Description and characteristics of Kama variety strawberries, cultivation and care

Garden strawberries or strawberries are a delicious, aromatic summer berry. Breeders have developed many varieties, one of them is strawberry called Kama. It has excellent taste, which is why it is in high demand in the market. Information about the characteristics of this strawberry, as well as how to grow and care for it, is given below.

Description and characteristics

Kama strawberries were grown by Polish breeders. They crossed 2 varieties: Cavalier and Zenga Zengana, resulting in a berry with a rich aroma and universal use. It can be consumed both fresh and canned, and can also be used for long-term transportation.

• the plant is low, compact;
• the leaves are rich green in color, their lower part is slightly pubescent;
• roots are branched, powerful;
• fruits are cone-shaped, their weight is 20-30 grams;
• the color of the berries varies from red to burgundy;
• the pulp is dense.

Strawberries begin to bear fruit at the end of May. The harvest continues until the end of June. With proper care from the bush, a gardener can remove up to 1 kilogram of berries. The largest ones grow at the beginning of the season, then they become a little smaller.

Note! A distinctive feature of the Kama strawberry is that its pulp in a state of technical ripeness is dense, the taste is sweet, with a slight sourness.

Advantages and disadvantages

The advantages include the following qualities of strawberries:

• high productivity;
• early ripening;
• duration of fruiting;
• pronounced strawberry taste and aroma;
• good transportability;
• drought resistance;
• remontant variety.

The advantages include the possibility of growing Kama strawberries in greenhouse conditions. When grown indoors, the berries ripen by mid-spring. The disadvantages include the low location of the berries, as a result of which they can get dirty with soil. In addition, the bushes require a large feeding area, as well as cover with agrofibre during recurrent frosts in the spring.

How to grow properly

All stages of growing strawberries are important: from purchasing seedlings to caring for the bushes after picking the berries.The harvest depends on this not only this year, but also in the next season.

How to choose seedlings

It is necessary to purchase garden strawberry seedlings from trusted sellers, since they value their reputation and therefore sell quality products. When purchasing, you should pay attention to the following factors:

• bushes should have elastic leaves, without any points on them;
• high-quality seedlings have leaf blades of a rich green color, with pubescence at the bottom;
• if seedlings are sold in a peat pot, the roots should be visible from it: this means that the bushes were grown in it and not replanted before sale;
• if seedlings are sold with bare roots, then their length should be at least 7-8 centimeters.

Important! It is necessary to purchase strawberry seedlings from trusted manufacturers or distributors.

Place and timing of disembarkation

The best time to purchase seedlings is spring. It is sold both in containers and with an open root system. The earlier the strawberries are planted on the plot, the sooner the gardener will harvest. If for some reason the seedlings are not planted in the spring, this can be done in early autumn. Strawberries should have time to take root before lasting frosts.

The planting site should be well lit by sunlight, without shading. To prevent strawberries from becoming infected with fungal diseases, it is necessary to choose their predecessors correctly. They should be plants from the cruciferous or legume family. It is not advisable to plant it after tomatoes, potatoes, eggplants, as well as Jerusalem artichokes and sunflowers, which deplete the soil too much.

Planting scheme

To ensure that each bush has enough space for growth and development, seedlings are planted according to the following scheme:

• the distance between bushes in a row is 40-50 centimeters;
• the distance between rows is 60-80 centimeters.

It is not recommended to thicken plantings, since the bushes grow strongly and require a large feeding area. The soil for strawberries is selected to be loose, moisture-absorbing, and breathable. In terms of pH, it should be neutral or slightly acidic. Before planting, the roots of the seedlings must be dipped into a weak concentration of potassium permanganate solution for disinfection for 10 minutes.

How to properly care for crops

Strawberries of the Kama variety are unpretentious and easy to care for. To grow a good harvest, you must adhere to certain rules.

Watering and fertilizers

After planting, seedlings must be watered every day for better survival. Moisturizing is then done as needed. After each watering, the soil must be loosened to prevent crust formation. If the bushes are mulched, frequent watering will not be required.

