Strawberry Wim Zant

The new strawberry variety Vima Zanta has not gained much fame yet. However, gardeners who were lucky enough to grow this crop noted the good taste of the berries and the good frost resistance of the bushes. Wim Zant’s strawberry originates from the Dutch selection. Wima Tarda is considered a related variety. The general series of Dutch varieties also includes Wima Rina and Wima Xima, but they are not related to the Wim Zant hybrid.

Characteristics of a variety

Relatives of the Vima Zanta hybrid are two well-known varieties:

• Elsanta is always taken as a standard. This variety became one of the parents of the Wim Zant hybrid.
• The crown is the second parent of the hybrid. The aroma and good taste of berries are borrowed from the variety. And now we will take a closer look at the photo, reviews, description of the Wim Zant strawberry variety, and learn the rules of agricultural technology. Let’s start with the characteristics of the variety:
• In terms of ripening berries, Wim Zant is considered an early ripe hybrid, but strawberries can also be attributed to mid-early varieties. The redness of the fruit begins in the third decade of May or falls at the beginning of June.
• The yield of the variety is high. From 1 hectare you can collect up to 80 kg of berries. In terms of yield, the Vima Zanta hybrid surpassed even its parent, the Elsanta variety. The Vima Zanta variety will give the maximum yield only in the second year after planting.
• The culture is characterized by a powerful bush structure. The shape of the leaves is the usual strawberry, but they are slightly folded inward and resemble a boat. This is the hallmark of the variety.
• Berries grow large. The color of the skin is rich red, but there is no gloss. The first fruits grow more rounded. The berries of subsequent waves of harvest acquire a conical shape with a flattened neck. This is another important feature that makes it possible to distinguish the Wim Zant hybrid from other similar varieties. Fruit weight is small. The less watering, the lighter the berries. Strawberries from a lack of moisture do not grow juicy, and inside they can even be hollow.
• Taste qualities are pronounced. The pulp is much sweeter than the fruits of the famous Clery variety.
• The peduncle is formed at the level of the foliage. The stems are strong and resistant. The hybrid is characterized by intense whisker growth.
• The fruits are easily separated from the sepals. In transportation, strawberries are capricious. The pulp of ripe berries is quite soft and is simply crushed during transportation in boxes.
• The Wim Zant hybrid inherited from its parents a high resistance to diseases, in particular, to fungus and root rot. To powdery mildew, the culture has an average resistance.

This is how you can characterize the description of Wim Zant’s strawberries, and now let’s get acquainted with the conditions of agricultural technology.

Strawberry Cultivation

About Wim Zant’s strawberry variety, reviews say that the culture requires good attention. Plants really do not like thickening. Each bush should have at least 25 cm of free space around it. A dense planting will result in weak whisker formation and a reduced ovary.

Strawberries are planted in rows in the garden. It is optimal to make the row spacing about 45 cm. This is good for plants and it is easier to pick berries. Variety Vima Zanta loves sunny areas of the garden, where maximum light enters. You don’t have to worry about the berries. Strawberries will not be baked even under the scorching rays of the sun. But in the shade, the fruits lose their natural color and taste.

The Wim Zant strawberry variety is very demanding on the ground. On poor soil, you can not even try to grow a culture. Top dressing with organic matter and minerals is a must. For the first time, mineral fertilizer is applied directly into the hole when planting a seedling. Subsequent feeding is carried out with organic mixtures until the ovary appears. The last time in the season, fertilizer is applied after the full harvest. Top dressing is needed so that strawberries gain nutrients before wintering.

In summing up the description of the Wim Zant strawberry variety, let’s get acquainted with its advantages:

• early ripening of berries and the versatility of their use;
• from one bush you can collect up to 2 kg of fruit;
• leaves and root system are resistant to disease;
• berries grow weighing up to 40 g are very sweet and fragrant.

There are also many disadvantages of this hybrid:

• whimsicality to the composition of the soil and terrain;
• strawberries require careful care, especially regular removal of whiskers and watering;
• in cold regions, bushes for the winter must be carefully covered;
• transportability and preservation of berries is poor.

Despite all the shortcomings, the Dutch hybrid is popular with private gardeners. Many of them claim that Vima Zanta is no more difficult to care for than any other strawberry.

