Strawberry Gariguetta

Garden strawberries with the original name Gariguette appeared at the beginning of the last century. There are several versions regarding the origin of this variety, but most gardeners are inclined to the theory that Gariguetta appeared in the south of France. It cannot be said that this strawberry has gained great popularity in Europe, but the variety is valued for its high tasting qualities and is considered a dessert. Experts call Gariguetta an elite strawberry that is not suitable for industrial cultivation, but can take its rightful place in the possessions of a gardener-collector.

Description of the Gariguetta strawberry variety, photos and reviews of farmers can be found in this article. Here, the strengths and weaknesses of elite strawberries will be indicated, how it should be grown, and what care to provide.

Characteristic of the variety

Probably, for domestic gardeners, the most important factor is adaptation to local climatic conditions, because Our Country is not the south of France or Italy. In the harsh continental climate, the tender Gariguetta does not feel very well: it does not tolerate low temperatures, temperature fluctuations, high humidity and too much heat.

Gariguetta strawberries are often grown for commercial purposes, but it is recommended to sell them in local markets: restaurants, cafes, and the fresh produce market. Fragile strawberries do not tolerate transportation and long-term storage, so the collected Gariguetta berries are not suitable for sale in supermarkets or transportation over long distances.

Detailed description of the variety Gariguetta (Gariguet):

• the ripening time of strawberries is average – the berries are ripened simultaneously with other medium-early varieties (such as Honey, for example);
• extended fruiting – fresh strawberries can be harvested for about a month;
• the bushes of Gariguetta are powerful, strongly spreading, have many leaves – this strawberry is easy to recognize among other varieties precisely because of the habit of the bush;
• the leaves are carved, large, corrugated, painted in a light green shade;
• peduncles are very long and powerful, each can form up to 20 berries;
• Gariguetta reproduces very easily, because about twenty mustaches are formed on each bush;
• the root system is powerful, well branched;
• the shape of strawberries is biconical, sometimes it is a truncated cone;
• fruit color is red-orange;
• the mass of berries allows them to be classified as large – on average, 40 grams (the very first fruits of Gariguetta are larger than the last ones);
• the pulp in the cut is sugary, with a white core, very fragrant and sweet;
• European gardeners rate the transportability of strawberries as high and average, local producers note that the skin of the fruit is too thin and the berries are poorly suited for storage;
• the taste characteristics of Gariguetta are very high, strawberries belong to dessert varieties, with their own unique taste;
• the variety is resistant to most diseases and pests (in particular, chlorosis and spider mites);
• the yield of Gariguetta is not very high, even moderate – about 400 grams per bush (if you use intensive technologies, you can slightly increase these figures).

Advantages and disadvantages

Local gardeners should not be too picky about Gariguetta. This strawberry, indeed, has extraordinary taste qualities (bright aroma, berry aftertaste, balance of acid and sugar, strawberry notes), but in the climate all this may be lost. In order for the variety to retain its natural qualities, for Gariguetta it is necessary to create growing conditions that will be as close as possible to natural ones (the climate of the French southern regions).

Garden strawberries Garigueta has several undeniable advantages:

• very good and unique taste – the berries just melt in your mouth (this is evidenced by the reviews of those who have tried it);
• performance sufficient for a private garden;
• good mustache formation – seedlings are easy to get on their own, you don’t have to spend money on planting material (but you have to thin out strawberry beds);
• resistance to diseases and pests.

Unfortunately, strawberries of the Gariguetta variety also have disadvantages, and they are especially pronounced if the crop is grown in the climate of Our Country. The disadvantages of the variety include:

• heterogeneity in the size and shape of berries, which is not very good for trade;
• at too low summer temperatures, strawberries do not gain mass, the berries become long and narrow (carrot shape);
• strawberries are recommended to be shaded, as the berry is baked under the intense sun;
• in a rainy summer, strawberries grow sour and do not reveal all their qualities.