If the seedlings are planted in the spring, then after 2 weeks the bushes can be fertilized with an infusion of organic matter, dissolving 30 grams of superphosphate and a handful of wood ash in 10 liters of water. Strawberries need the next feeding during the period when flower stalks and first ovaries appear. To do this, take mullein, which is diluted in a ratio of 1:6, or bird manure, which must be diluted even more: 1:20.

Fertilizing can be done not only root, but also foliar. To do this, you can take, for example, a fermented infusion of nettle. At the end of summer, the bushes are fertilized with an infusion of superphosphate with wood ash. It is important that mineral fertilizers do not contain chlorine, which will negatively affect the development of plants.

Advice! Before applying fertilizing, the soil must be spilled with water to prevent burns to the root system.

Loosening and weeding

It is necessary to loosen the soil around garden strawberries after each watering or precipitation.It is important to do this for the reason that if the ground is covered with crust for a long time, the plants will not receive enough oxygen, which is why their growth and development will be suspended. No less important is an agrotechnical technique such as weeding, which prevents the penetration of sunlight to garden strawberries.

Mulching

When planting in spring, strawberry bushes are mulched with chopped straw at the end of May. This must be done for the following reasons:

• to maintain optimal temperature and humidity in the soil;
• to prevent contamination of berries;
• to feed the roots with organic matter due to the rotting of straw.

Mulch protects the soil from overheating in summer and from freezing in winter. In addition to straw, you can use sawdust, peat, and burlap.

Trimming tendrils and leaves

A gardener can count on a large harvest only with regular removal of the mustache. They take away from the plant a lot of the strength it needs to produce large berries. For the same reason, it is necessary to remove old leaves from the bushes. Removal of unnecessary parts is done with sharp scissors. If the procedure is carried out manually, you can accidentally damage the root system of garden strawberries.

Note! Mulching the soil will prevent the mustache from firmly clinging to it and starting to develop.

Diseases, pests and methods of combating them

All above-ground parts of Kama strawberries can be affected by rot. This occurs due to the fact that during flowering, fungal spores present in the soil penetrate into the fruit stem along with pollen. To save the bushes you need:

• spray them with copper-containing preparations at the beginning of the season;
• The next treatment should be carried out with fungicides during the period of active leaf growth;
• then once every 10 days the above-ground parts are sprayed with iodine solution (10 milliliters per 1 bucket of water).

Kama strawberry is a tasty plant for pests such as strawberry mites and weevils. To prevent their occurrence, it is necessary to mow the bushes (at least two years old) after harvesting. They are carefully removed from the site and destroyed. By autumn, young leaves, not affected by pests, will have time to grow.

Strawberry propagation Kama

In practice, gardeners use 2 methods of propagation: by mustache and by dividing the bush. They start growing strawberries with mustaches in July. By this period they have time to form well. 5 shoots are left on the mother plant, each of which should have no more than 3 rosettes. The largest and most developed are the mustaches of the first order.

When the mustache begins to take root, they are covered with earth. There is no need to separate it from the mother plant, since through it the children receive additional nutrition. To avoid damaging the seedlings by digging and replanting, the tendrils can be placed in small individual containers. Young plants are fully formed and ready for planting in 2-2.5 months.

Another way to propagate Kama strawberries is by dividing the bush. For this, plants that are 3 years old are taken: a large bush is dug up, which is then divided into small horns. There can be from 6 to 20 of them in one planting. The cuttings are planted in August, and by winter they have time to take root well.

Collection and storage of garden strawberries

Before harvesting, stop watering the bushes abundantly. This is necessary so that the berries are not watery and can remain collected for more than 1-2 days. The fruits are removed with the stalk, with which they will be stored much longer than without it.Harvest in the morning, after the dew has subsided, or in the evening, when the sun's rays are no longer so scorching.

The peculiarity of Kama strawberries is that they have dense berries that do not crush during transportation. Therefore, it can be successfully transported and also stored for a long time. To do this, the berries are placed in boxes covered with paper. The fruits must be free of damage and dents. There is no need to wash them before storing them.

Note! Garden strawberries do not have the ability to ripen after picking the berries.

Kama strawberries have a unique strawberry aroma and taste, which is why both gardeners and gourmets love them. In addition, housewives dry it, freeze it, and make compotes, jams, and preserves from it. In addition, strawberries contain a large amount of useful substances that they can supply the body with throughout the year.