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A personal plot without a bed with strawberries is an extremely rare occurrence. This berry is very popular with gardeners. Breeders have bred many of its varieties and hybrids. Promising novelties with improved characteristics appear every year. Among them is the strawberry Primi. They began to grow it quite recently, but the first experiments in fruit nurseries and garden plots confirm the varietal characteristics declared by breeders, first of all, large-fruitedness and excellent taste.
When the strawberry is bred Primi
Strawberry Premy was bred in Italy by the Consortium of Italian Nurseries CIV (Consorzio Italiano Vivaisti). Among his successful achievements are the varieties Clery and Elsanta, well known to gardeners.
This organization, highly respected by breeders all over the world, with a half-century history, specializes in breeding new varieties and producing certified “mother” plants. It is valued for its consistently high quality and the desire to constantly update the range.
The joint venture includes three of the largest Italian nurseries – Vivai Mazzoni, Salvi Vivai and Tagliani Vivai. In the first of them, the strawberry Primi was created. Since 2018, the variety has been tested on plots in various regions of Our Country, and two years later it entered the free market. It has not yet been included in the State Register, but it has been successfully certified.
Description of the strawberry variety Take and characteristics
The varietal characteristics of strawberry Primi declared by the originator look like something incredible. For obvious reasons, there is no great practice of growing it in different regions of Our Country yet, but the first experiments of amateur gardeners largely confirm the numerous advantages of the variety.
Characteristics of fruits, taste qualities
The average weight of Primi berries is 25-40 g. According to breeders, under optimal conditions and with proper care, their weight can reach 70-100 g, but such indicators are hardly achievable for amateur gardeners. The fruits are one-dimensional, there are no very small berries on the bushes.
The shape is elongated-conical, the largest specimens are comb-shaped. Skin with a glossy sheen, evenly colored in dark scarlet or cherry color. The flesh is bright red, dense, but juicy and tender.
The strawberry Primi tastes very sweet, but not fresh, with a subtle sourness. Professional tasters rated it 4,5 points out of five possible.
Ripe berries have a very pleasant “nutmeg” aroma, typical of wild strawberries, light and unobtrusive.
For the ripening of such fruits, powerful plants are needed. Therefore, Primi’s bushes for strawberries are tall, with a developed root system, but relatively compact, slightly sprawling. The foliage is medium, the leaves are large, dark green.
Terms of maturation
Accept – medium-early strawberries. The first “wave” of the harvest falls on the tenth of June. Fruiting stretches for about a month. Its uniformity is noted. The last fruits do not shrink, they are characterized by the same size and shape as the first ones.
Compared to the varieties of this producer well-known to gardeners, Primi strawberries ripen 3-4 days later than Clery and 5-7 days earlier than Elsanta.
Strawberry yield Primi
On average, an adult Primi bush produces 1-1,5 kg of berries per season. Breeders declared higher rates – 2,5-3 kg, but for this, plants require ideal or close conditions.
The yield of Primi strawberries depends on many factors: first of all, these are climate features and the quality of care
Growing regions, frost resistance
Strawberry Primi is a variety specially created for cultivation in temperate climates. It is declared by breeders as the most suitable for cultivation in the countries of continental and Eastern Europe and the European part of Our Country. This provides cold resistance up to -25 ºС.
However, according to the originator, the variety has the ability to adapt to the effects of adverse environmental factors. Therefore, it is very likely that it will “take root” in the Urals, Siberia, and the Far East. Of course, in the conditions of the local climate, the Primi strawberry will need careful shelter for the winter. And record high yields and large fruits obtained in optimal conditions for it can not be expected.
Disease and pest resistance
Strawberry Primi has good immunity. This applies to all diseases typical of the culture. Pests also do not show much interest in it, even if they affect bushes of other varieties growing in the neighborhood.
Advantages and disadvantages of the variety
Strawberry variety Primi has many undeniable advantages:
- Early terms of fruiting and its “extension”. The latter ensures high yields.
- One-dimensionality and presentability of fruits. This is one of the most significant factors for those who grow strawberries for sale. Such berries are definitely not ashamed to serve on the table.
- High yield. By planting Primi strawberries, you can save space in the garden. This is important for owners of standard “six acres”.
- Excellent taste and aroma. These characteristics are confirmed even by professional tasters. Moreover, the typical “strawberry” smell persists even after heat treatment.
- Purpose versatility. Berries are suitable both for fresh consumption and for any home-made preparations. You can use them as a filling for baking, freeze.
- The density of the pulp. This provides Primi with a very good keeping quality for strawberries (up to five days) and transportability. During transportation, the berries do not crumple, do not lose their “presentation”.
- Good immunity. Especially noted is the resistance of strawberry Primi when grown on test cultivar plots to various types of spots, mold, root rot and strawberry mites.
- Carelessness in care. It includes only standard agrotechnical measures necessary for any strawberry variety.
