How to grow strawberries Queen Elizabeth

Description

In order not to buy strawberries in stores, most of which are the result of the work of the chemical industry, it is better to grow your own bushes. One of the most popular types of this magnificent berry today is the Queen Elizabeth strawberry variety. In fact, there are two varieties, while the Elizaveta 2 strawberry variety is almost identical to the first variety. The only difference is that the second species is a remontant culture.

This means that its bushes have the ability to bear fruit almost constantly, namely from spring to early autumn. The first variety needs part of the daylight hours in order for high-quality and large fruits to ripen. That is, it is able to grow and develop during certain daytime hours, while the second grade does not need such a strict condition.

The Queen Elizabeth variety has such a description of the bushes - they are very strong plants, which is surprising for strawberries. Also on them you can see large leaves with a characteristic light green color. The bushes of Elizabeth 1 begin to bear fruit at a time when daylight hours lasts about eight hours, and this lasts about a month. Plants tend to form a large number of whiskers, with the help of which such a berry reproduces. As for the peduncles, they are formed erect, and also grow almost at the same level with the leaves.

If we talk about the description of the fruits, then they appear on bushes of rather impressive sizes, have a presentable appearance. They are also characterized by a dense structure, a pleasant gloss on the surface of the berries, and most of the fruits are identical not only in appearance, but in weight. In the case of proper care of the crop, it is able to delight with such a harvest of berries, the weight of each of which can reach 40 grams. Provided that the temperature indicators are not too high in summer, the fruits can even reach up to 100 grams and resemble a small apple in size!

This type of strawberry amazes not only with its appearance, but also with an excellent pleasant dessert taste. The pulp of the fruit has a wonderful aroma, it always has a typical rich red color, its structure is dense. The first strawberries of this variety can be harvested starting from June, and under good weather conditions, at the very beginning of the first summer month.

The Queen Elizabeth variety has a high yield, and, as long-term practice has shown, in the spring about a kilogram of berries can be harvested from one crop. It is also worth mentioning the good frost resistance of this berry variety, but experts still advise covering the bushes before the arrival of winter.

This will need to be done in order for the autumn flower stalks to avoid death due to exposure to too low temperatures. Remember one more nuance - it is recommended to transplant the bushes after a year, since the quality of the berries will largely depend on how old the plant is.Accordingly, the more time the bush grows on your garden plot, the worse its yield will be. If we compare the varieties with each other, then the second "Queen" is capable of producing fruits two or three times, due to which the amount of harvest will be much greater than that of the first species.

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Growing

Growing strawberries from seeds is not so easy, but such a laborious process makes it possible to get excellent bushes of the variety you need. The container for growing future seedlings from seeds should be no more than 12 cm high, they should be filled with earth. There is no need to deepen the seeds into the soil, as they require a sufficient amount of light. You should only slightly moisten the ground with water, after which the seeds are evenly spaced, only slightly pressing down. Experts call the end of January the best time for planting seeds in a specially prepared container, if there is a possibility of creating additional lighting.

Otherwise, you can plant seeds in late February - early March. In order for the seeds to grow better, it is advised to cover the container with glass on top. Also for these purposes it is quite possible to use plastic wrap. Every day, the film or glass needs to be lifted for a short time, about 10 minutes is enough. Germinating strawberry seeds is best done on a well-lit windowsill. Do not forget about the moisture content of the earth in the containers; for this it is customary to use a spray bottle.

The seeds of this variety tend to germinate after two weeks or a little more, they also have a fairly low degree of germination - a little more than 50%. After the first leaf hatches, the airing time, that is, lifting the glass and film, should be brought to 30 minutes. When there are already several leaves on the seedlings, they will need to be transplanted into cups. Not only careful watering is important for seedlings, but also a sufficient amount of light. About a couple of weeks before you plan to transplant seedlings into open ground, it should be hardened, that is, prepared for growing in a new place, which will allow the new fragile plant to pass the adaptation period normally. For this purpose, containers with seedlings must be taken out for a short time outside, gradually increasing the time of its stay there. Four months after the emergence of seedlings, the seedlings are considered ready for transplantation to a new place of residence.

Strawberries of the Elizaveta variety require digging the soil before planting seedlings, removing all roots. It will also be necessary to crush large lumps of earth, add humus to the soil at the rate of about 8 kg per square meter of area. It should be remembered that for the normal growth and development of plants of this variety, it is important that mineral supplements are present in the soil. It should be borne in mind that phosphorus is correctly added to the soil immediately at the time of planting, and potash and nitrogen fertilizers - during the growing season of the garden culture.

When planting, it is customary to use such a scheme, which has been successfully used by gardeners for many years - the distance between plants should be about 25 cm, between rows - about 70 cm, provided a two-line planting, the gap in the row spacing is about 30 cm. that if you place the outlet too high in relation to the surface of the ground, you may not harvest at all. After planting the culture, it is necessary not only to water, but also thoroughly tamp and level the ground.

Competent care of strawberries involves the implementation of regular watering, after which the soil must be loosened, as well as remove unnecessary weeds that interfere with the normal full development of the culture.Not so long ago, experts began to advise mulching the soil, which makes it possible to avoid too frequent watering, and also prevents the appearance of weeds. The need to apply potash and nitrogen fertilizers has already been mentioned above. It is also advised to remove those peduncles that appeared first in the spring, this will help to get a harvest of larger berries.

It is necessary during the growing season to carry out procedures to combat possible diseases and pests (this applies to the Elizaveta 1 variety, but even on the second, gray rot can appear). Since the variety tends to produce a crop in the first two years, then every couple of years of planting this type of berries must be updated. Before the winter cold sets in, it is imperative to cut off all the leaves, and also cover the bushes with material. The variety is perfect not only for growing outdoors, but also for growing in portable containers or heated greenhouses.

Video "Queen Elizabeth"

The video provides useful and practical information on how to grow and harvest strawberries from the Queen Elizabeth species.