Strawberry variety Honey - description and photos, reviews from gardeners, features

The early-ripening large-fruited strawberry "Honey" is well known to Russian summer residents and professional gardeners. The variety has been cultivated for a long time as a folk crop and has become widespread in many post-Soviet countries.

Strawberries "Honey" (pictured) are distinguished by excellent commercial and taste qualities of the berries

Some important characteristics of the variety are given in the table:

First, a few words about the history of this variety.

History of selection

The Honey variety is considered among gardeners and gardeners to be one of the proven varieties; it was bred in 1979 by American scientists. The variety was included in the State Register of the Russian Federation 6 years ago.

In English, honey sounds like honey. The name of the variety was given in honor of the city of Honoai, located in the USA.

Professionals recommend starting to grow garden strawberries with the Honey variety.

History of origin and growing regions

Breeders from the small town of Honeoye, to which it owes its name, worked to develop Honeoye. You can also find his other names - Honeyo, Honeoye, Honoai. It has roots from two other strawberry varieties, Whitebrant (Vibrant) and Holiday.

In Russia, this variety is officially registered, and its originator is the North Caucasus Federal Scientific Center for Horticulture, Viticulture, and Winemaking (Krasnodar). The Honey variety is suitable for growing outdoors in the Central, Central Black Earth and North Caucasus regions.

Description of the variety

The strawberry variety Honey is considered an early variety. Suitable for growing in garden beds outdoors and under cover.

Honey is resistant to high soil alkalinity. Grows on different types of soil.

Ripening time, yield

The first fruits ripen in mid-May, early June. The exact timing of ripening depends on climatic conditions. In a greenhouse, the harvest is harvested 2 weeks earlier than in open ground.

The variety produces a lot of fruits. Productivity 300-500 g per bush. The average fruiting period is 3 weeks.

Description of berries

The berries are bright red and shiny. The taste is sweet, with sourness. Fragrant, juicy. Medium density pulp. One copy can reach up to 35-40 g.

More often, large specimens are formed in warm regions. The shape is heart-shaped and conical, with an elongated “neck” at the place where the sepals attach to the fruit. Can be eaten fresh or used for preparations.

Important! A fully ripened Honey strawberry has a dark red color and becomes much sweeter.

Winter hardiness, disease resistance

The variety is characterized by high winter hardiness and disease resistance. Suitable for commercial cultivation. Tolerates transportation well. Retains its presentation for 3-4 days after collection. According to the characteristics and descriptions of experienced summer residents, plants are sensitive to soil moisture and do not tolerate excess moisture or drying out of the soil.

Important! The harvest collected in a greenhouse may be distinguished by the presence of a small void inside the fruit.

Advantages and disadvantages of the variety

Reviews from gardeners

Rodion, 53 years old, Serpukhov

The strawberry variety Honey adapts well to the difficult climatic and weather conditions of the middle zone. In our country, it has been bearing fruit consistently and consistently for a long time in the open ground without any special care. The berries begin to ripen at the end of May and can be picked every day for almost a month. The first ones are not so sweet and aromatic, but the further you go, the tastier it becomes. The berries are dense, transportable, and can be stored for no more than 3 days. Then they begin to darken and become limp.

Svetlana, 49 years old, Vinnitsa

On our black soil, Honeyo is the main strawberry variety. Productive and unpretentious, we don’t even process it and feed it no more than 1-2 times per season. It gets sick quite rarely, but last year we lost a lot of bushes from verticillium. After the end of fruiting, they cut off all the tops, leaving only a few healthy bushes, and in the summer they constantly replanted the plantation with young tendrils. For this variety, it is important to maintain the level of moisture, preventing the soil from drying out or waterlogging, and to loosen it more often so that the roots can breathe. The berries are tasty with a pleasant sourness, the first ones are larger, in the main collection they are rather medium, excellent for whole-fruit jam.

