Strawberry Holiday

Strawberries are considered an early berry. Most varieties begin to bear fruit in June, and from August you can already forget about delicious fruits until next summer. However, there are later varieties that allow you to prolong the pleasure. One of them is the Holiday strawberry, which brings large and fragrant berries at the end of summer.

Inference history

Strawberry Holiday was bred by American breeders. The varieties Raritan and New York were taken for crossing. On the territory of the Federation, the culture has spread in the North-West region as strawberries of medium late ripening.

Description

Bushes of mid-late Holiday strawberries grow slightly spreading of medium size. The leaves are large. The surface of the leaf blade is slightly wrinkled, covered with edging. Leaf color is light green. Peduncles are low, powerful, located below the level of foliage. The green sepals are narrow, arranged horizontally by the time the fruit ripens.

The first wave of the Holiday harvest is characterized by a large berry with comb-shaped tops. The average weight of one fruit is 32 g. Subsequent waves of the Holiday strawberry crop bring smaller berries with a regular conical shape. The skin of the fruit is red, glossy. The pulp is light red in color, not friable, saturated with juice and sugar. Small grains of strawberries are located in yellowish achenes, not strongly immersed inside the fruit.

Ripening of berries is friendly. The yield of the Holiday variety from 1 weave reaches 150 kg. Strawberries have a dessert sweet and sour taste. The crop can be transported and stored. Berries can be frozen, processed, consumed fresh.

The video provides an overview of Strawberry Holiday:

Advantages and disadvantages of the variety

Drought resistance is considered a positive feature of the Holiday variety. However, strawberries are very fond of abundant watering. The bush is able to survive in the heat with a small amount of moisture, but the quality of the berries and the yield will decrease.

Methods of reproduction

Traditionally, medium-late Holiday strawberries are propagated in three ways: by mustache, by seed, or by dividing the bush. Those who do not have the desire to engage in these works buy ready-made seedlings.

Mustache

For the gardener, strawberry whiskers bring the extra hassle of pruning, but for propagation, these layerings are the best option. To propagate the Holiday variety, perform the following steps:

• With the last wave of harvest, mustache growth is activated in strawberries. After picking the berries from the garden, weeds are removed, the aisles are loosened.
• Strong mustaches of strawberries with developed rosettes of leaves are straightened and laid on loose soil. A small yak is squeezed into the ground with a hand. The socket is placed in a recess, lightly covered with soil.
• By mid-September, the sockets will take root. Just remember to water them. The mustache is cut off from the mother strawberry bush and transplanted to another place.

The strongest sockets are located on the mustache first from the side of the bush. They are taken for reproduction, and the rest are immediately cut off so that they do not pull juice from the plant.

By dividing the bush

Strawberry Holiday, like other varieties, is able to reproduce by dividing the bush. The method is considered traumatic for the plant, but allows the culture to be transplanted to another place in case of weak mustache formation. At the time of division, medium-late strawberry bushes should be 2–4 years old. For reproduction take plants with a well-developed root system.

In early spring or autumn, a strawberry bush is dug up. The plant is divided into parts so that each horn turns out with a rosette and long roots. After dividing, strawberry seedlings are planted on a new bed.

Cultivation from seeds

The most time-consuming way to propagate a variety is to grow Holiday strawberries from seeds. It is necessary to properly prepare the grains to obtain strong seedlings.

Technique for obtaining and stratification of seeds

Holiday strawberry seeds are better and easier to buy in the store. When self-collecting, you will need to choose large overripe berries without damage in the garden. With a knife, the skin is cut off from the fruit along with the grains, laid out on any sheet with a glossy surface, put in the sun. After 4–5 days, the moisture will evaporate, the strawberry seeds will dry out. They only need to be collected, and then sent to be stored in a cool, dry place.

Before sowing, self-harvested Holiday strawberry grains are soaked, but it is better to stratify them. Each gardener has his own way of hardening seeds with cold. The most common methods are:

• I pour a layer of snow 1–2 cm thick on fertile soil or peat tablets. Holiday strawberry seeds are laid out on top. The container is placed in the refrigerator for 3-4 days. The snow will melt, and the strawberry seeds will self-silt with soil.
• Wet cotton wool is laid out inside a plastic bag, strawberry seeds are scattered on top. The package is tied up and similarly sent to the refrigerator. After four days, the grains of the medium-late Holiday strawberry variety are sown in containers with warm soil.
• The third method is based on mixing Holiday strawberry seeds with a small amount of wet peat or sand. Hardening similarly occurs in the refrigerator for two months. As it dries, the filler is moistened.

Stratification helps to accelerate seed germination of the Holiday strawberry variety up to 15 days. Without hardening, the grains will germinate in at least 30 days.

Sowing time

For cold regions, the optimal time for sowing Holiday seeds is March – early April. Gardeners in the south begin to sow from mid-February.

Sowing in peat tablets

It is convenient to grow Holiday strawberry seedlings in peat tablets, since then the procedure for planting in the garden is simplified. The process consists of the following steps:

• Peat washers are placed inside the plastic container with the landing holes up. Pour a weak solution of potassium permanganate. After swelling of the peat tablets, the remaining water is drained, and the washers themselves are slightly squeezed by hand.
• Inside the planting recesses lay the seeds of the Holiday strawberry variety. You don’t need to fall asleep. The seeds will germinate in the light and take root.
• A container with Holiday crops is covered with a film. Germination of seeds occurs at a temperature of +20^оC. Periodically, the film is slightly opened to remove condensate.

