Mustacheless strawberries: the best varieties, planting and care

The best varieties of small-fruited strawberries are called “Yellow Miracle”, “Forest Fairy Tale”, “Alexandria”, “Zita” and “Gita”.

Vivid examples of high-yielding varieties are Cinderella, Baron Solemakher, Ruyana, Selva, Albion, Rügen.

This is just a small part of the strawberry varieties. The variety should be chosen not only according to taste and wishes, but also depending on the climate where the strawberry will grow.

Strawberries are planted with seeds or by dividing the bushes.

For seeds, you need to take large ripe berries. Cut off the upper and lower parts from them. Mash the middle part and place in a glass of water. After 2 hours, drain the liquid through a sieve so that only seeds remain. They must be put on paper to dry. When they are well dry, they must be put in a paper bag until spring.

At the beginning of spring, soil mixed with compost should be poured into small boxes and slightly moistened. Spread the seeds evenly over the ground and cover with a transparent film.

For the seeds to sprout better, they must be sprinkled with a thin layer of compost or humus.

The sprouts should appear in a week. When they have three leaves each, they should be carefully transplanted into a more spacious container, and in early May – planted in the garden.

Bushes of 3-4-year-old strawberries are easily divided into parts – these will be seedlings of new strawberries. Saplings need to spread the roots and set 2-3 pieces in the hole. Cover with earth to growth points.

The planted strawberries must be looked after:

• Watering is not abundant, but often.
• Loosen the soil to create air and water exchange.
• Spud gently so as not to fill up the core.
• Weed out weeds.
• Mulching the beds means sprinkling the ground with hay, straw, spruce needles, sawdust or cut grass. This keeps moisture in the soil and inhibits the growth of weeds.
• For the winter, cover the strawberries with straw and spruce branches.

Every 5 years it is necessary to change the location of the strawberry beds and supply the new beds with sufficient fertilizer.