Description of the large-fruiting hybrid strawberry variety “Russian Size”

Growing large, sweet strawberries is not that difficult, the main thing is to choose the right variety. The plant must be suitable for climatic conditions and correspond to the gardener’s idea of ​​caring for berry crops. Remontant strawberry Russian size attracts with its appetizing large berries, long fruiting period and simple requirements for growing conditions. Unfortunately, this is information from advertising brochures, but if we take into account real reviews, then the variety is mediocre and does not differ in the declared large-fruited size

Description of the strawberry variety “Russian size”

A large-fruited hybrid of garden strawberries with a long fruiting period, which stops only in mid-autumn. One of the most favorite varieties among domestic gardeners.

Peculiarities:

• good growth in any soil, especially in medium-carbon soil;
• location of peduncles - at the same level of leaves or above them;
• tall bushes, thick leaves;
• volume of inflorescences;
• frost resistance;
• medium-late ripening;
• long fruiting;
• high transportability;
• excellent presentation;
• abundant berry formation;
• slight distortion.

Reference! The berry withstands long-distance transportation well, which allows it to be sold through retail chains and supermarkets.

a brief description of

Advantages of the variety

The strawberry variety Aromas began its march across European countries and the territory of the post-Soviet space recently, but has managed to establish itself well thanks to its many advantages:

• When fully ripe, the berries are sweet and aromatic;
• possibility of year-round cultivation under film;
• raised habit of the bush, which is convenient for loosening, fertilizing, and watering;
• good heat resistance;
• high transportability of the crop;
• resistance to many diseases, high resistance to mildew (downy mildew) and spider mites;
• high performance with proper care.

Disadvantages of the variety

• at the stage of technical ripeness, hard pulp;
• may chlorose on carbonate soils;
• the dependence of the taste and density of the berries on watering, soil composition and the presence of sunny days;
• Even with their high heat resistance, without watering the berries will become sour, and the plants themselves may die.

Berry characteristics and photos

• large juicy fruits up to 8 cm in diameter and weighing up to 50 g;
• medium sized leaves;
• bright red rich color;
• firm flesh and moist tear-off;
• small yellow achenes;
• pleasant aroma and excellent presentation.

Drought, rainfall and storage do not affect the intensity of the shine, which makes their transportation easier. The fruits also do not need to be hidden from the rain.

Advantages:

• high performance;
• large and juicy fruits;
• frost resistance;
• ease of transportation.

Characteristics

Explanation of symbols

C 5 – ( C
– round container,
5
– volume in liters);
P 9 – ( P
– square container,
9
– diameter in cm);
RB-50 – ( RB
– earth ball in burlap,
50
– ball diameter in cm);
WRB-60 – ( WRB
– lump in burlap and metal mesh,
60
– lump diameter in cm); RP, SP, OP are internal designations and do not mean anything.

To section

Reproduction

Cultivation often occurs using seeds or seedlings. Sowing should be done from mid-winter to the end of March. For this:

• moisten the soil;
• carefully distribute the seeds over it;
• cover the crops with glass or plastic film.

The picking of grown seedlings at the stage of appearance of two leaves should be carried out in separate planting containers filled with soil. If you maintain the optimal temperature regime (about 20 degrees), the strawberries will sprout no later than a month after sowing. It should also be remembered that containers with sowing must be ventilated and irrigated with a spray bottle.

Reproduction and planting

To diversify the Russian size strawberry plantation, buy seeds. Gardeners often complain about disgusting germination. If the quality of the planting material does not disappoint, they spend several months working on planting. Growing from seeds is a long, painstaking task.

Seedlings in specialized stores are less common. And buying sockets of unknown origin from grandmothers at the market is playing blind. If you are lucky with a neighbor on your property who has Russian size strawberries, you can get hold of planting material – mustaches with rosettes or divisions. After all, in 3-4 years, remontant strawberries are renewed. Even with the most careful care, three-year-old strawberries of a remontant variety begin to degrade. Therefore, either the mustaches are planted in a new place, or the adult bushes are divided and the divisions are transferred to another bed.

Landing

Before the planting process, you need to prepare the soil. For this:

• clear it of weed roots;
• dig the area to a depth of 30 cm;
• add humus;
• make rows 5-10 cm deep;
• place the root system there;
• cover it with soil and compact it.

The best time for planting seedlings is May-August. Planting should be done when there are five leaves. Wide planting is not recommended for this variety. The distance between seedlings should not be more than 20 cm.