Daria, 32 years old, Stavropol region

As a novice gardener, I really liked the Honey strawberries. The bushes were powerful and bloomed profusely. The berries were all under the leaves, even the largest ones did not lie on the ground. They ripened together and evenly. The taste is also excellent - sweet and fragrant. The pulp is elastic, juicy, not empty inside and not loose. Good in any desserts and homemade preparations. I tried freezing it, but after defrosting you need to either eat it right away or grind it with sugar, otherwise the berry will spread.

Igor, 46 years old, Lipetsk region.

Last season, our strawberry beds with the Honeoye variety produced a small harvest. The bushes bloomed early and many of the flowers were damaged by spring frosts. It's a shame, because we love this berry very much and have been growing it for many years.

Zinaida, 61 years old, Kaluga

The Honey variety is proven and reliable: winter-hardy, unpretentious, slightly susceptible to gray mold and diseases of the tops. It is possible to collect 300-400 g of berries from a bush. Those who write about harvests of more than a kilogram probably grow them in greenhouses. In our open ground, 4-5 flower stalks are formed on bushes and each has 6-7 ovaries. But the berries from the garden taste amazing. In our country, this variety bears fruit and is eaten first.

Site selection

Honey is not picky about soil, but the crop prefers to grow on fertile soil. It is better to choose an area with an acidity pH of 5.5-6.5 for planting.

Strawberries are planted at the end of August, beginning of September. With this planting, the plant has time to grow its root system and become stronger before frost. The harvest can be harvested already in the first summer. When planting in spring in the first year, it is recommended to remove all flower stalks for better survival.

Advice. Often in photographs you can see strawberries next to garlic or marigolds. Such planting not only saves space on the site, but also serves as a preventive measure against pest damage to the crop.

a brief description of

Advantages of the variety

• early harvest;
• fruits do not wrinkle during transportation;
• bushes are resistant to frost, heat and drought;
• good immunity to diseases (powdery mildew, spots).

Disadvantages of the variety

• quick harvest (fruiting lasts only 2 weeks);
• excess moisture in the soil is destructive;
• tendency to diseases of the root system;
• Long-term storage leads to loss of commercial quality.

Note: Honey strawberries are ideal for business due to their early ripening, friendly yield, uniformity and aesthetic appearance of the berries. Thanks to the abundance of mustaches, the variety can be quickly bred on an industrial scale.

Landing

For garden strawberries, it is recommended to choose a bright area in the garden. Before planting, the soil must be dug up and humus added. The roots of seedlings can be soaked in a solution with the addition of a small amount of liquid vermicompost.

No more than 3 leaves are left on each seedling, the rest are cut off.

Landing is carried out in the following order:

1. Make small holes at a distance of 50 cm.
2. A small amount of rotted manure and ash is poured into each hole.
3. Watered.
4. The roots are placed freely in the hole. The roots of seedlings that are too long are shortened.
5. The seedling is buried to the root collar. The second row is placed at a distance of 30 cm.

Experienced summer residents recommend planting Honey in a checkerboard pattern.

After planting, the bushes are watered, the root zone is covered with a layer of peat, mown grass, and straw.

Important! When planting strawberries, you should not leave the apical bud underground.

Features of cultivation

The place for planting Honey strawberries does not need to be specially shaded; a location with a moderate amount of sunlight is suitable. This variety produces a large number of tendrils that can be used to create an entire strawberry plantation. Seedlings can be planted in spring, summer, autumn, depending on the region, the time of obtaining the desired harvest and other factors of the particular gardener. If you properly care for Honey bushes, they will delight the summer resident with a large and sweet harvest.

If you plant strawberries before the fall, that is, before the beginning of winter, the harvest will appear the next season. At the end of the summer period, fruit buds begin to form; it is important that young plants are planted before frost, otherwise they will not take root. When choosing planting material, you need to pay attention to the following:

• the thickness of the root collar should be no more than one centimeter;
• the bush should have 4-5 leaves;
• the roots must be strong, dense, and free from signs of disease;

It is advisable to carry out planting work in the evening. The roots are placed in pre-made holes; it is important not to damage them. The hole is buried to the level of the root collar, after which the hole is spilled generously with water and covered with mulch. Planting a bush with closed roots is easier, so the soil ball remains intact, and adaptation proceeds faster and easier.

