plant it in places where there used to be tomatoes or potatoes;
well if landing is necessary on rainy weather.

When planting strawberries, the neighborhood with parsley, marigolds, nasturtium, garlic, onions, beans, mint, astilba, clematis, grapes, Turkish cloves, ferns, delphinium, peony, cucumbers, sea buckthorn will have a favorable effect.

After you have carefully planted strawberries in the ground, pour over it and sprinkle with a layer of sawdust or cover it with a special film. If you plant garden strawberries in the autumn, you should follow the same rules, but choose a more shady area for planting.

How to properly care for the grade "Honey"

This type of strawberry is picky enough to lack and excess moisture, which means that special attention should be paid to watering the plant. The first week after planting strawberry seedlings "Honey" should be watered every day, and then the plant will only need one watering in seven days.

In hot weather, water the plant about 4-5 times a week. 8-10 liters of water will be enough for one square meter. Do not forget to remove weeds as needed.

Did you know? Scientists have found that the color of the berries depends on the amount of nutrients in it. So, the brighter the berry, the more vitamins it contains.

Top dressing is a necessary event for obtaining stable yields from year to year. Strawberry needs vary with the season and plant condition.

In the spring strawberry needs good feeding. First you need to loosen the soil and get rid of dead leaves. Next, you should use one of the following fertilizers: infusion of bird droppings or mullein in a ratio of 1:10; infusion of nettle, settled in advance 4 days; water diluted serum. If the plant blooms, it is necessary to conduct foliar feeding on the leaf. To do this, treat them with potassium nitrate solution or ash.
Summer feeding carried out after harvest. During this period, fertilizing with manure will be the best fertilizer. So, you should take one part of the manure and 4 parts of water, mix them and let it brew for three days. Next, the solution must be diluted with 3-4 parts of water and used as a top dressing.
The purpose of the autumn dressing is to prepare the plant for severe winter frosts. It is recommended to use special mineral fertilizers, such as biohumus or potassium humate, infusion of bird droppings.

Do not forget about strawberry mulching. This is best done in the spring when the soil is moistened and heated by the sun. This procedure will protect the plant from overheating and drying of the roots in the summer. You can use various materials as mulch, such as bark, sawdust, wood chips, grass, straw, etc.

Important! The selected mulch is laid out on top of the cultivated soil in which strawberries are grown.

Pest and disease treatment

Strawberries are susceptible to various diseases and pests, which means that it makes sense to prevent their occurrence in time.

Among the diseases are distinguished:

Gray rot - the most common disease for strawberries "Honey". In order for the plant not to get sick with this ailment, it is necessary to carry out preventive measures: timely tillage, an illuminated and ventilated place with loose and wet soil, weed control. With the strong development of the disease can not do without the use of fungicides. During the growing season it is necessary to process the plants three times: the first time when the leaves have grown, the second - at the end of budding, the third time - after picking the fruits.
Verticillary wilting is a fairly common disease of strawberries associated with blood vessels. To protect against this disease, you need to remove the affected leaves, as well as for two hours before planting soak the roots in a solution of Fitosporin-M. It is also useful to spray drugs "Fundazol" and "Bayleton".
Mealy dew is a white patina that appears on flowers, berries and the rest of the plant. It is necessary to spray "Bautophyt", "Alirin - B", "Topaz" or "Tilt".

Did you know? Strawberries contain less sugar than lemon, despite the fact that it is so sweet.

Pest strawberries "Honey":

Strawberry mite is the most dangerous enemy of strawberries. If seedlings are only purchased, they should be immersed in water with a temperature of 45 ° C for 15 minutes so that the tick will die. In the spring, you can double-spray the plant with a decoction of tomato tops. Also processing of strawberry infusion of a dandelion will be useful.
Spider mite - sucks the juice from the plant and covers part of the leaf with cobwebs. To get rid of it, it is necessary to spray the bushes with infusion of wormwood and tobacco. And if you need a potent drug, you can use the "Fitoverm".
Raspberry strawberry weevil - eats leaves and buds of the plant. As a preventive measure, one should loosen the aisles and, in the spring, burn all plant residues. In the budding it is worth spraying the plant with a decoction of bitter wormwood, and after picking the berries - decoction of hellebore.

Trimming whiskers and leaves

The mustache of the strawberry "Honey" appears at the completion of its fruiting. Pruning should be done in the spring before the flowering of the plant and in the fall after harvesting the entire crop. In no case can not tear off his mustache, it is better to use durable scissors.

Important! If you want to use the whiskers as seedlings, you do not need to cut them. Leave for rooting 2-3 sockets, and be sure to remove the other mustache.

How to prepare strawberries for winter

By winter, strawberries should build a healthy leaf apparatus, the purpose of which is to protect the kidneys from frost. That is why it is important to fertilize the plant in time in the fall and prevent the appearance of diseases and pests.

A good heat insulator is snow, which does not allow the soil to freeze. And if winter is snowless, there is a need for shelter for strawberries (for example, fir twigs or pine needles).

If you can not get these materials, you can use "Agrotex" density of 60 g / sq. meter. It is necessary to warm strawberries "Honey" only when the temperature drops below zero degrees.

The advantages and disadvantages of the variety

The strawberry variety "Honey" was bred in America by crossing the varieties "Vibrant" and "Holliday" and is today in great demand. The harvest ripens very early, and the fruiting period is rather long, and therefore this variety is so popular. On average, they speak very positively about strawberries "Honey". Gardeners like the quality of the berries, and the main characteristics of this variety.

Did you know? Many people are allergic to strawberries, but if you drink these berries with dairy products, you can neutralize the effect of the allergen.

There are also disadvantages, among which the whimsicalness of this plant to the amount of moisture, the loss of an attractive strawberry during long storage, and the tendency to diseases of the root system.

Those who have decided to start growing strawberries "Honey", it will be useful not only to read the description of this variety, but also to see it with my own eyes, and even better to try, so that without a shadow of a doubt, plant it on my site.