Important! Do not place seedlings in swampy, clayey or limestone areas.

The area should also be well lit and well protected from the negative effects of wind.

Care and feeding

The care features are similar to the scheme for growing the entire KSD crop and assume:

• intensive watering;
• timely cleaning of weeds;
• feeding with fertilizers;
• spraying against diseases and parasites.

The first time feeding is carried out in September. This will help the strawberries withstand the winter better. Strawberries are also fed in the off-season after transplanting, planting and propagation by dividing the bushes. Organic fertilizer, fresh manure or chicken droppings are used as fertilizer in the fall. It will rot over the winter, and by spring it will become a source of nitrogen and mulch that acts against weeds.

Reference! Fresh chicken manure should not be used, as it can burn the root system. When used as a top dressing, it is diluted with water.

Next, the solution is applied to the soil dug among the holes and rows of strawberries.

The next feeding with chicken manure is carried out in the spring. The solution consists of 1 part litter to 20 parts water. This feeding is suitable only for 1 application per year. Otherwise, nitrates will accumulate in the soil and you will not get a full harvest.

You need to do this after the berries appear. Here you will need mullein diluted in water (ratio 1 to 4). This solution is kept in a warm room for three days.

You can also use mineral fertilizers for feeding in the spring. For example, a mixture of ammophos and ammonium nitrate (2 to 1). Next, it must be diluted in water and introduced into the soil.

However, it is important to maintain the normal magnesium content in your diet. It is this element that helps in the formation of chlorophyll, which is very necessary during the flowering period and helps ensure the development of leaves and roots. Its deficiency causes negative consequences for the entire vital system of the plant, affecting the yield and quality of fruits.

It is also important to avoid over-application of potassium. Its excess leads to the displacement of magnesium and aluminum. For feeding purposes, we can recommend magnesium sulfate in an amount of 5 kg per hectare. When it is deficient, the leaves begin to dry, turn yellow and wither.

How to choose the right strawberry seedlings when purchasing

When purchasing Russian size strawberry seedlings, it is very important to choose healthy plants. Brown, red, black dots and spots on the leaves of the bushes indicate they are infected with a fungal infection, so it is better to refrain from such a purchase. If the bushes you like have suspiciously pale leaves, then this may be a sign of late blight necrosis of the horns. This phytoinfection is classified as quarantine and if you purchase infected planting material, such seedlings will most likely die. If you find wrinkled young leaves on the bushes, then this is a sure symptom of earth mite infection. This pest will significantly reduce the adaptive abilities and productivity of plants.

• rich dark green leaf color;
• the thickness of the horns is from 0.7 to 0.8 millimeters;
• fibrous root system (the length of the roots should not be less than 7–8 centimeters);
• healthy appearance;
• wet, not overdried roots.

Remember that the size of the future harvest depends on the quality of the purchased seedlings, and therefore the choice of planting material must be taken as responsibly as possible.

Diseases and pests

The berry has low resistance to rot (including gray rot) and all kinds of spots. When the first signs appear, the bushes must be treated with a 3% solution of Bordeaux mixture or Euparen. In the autumn, to reduce the risk of infections, strawberries are treated with Topaz, Switch, or Actellik.

Strawberry varieties are also prone to suffer from parasites, so it is important to take preventive measures. To do this, plant onions, garlic, and calendula between the rows of strawberries. Their aroma is good at repelling unwanted guests.

Reference! The berry is resistant to late blight and does not require mandatory preventive treatment.

Reviews

Svetlana: “I have been growing Russian size strawberries for about 5 years and despite the difficult care, they are my favorite. I usually water the bushes every 2 days, on cloudy days - once a week.”

Alena: “The downside is the lack of adaptation, which makes its independent reproduction difficult. But, perhaps, the result is much more important, namely a large and juicy berry of large size and attractive appearance with good resistance to frost.”

If you are an avid gardener who is willing to spend a lot of time in the garden, Russian size strawberries will be an excellent solution for you. Have a good harvest!