Peat tablets need to be moistened. When dry, the peat shrinks and can damage the strawberry root system. When mold appears on the washers, the plaque is removed with a cotton swab, after which it is treated with Previkur.

Seeding into the soil

To grow Holiday seedlings in soil, you will need cups, boxes or flower pots. The container is disinfected and then filled with fertile soil. Gardeners use two methods of sowing:

• Self-collected strawberry seeds are sown in the ground, deepening about 5 mm. A 10 cm layer of snow is poured on top for hardening. The container is covered with a film, put in the refrigerator, where stratification takes place. After the snow parted, the crops are put on the window. Further, seedlings of the Holiday variety germinate at a temperature of 20–25^оC. The film is opened daily for ventilation.
• Purchased factory-made seeds can not be hardened. Grains of the Holiday variety are scattered on a damp napkin, arranged on a saucer, put on the window. To reduce evaporation, the grains are covered with a film on top. When strawberry seeds hatch, they are sown in containers with soil.

Grow seedlings of the Holiday variety at room temperature, organizing artificial lighting.

 Picking sprouts

With the appearance of 2–4 leaves in the Holiday sprouts, the seedlings dive into separate cups. There are two ways, depending on the density of seedlings:

• Transshipment. The easiest and most painless way for the plant. Holiday seedlings should not grow densely so that a spatula can enter between them. The plant is removed from the ground and, together with a lump, is transplanted into another container.
• Transfer. A rather complicated and painful picking method for the plant, used with a strong sowing density. Strawberry seedlings are removed from a container with a clod of earth and immersed in warm water. When the soil becomes sour, the Holiday strawberry seedlings are carefully removed so as not to damage the tangled roots. Weak plants are thrown away, and strong plants are planted in separate cups.

When picking, be sure to watch that the root neck after transplantation remains at ground level.

Why seeds don’t germinate

The problem of non-germination of seeds of the Holiday variety often lies in non-compliance with the rules for growing seedlings. Gardeners ignore stratification, violate the temperature regime, harvest grains incorrectly or overcook them in the sun.

Landing

When the seedlings of the Holiday variety have already grown, passed the stage of hardening in the fresh air, an important process begins – planting.

How to choose seedlings

To get a good harvest, you need to select healthy seedlings of the Holiday variety. The plant must have at least 3 adult leaves and a horn more than 7 mm thick. The color of the foliage is bright, juicy, the plates are without visible damage. An open root system in a good strawberry seedling is at least 7 cm long. If the plant is in a cup, then the roots should braid the entire clod of earth.

Site selection and preparation of soil

The mid-late Holiday variety is planted in a sunny area. Elevation is not the best place. During a drought, the roots of strawberries are sintered. The soil is prepared a couple of weeks before planting. The bed is dug up on a shovel bayonet, adding 1 bucket of compost per 1 m². If the soil is heavy, sand is added when digging. With increased acidity, chalk or another antioxidant is added.

Landing scheme

Grow Variety Holiday in rows. The seedlings are planted in the holes with a step of 30 cm. The row spacing is made about 40 cm.

Care

The Holiday variety requires traditional care, which includes watering, fertilizing, weeding and other work.

Care in the spring

In early spring, after the snow melts, the bed is cleared of foliage and remnants of winter shelter. The aisles are loosened to a depth of 3 cm, so as not to damage the roots. Immediately plantings of the Holiday variety are fed with a solution of manure 1:3, chicken manure 1:10 or wood ash 100 g / m² beds. After watering and weeding, the soil around the Holiday bushes is mulched with peat or sawdust.

Watering and mulching

The frequency of watering depends on the composition of the soil. With loose soil, the procedure becomes more frequent. Clay soil retains moisture longer. In such areas, you can water after 1-2 days. Before flowering, strawberries can be watered by sprinkling once a week. With the advent of flower stalks, water is supplied under the root. Set up drip irrigation. You can pour water from a hose between rows, but there is a risk of washing out the roots. After watering, to preserve moisture, the soil is mulched with sawdust, straw or peat.

Feeding by month

Variety Holiday needs not only organic top dressing. In early spring, before flowering and after harvesting, mineral complexes containing nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium are introduced. The time of application and the names of drugs are displayed in the table.

Preparation for winter

For the winter, a plantation with Holiday strawberries is covered with straw or hay. From above, you can lay pine branches or just fall asleep with needles. Previously, the bushes are covered with peat. Organics will become an additional insulation for the roots, as well as fertilizer.

Diseases and methods of struggle

For the Holiday variety, verticillium wilt and gray rot are of particular danger, but with timely prevention, strawberries will be healthy. The table shows a list of drugs used for different types of diseases.

Pests and ways to deal with them

Pests cause a great danger to strawberries. Ways to deal with them are shown in the table. Here you can also add snails, slugs and ants that eat berries. Folk methods are used to fight the enemy. Decompose nettles in the garden, sprinkle salt or ground hot pepper.

Harvesting and storage of crops

The crop is harvested in the early morning after the dew has disappeared. The berries are plucked along with the stem. Small but wide boxes or baskets are considered the best containers for fruits. In the refrigerator, an unpressed berry can lie for up to 7 days. For long-term storage, the fruits of the Holiday variety are frozen.

Features of growing in pots

To enjoy the sweet fruits of strawberries in an apartment, plants are grown on the window. Any flower pot at least 15 cm high will do. During flowering, artificial pollination with a soft brush or cotton swab will be required. With the onset of summer, pots of strawberries are taken out to the balcony.

Сonclusion

The American mid-late Holiday variety can be grown in any region of our country. The culture is not capricious in care and adapts well to the local climate.

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