Rules for growing elite strawberries

Of course, without the efforts of the gardener, a strawberry variety from a mild temperate climate will not be able to fully adapt to a harsh continental climate. However, in the southern and central regions, you can try to grow Gariguetta in your own garden. In the north of the country, it is already recommended to use greenhouses, film tunnels, heated greenhouses, in which the microclimate can be regulated.

In general, the method of growing Garigueta strawberries is highly dependent on the climatic characteristics of a particular region.

Planting strawberries

Before planting strawberry seedlings, you need to choose a good place for this:

• with fertile, loose and light soil (Garigueta, unlike other varieties of strawberries, does not like loam and sandstone);
• with the possibility of natural or artificial shading (in strong heat, strawberries will need shelter);
• in a site protected from strong winds;
• on flat or slightly elevated terrain (berries rot in the lowlands).

In the northern and central regions with a cooler climate, it is recommended to plant Gariget on high beds or use a special agrofibre, sprinkle the bushes with organic mulch. In regions with a hot climate (Krasnodar Territory, Crimea) it is better to provide for the possibility of shading strawberry beds, use a mesh or awning for this.

The planting pattern should be as follows: at least 40 cm between the bushes and 40-50 cm – the interval between the beds. If the plantings are too dense, the strawberries will not reveal their full potential, and you need to leave room for the mustache.

How to care

Some seed producers claim that Gariget strawberries are unpretentious and unpretentious. Maybe in France this is true, but in the climate of Our Country, Ukraine and Belarus, it is quite difficult to grow a decent crop of the Gariguetta variety.

The best place for this strawberry is a film tunnel. But such cultivation is unprofitable for industrial strawberry producers, and ordinary summer residents often do not want to mess with such capricious varieties when there are more unpretentious and adapted ones.

Gariguetta strawberries will have to be cared for a lot and often:

1. Constantly feed beds, because without this, instead of large beautiful berries, small elongated “carrots” will grow. Garigueta responds well to any fertilizer, both organic and mineral. At the beginning of the growing season, strawberries need nitrogen, and at the stage of flowering and formation of hearths – potassium and phosphorus. In autumn, after harvesting, humus and wood ash can be used.
2. Water strawberries need intensively, otherwise the fruits will grow small and tasteless. Best of all, Gariguet perceives drip irrigation. You can still water the bushes along the furrows and channels laid directly next to the bushes.

   

3. In cold regions, use cover, and in hotter ones, stock up on netting or awnings to protect plants from the sun.
4. Given that the flowers and fruits are low, you need to avoid their ground contact (especially during the rainy season). To do this, use mulch or agrofibre.
5. It is necessary to process strawberries, although the variety is considered resistant to diseases and pests. Better to use prophylactic, with which the bushes are sprayed even before the flowering phase of garden strawberries.

   

6. Extra whiskers will have to be removed, as they will quickly take root and the beds will turn out to be running. Cut off shoots in the fall, before sheltering strawberries for the winter.
7. Na zimu variety Gariguetta be sure to cover. In most regions, agrofibre or mulch cover is enough for the culture, provided that the winter is snowy. Under other circumstances, you will have to take care of more serious protection for strawberries.

   

In general, a farmer or summer resident will have to be patient – Garigueta will not grow in Our Country on its own. But under the condition of proper agricultural technology, the taste of this variety will be fully revealed, and the yield of strawberries will be above average.

Review of the variety Gariguet

Conclusion

It is impossible to call Gariguet’s strawberries a variety for everyone: it is far from suitable for every gardener. This crop is too demanding on the composition of the soil and on the characteristics of the climate, it needs intensive nutrition and disappears without sufficient care. The unusual and valuable taste of the berry is not revealed in every area, for this you need to create ideal conditions for strawberries.

However, the Gariguet variety also receives good marks from domestic summer residents: for this to happen, several factors must come together at once (a good place, good soil, a favorable climate).