2.3/5 — (6 votes)

Which strawberries grew from seeds

A large number of comments on the post about the theory of growing strawberries from seeds reminded me that I never shared the results of my experiments with you. I’ll say right away that they could be a hundred times better if I spent not four hours a week in the garden, but at least 24. Nevertheless, there is something to share (quite a lot of photos). This is what grows from a tiny strawberry seed in

Strawberry variety “Fresco” from seed

And here is the “Russian size” variety, but without a glass:

Strawberry seedlings of the “Russian size” variety

This is what the bed looked like before planting:

Strawberry bed

And this is it after planting (the rows closest to us are “Russian size” on the left, and “Fresco” on the right, then on the left are small white berries, and red ones on the right):

Strawberry bed

Here she is two months later (sultry July):

Strawberries in first bloom Large-fruited strawberries in bloom First fruits of the “Fresco” variety First berries of the “Sweet Aroma” variety Alpine strawberries “Fragrant Basket”

to the entry “Which strawberries grew from seeds”

The photos are SUPERB! Will my little ones really grow into such a beauty!?

Please tell me why sawdust is needed in strawberry beds? Is it necessary to sprinkle them between the beds or can you do without them?

Sawdust acts as mulch there - read more here https://www.blog-sadovoda.ru/04/20/mulchirovanie-pochvy/

Strawberries love acidic soil. Therefore, sawdust will not spoil the garden bed. And rotting also gives a good soil structure. All the paths in my dacha and between the beds are covered with sawdust with a layer of 25-30 cm. The grass does not grow, the moisture is retained... Complete benefit. I have been doing this for more than 10 years, the correctness of the approach has been verified

If the sawdust is clean, then it probably makes sense to use them. What if there’s something wrong with it? It seems like strawberries love Ph 5.5-6.5, not very acidic, nitrogenous soil.

The photos are really great. 2 years ago, Baron Solemacher grew only 6 bushes from 2 or 3 bags of strawberries. Without any hints. But I wrote down all your advice. Thank you. This year I will try new varieties.

I’m sowing for the first time, I’m just “sick” of these strawberries, I’ll try to sow using your method. thank you for the very good and detailed posts, I think you are a master of your craft

Last year I sowed remontant strawberries “Sashenka” from Sedek using the described method. I sowed them on February 6, 2012, 11 bushes sprouted, and by May 4 survived. Those that survived were very small and weak - about 1 cm tall, with small leaves. At the end of May, when the soil warmed up (Oryol region), I planted it in the ground, covered it with plastic containers and (lo and behold!) the plants began to grow. I kept it under containers until the end of June; it was either hot or cold, but my seedlings were clearly better off than on the windowsill. In mid-August the strawberries bloomed and we tasted the first berries. We didn’t like the taste; it seemed that they were inferior to the usual non-repairing varieties, they were not fragrant and had a kind of “rubbery” consistency. Maybe they should be like this? The strong, dark green, healthy bushes left for the winter. I didn’t cover it, we’ll see what happens in the spring... This was my first experience, so I still consider it successful.

I sowed two varieties Baron Solemacher and Alexandria, one bag each. In March. In short, I looked at the snow, on the recommendation of this site, and others. Alexandria sprouted in a few days, I think 80% (100 seeds in a bag). Baron Solemacher is a little less, but still a lot and also in a week. Result by mid-May: about 30 bushes (a little more) of each variety of excellent seedlings, ready for planting. I consider the experience successful. And thank you very much for the good advice.

This summer I planted Slastena F1. It sprouted from seeds in winter with a bang! Grown in peat tablets. Before the cold weather, we even had time to try the berries; they grew very large. The bushes are huge, the flowers are also gigantic and powerful. Let's see what happens next year.

The strawberries sprouted quickly, there are no fungi, only now they turn black and die! What should I do, help me?!

I realized that growing strawberries is my calling :)). I don’t have a garden or a summer house yet, so I grow it from seeds in the room. Illuminated with phyto-lamps and fluorescent lamps. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wtqhKckH1-I&feature=c4-overview&list=UUtMEuepKESfK_PXjG1FysiQ - here you can see my vegetable garden in a room of 12 sq. m in my apartment. Including strawberries, which I grow from seeds. There are different varieties - six or seven. But the best is BARON SOLEMACHER, WHITE SOUL, CINDERELLA, RUYANA. Let's see how the other varieties go: DIVNAYA, FOREST TALE, ALPINE RUYANA. In total I sowed 10 or 12 varieties. About 600 bushes have already sprouted and are growing. You can see this in the video. And another 10 trays of different varieties were sown.

I love strawberries very much, the berries are very healthy, so I plant them every year. Of course, it requires quite good attention, over the years I have already developed my own rules, which I follow when caring for and planting, they are completely simple and all coincide with those written in the article. The berry grows well both in an open garden and in a greenhouse.