- Sufficient cold resistance for central Our Country. Primi also tolerates return frosts well: the bushes quickly recover, this does not affect the crop of the current season.
- Drought resistance. Strawberries during a short-term drought, of course, will not disappear, and the berries, moreover, do not shrink. But it is better to provide her with regular watering.
Strawberry Primi is suitable for those who grow berries for sale, and for “individual use”
As disadvantages of strawberries, Primi note the following points:
- In the first two seasons after planting, record harvests can not be expected. Abundant fruiting will be only in the third season.
- Landings need regular updating. It is recommended to “rejuvenate” them every four years. Although, according to the originator, with proper care, this variety can bring abundant harvests for 5-6 years.
- Strawberries Primi must be regularly fed with quality fertilizers. This is logical: high yields and large sizes of berries greatly deplete the bushes.
Methods of reproduction
Strawberry Primi is a hybrid. Therefore, it is pointless to try to grow new plants from seeds: the varietal characteristics of the “parent” will not be inherited by the “offspring”. In any case, such a laborious method is not popular with gardeners.
Primi is propagated by methods typical for most varieties of strawberries – rooting “whiskers” and dividing the bush. “Mustache” on it is formed a little, but enough. There will be no shortage of planting material.
Only adult (from three years old) bushes are suitable for division, each fragment obtained must have at least one rosette and roots
Planting and care
Since the Primi strawberry is intended for growing in temperate climates, it is better to plant it in the spring. Despite good frost resistance, in autumn, seedlings may not have time to adapt to new habitat conditions and take root. Then they will definitely not survive the winter. There is also a real risk of being late with planting: the first frosts sometimes come suddenly, for young seedlings they are detrimental.
The following requirements are imposed on the landing site for strawberries Primi:
- Good lighting, but without direct sunlight during the hottest time of the day. For this period, it is desirable to provide landings with “openwork” penumbra.
- Protection from cold drafts, north wind.
- The site should be flat, and a place closer to the top of a gentle hill will also do. Steep slopes and lowlands are immediately excluded.
- The soil is nutritious, but light (loam or sandy loam), with a neutral pH.
- Groundwater located at least 60 cm below the surface of the earth.
What care do plants need?
- Watering. Should be regular but moderate. This variety does not like excessive soil moisture. If it is hot outside and there is no rain, Primi strawberries are watered every 2-3 days. The norm for an adult plant is 4-5 liters. The ideal option is drip irrigation. Sprinkling is not suitable (water drops fall on flowers, ovaries, ripening berries).
- Application of fertilizers. Primi strawberries are fed four times per season: at the very beginning of the active growing season, in the budding phase, at the end of fruiting and in the last decade of August. It is best to use complex store-bought fertilizers designed specifically for strawberries. The variety also reacts well to natural organics, but such dressings are not able to provide plants with all the macro- and microelements they need in the required volumes, the life of the bushes is reduced.
In the spring, top dressing with a nitrogen content is applied, then phosphorus and potassium are required for the ripening of fruits and preparation for winter.
The good immunity of strawberries Primi allows you to do without preventive treatments with fungicides and insecticides during the season. Gardeners who still want to insure can use folk remedies:
- planting marigolds, garlic, other herbs and plants with a pungent odor along the perimeter of the beds;
- scattering on the soil surface of dry mustard, sifted wood ash;
- replacement every 1,5-2 weeks of ordinary water for irrigation with a light pink solution of potassium permanganate.
The beds are mulched with strawberries most often with straw, this is also the reason for its English name – strawberry
Preparation for winter
When grown in the south of Our Country, in a subtropical climate, Primi strawberries do not need special shelter. In the middle lane, especially if a harsh and snowy winter is expected, the garden bed in the fall, after all the necessary sanitary measures (pruning, cleaning all plant and other debris), the bases of the bushes are mulched with humus or peat. The whole garden is covered with spruce branches, sawdust, fallen leaves, dry grass, straw.
From above it is tightened with any covering material in 2-3 layers. As soon as enough snow falls, the bed is thrown from above. During the winter, it is desirable to “renew” the snowdrift several times, while breaking the hard crust of crust on the surface. Otherwise, plants that do not receive enough oxygen may die.
In the spring, the shelter from the beds with strawberries is removed as soon as the thaw begins, otherwise the roots of the plants will warm up, they will die
Conclusion
The Primi strawberry, bred in Italy, is specifically designed for growing in temperate climates. The variety is completely new, so it cannot yet boast of wide popularity among gardeners, but it has all the prerequisites for this. The berry very successfully combines excellent taste, presentable appearance and large fruit size with the “survivability” of the plant, which is distinguished by good immunity and not capricious care. Judging by the reviews and photos of gardeners, the description of the Primi strawberry variety given by breeders is quite true. Of course, the variety has its drawbacks, but they are much less than advantages.
Reviews of gardeners about the strawberries of the Primi variety