Care for strawberries

Caring for any variety of strawberries involves performing the same steps. However, there are still some nuances. When caring for a Wim Zant hybrid, the characteristics of both parent varieties must be taken into account. This is the only way to achieve a good harvest. Vima Zanta care rules require the following actions:

• The hybrid loves abundant watering so that the berries are full-bodied. You will have to do this often. Moreover, during flowering it is impossible for water to fall on the flower stalks. Watering plants under the root is difficult, especially on large plantations. The way out of the situation can only be the arrangement of drip irrigation.
• Wim Zant hybrid bushes are powerful, but in thickets of grass they may not survive. Weeds draw a lot of nutrients from the soil. Weeding is best done in a timely manner, preventing the appearance of grass.

  

• If you want to get an early harvest, you have to work hard. Frosts are often observed in the long spring. So that they do not destroy the young shoots, strawberries are covered with agrofibre at night. Such actions will help to get the first ripe berries about 10 days earlier.

  

• Wim Zant’s strawberry is considered a winter-hardy hybrid, but there is a threat of freezing. In the absence of snow during severe frosts or frequent thaws with freezing of the soil, the root system of plants suffers. You can provide reliable insulation by covering strawberries with mulch for the winter. Suitable straw, leaves, sawdust and other waste of natural adventure. Agrofibre can be used as mulch for winter shelter.
• Mulch is useful not only in winter, but also during the growing season. It will prevent the rapid evaporation of moisture, protect plants from pests, plus it will become an additional organic fertilizer. Sometimes gardeners even use pine needles for mulch.

  

• Recently, the technology of growing strawberries on film has gained wide popularity. A bed is covered with a black cloth, and windows are cut with a knife in the places where seedlings are planted. The film does not allow moisture to evaporate from the soil and prevents the growth of weeds.

  

The whiskers are removed from the strawberries so that they do not weaken the mother bush. However, the plant needs to reproduce. To obtain young shoots, 2–3 mustaches are left, and the strongest ones choose them, and cut off all weak trifles with scissors.

Spring pest control

Studying the reviews, the description of Wim Zant’s strawberries is worth stopping at protecting the crop from pests. With the onset of spring, the larvae of various insects wake up in the ground. On the surface, weevils, mites and other pests wander in search of food. All of them are not averse to eating juicy leaves and strawberry roots. In spring, there comes an important moment when the gardener must have time to protect young plants.

There are proven recipes for controlling strawberry pests and diseases, and now we will look at some of them:

• Gray rot appears on the berries with spots of the same color. The best way to prevent disease is prevention. Before the appearance of flower stalks, the plants are sprayed with Bordeaux liquid. You can use copper chloride. In any case, a weak solution is needed for prevention.
• Powdery mildew causes great harm to strawberries. You can prevent the appearance of the fungus by preventive spraying of the bushes with a solution of pale potassium permanganate. A good result is shown by colloidal sulfur dissolved in water.
• Purchased strawberry seedlings may contain mites invisible to the eye on the leaves. Over time, the pest will destroy not only new, but also old plantings. To destroy the tick, purchased strawberry seedlings are immersed for 15 minutes in water heated to a temperature of +45^оC.
• At night, a special contingent of pests that love berries appears. Woodlice, slugs, and snails can be fought with pine needle mulch. A solution consisting of 1 bucket of water, 1 cup of sunflower oil and 2 cups of vinegar will help get rid of the invasion of ants. The finished solution is simply poured on top of the strawberries, and the ants will forever forget the way to it.
• Copper sulfate continues to be a universal remedy for combating all parasites. Even before the buds appear on the strawberries, the blue powder is mixed with slaked lime and sprinkled between the rows in the garden.
• On growing strawberries with spider mites, an infusion of tobacco or wormwood will help fight. To catch wood lice use a simple folk method. It is necessary to soak a lot of birch brooms in water and spread them out in the evening on the bed near the strawberries.

Trying to protect strawberries from various enemies, you need to learn one truth: it is better to take preventive measures than to try to cure half-dead plants later.

The video tells about the care of strawberries:

Reviews

Now let’s read Wim Zant’s strawberry reviews from gardeners.