Description and characteristics of the Holiday strawberry variety, cultivation and care

Strawberries are an early berry, widely popular even among novice gardeners. Most varieties produce a harvest at the end of May; in August you can already forget about them until next summer. For those who want to enjoy the berries for as long as possible, the Holiday strawberry variety has been created. The fruits are large, fragrant, and ripen until the beginning of autumn. To successfully plant strawberries and learn how to care for them, it is important to familiarize yourself with all their features and a detailed description of the variety.

Strawberry Holiday: description and characteristics

The Holiday variety of dessert-sweet strawberries is resistant to weather conditions and not capricious. The bushes grow to medium size, slightly spreading. The foliage is large, wrinkled, light green in color, covered with edges. Peduncles are low, strong, localized below the level of leaves. The first berries grow large in size, their tops resemble a comb.

The average weight of strawberries is 32 g. Further waves of the harvest are smaller, the berries ripen in a conical shape. They have red skin with a glossy sheen. The pulp is pinkish, has an aromatic odor, and the taste is similar to sugar. The average fertility per 1 hundred square meters is 150 kg. Strawberries tolerate transportation and storage well; they can be frozen, processed, or consumed fresh.

Advantages and disadvantages

The variety implies a number of positive and negative aspects. It is important to familiarize yourself with them before boarding.

Despite the small number of disadvantages and features, Holiday strawberries are extremely unpretentious in care and are becoming a frequent choice of gardeners with different experience. There is no need to be afraid that the bushes will freeze and will not bear fruit. They grow quickly and survive frosty winters, which is good for summer residents.

Growing the variety

The Holiday strawberry variety must be grown in accordance with the rules of agricultural technology.The bushes are regularly fertilized, mulched, and watered. Adult plants are capable of forming large and tall bushes; it is worth maintaining a distance between them of 40-45 centimeters.

When and where to plant

Sowing of seeds is carried out at the end of March and beginning of April in regions with a cold climate. In the south they sow from the second half of February. Seedlings are grown in containers with peat; you can use flower pots or boxes. When 3-4 leaves appear, plant the plant in open soil. Prepare the area for planting in advance.

The soil must have neutral acidity, be fertile, breathable, and free from moisture accumulation. The landing site should be located on a flat area with plenty of sun. It is not worth planting on a hill. Future bushes must be protected from the wind.

Selection of planting material

The easiest way to plant strawberries is with seedlings that are sold in gardening stores or at the market. It is advisable to purchase seedlings from trusted sellers and pay attention to a number of nuances.

1. Number of leaves. If the purchase occurs at the beginning of May, the seedlings should have 2-3 young leaves.
2. Shade of leaves. It should be light green, the surface shiny, with a edge. A pale shade is a sign of fading horns. This disease cannot be treated - the plant will die.
3. Leaf defect. If they are wrinkled, this is a symptom of tick infestation. Light or dark dots indicate fungal pathologies.
4. The seedling must have 1 or more horns. It is important that they are not wrinkled and have a light green tint. You cannot buy seedlings with horn thickness less than 0.7 centimeters. The thicker it is, the better it takes root and bears more fruit.
5. Roots. Normally they are branched and at least 7 centimeters long.
6. If the bush is sold in a peat container or tablet, the roots should be visible. To check the bush, it must be carefully lifted and removed.

If you take into account all the recommendations, you will be able to buy suitable seedlings and get a harvest the first time.

Landing technology

2 weeks before planting, you need to dig up the ground and fertilize it with compost in the appropriate proportions: 1 bucket per 1 square meter. To lighten clay soil, you can add river sand. To neutralize acidity, limestone is suitable. Dig holes for planting at a distance of 40 centimeters. After planting, water and shade with agronomic fiber until the bushes have fully developed roots.

Strawberry care

Caring for strawberries is simple; you need to do it in accordance with the tips below.

1. Every 3-4 years, replant the bushes to another place. This will protect the berries from insect damage, rot, and wilting.
2. It is important to maintain proper watering. Proper care guarantees the juiciness and sweet taste of strawberries. If there is too much moisture, it will become watery and bland.
3. Fertilize the soil, fight weeds, trim the tendrils.
4. Protect bushes from pests and birds.
5. Mulch strawberries 2 times a year.

After harvesting, continue care and pick off yellowed leaves.

Watering rules

The frequency of irrigation of strawberry bushes depends on the soil composition and weather conditions.

1. Clay soil retains moisture longer; watering should be done every 2 days.
2. In hot weather, you need to irrigate every 4 days.
3. Before flowering begins, water by sprinkling once weekly.
4. When flower stalks appear, water is supplied under the root once a week.

Drip irrigation is also done or water is poured from a hose between the rows, but then there is a risk of washing out the roots. If you stop abundant watering before picking strawberries, the fruits will be sweet and less saturated with water.

Fertilizer application

The soil should be fertilized before flowering and after harvesting fruits. Potassium and phosphorus fertilizers are perfect.

It is periodically recommended to feed strawberries with organic matter - humus, ash, manure, by digging up the soil or locally adding it to the planting holes.

Weeding and loosening

Holiday bushes need to be loosened often, preferably after rain and when a lot of weeds have appeared. During the growing season, 6-8 weedings are carried out.

1. The first loosening occurs at the beginning of March, when the soil dries out from the snow, along with fertilizer. It is necessary to weed the area between the beds and in the rows. Try not to damage the antennae. Dig between rows 10 centimeters deep.
2. Before you start weeding strawberries, scatter ammonium nitrate - 100 grams over 10 beds. This is necessary so that the fertilizer penetrates under the leaves of the bush.
3. When the harvest is harvested, remove the weeds from the area, remove fallen leaves, trim the tendrils, loosen the soil between the rows to a depth of 6-8 centimeters, in the rows - to a depth of 4-5 centimeters.

The last weeding is done in the fall. To avoid strawberries growing up the rhizomes, it is necessary to hill up the bushes.

Mulching

After watering, mulch the strawberries with sawdust, peat or straw. This is done to retain moisture in the soil. The mulch layer should be 3-5 centimeters. The procedure also helps prevent the plant from being damaged by parasites and accelerates the ripening process. Mulching is carried out in early spring and late autumn.Remove the mulch at the end of summer.

Protecting plants from diseases and pests

Strawberries must be protected from birds, insects and garden slugs. For this, insecticides are used: “Aktellik” or “Fufanon”, young red pepper. To protect the bushes from birds, they fix a net on the foliage, put up stuffed animals, and hang shiny and rustling things to scare them away.

Strawberry propagation

Strawberries are widely propagated using tendrils. It is advisable to use the first sockets. Then in the first year the bush will bear fruit. Other rosettes will not produce many berries during the season, but in the future they will bear fruit with dignity. Only plants 3-4 years old are suitable for propagation by division; this method is undesirable, as it entails damage to the strawberries.

Collection and storage rules

You need to pick berries early in the morning, after the night dew has disappeared. Take them with the stalk, then they are better preserved. Do not place strawberries in containers in several layers; choose baskets and boxes that are wide and small in size. To preserve the fruits for a long time, they resort to freezing them. When fresh, they can last for about 7 days.