Do not allow the soil to become excessively moist, as this can lead to the formation of rot and death of the root system. Young, immature seedlings are watered every day until they are fully adapted to new conditions. After this, the frequency of irrigation is reduced to once a week. If there are large quantities of strawberries in the garden plot, you should think about installing a drip irrigation system. It ensures even watering of the soil and maintains an optimal level of humidity.

Throughout the entire life cycle of strawberries, weeding is carried out, that is, the removal of weeds that take nutrients from the soil. Don’t forget about loosening so that the roots receive enough oxygen. If the space around the root system is covered with mulch, loosening is not necessary.

It is better to remove whiskers that are not planned to be used for reproduction. This is done gradually as they appear. They are cut with a sharp, sterile instrument so as not to damage the plant or cause infection. This procedure allows strawberries to direct all their strength and energy to development and fruiting, as well as save energy for the next season.

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Landing

To get a good harvest, you need to approach planting a strawberry plantation with all responsibility. One of the most important conditions is to find healthy, high-quality seedlings; this will prevent many problems in the future. It is better to choose trusted stores or nurseries to be sure of the quality of planting material. Seedlings should not have traces or signs of disease, be free from damage - rot, stains and others.

Strawberries will feel good in areas where the following crops grew:

• dill;
• carrot;
• spinach;
• carrot;
• garlic.

The best time for planting is late May - early June. It is better to prepare the soil in advance, preferably in the fall. It is recommended to dig up the site, clear it of weeds and enrich it with fertilizers. You can use manure and compost at the rate of 3 buckets per square meter. Additionally, wood ash is added, two glasses. If the soil is acidic, you can add a small amount of lime.

Honey strawberry seedlings are placed in the garden bed at a distance of 30-40 cm from each other, the distance between the rows is 40-50 cm. The hole is dug to a depth so that the root system of the seedling or a lump of earth can be completely accommodated in it. It is advisable to shorten them to 7-8 cm. This can be done with garden pruners. It is recommended to make a tubercle in the hole on which the seedling is placed.

If the seedlings have open roots, it is better to place them in a biostimulating solution for a while.

The heart of the seedling should remain on the surface or slightly protruding from the soil. If it is located inside a hole underground, rot will begin; if it is too high, it will dry out quickly. After planting, the seedling is shed abundantly with water; it is advisable to mulch it. You can use spruce branches, sawdust, shavings, compost and other materials for these purposes. This will retain moisture and the plant will quickly take root in its new location.

Watering

The strawberry consists of almost 90% water. If you water too little, the berries will be small and dry. If watering is too abundant, the berries will be, on the contrary, watery and not sweet. The frequency and amount of watering depends on the weather conditions of a particular region.

In summer, watering is carried out every three days. If the beds are covered with mulch, the amount of water should be reduced. It is generally accepted that the optimal amount of water is one bucket of water per square meter. Water should not fall on the foliage and berries, but go directly under the bush, where the root system is located.

Feeding with fertilizers

It is better to start feeding Honey strawberries in early spring, when all the snow has melted. It is better to choose the first fertilizing containing nitrogen to help recovery after winter. An aqueous solution of manure and bird droppings is suitable for these purposes. This organic matter can be replaced with urea and urea.

The next feeding will be required for strawberries during their flowering period. It is better to use products with potassium:

• potassium salt;
• complex mineral compositions;
• nitrophosphate.

The third application of fertilizers is foliar, carried out when ovaries form on the bush. During this period, compositions with boron are preferable, reducing the number of barren flowers. The solution can also be used to treat the green part of the bush, that is, flowers and leaves. The fourth feeding is needed during watering during fruiting. It is recommended to choose mullein, wood ash, and humic fertilizers.

The fifth and final fertilizing is done during the harvest of the finished crop. It is better to choose phosphorus-containing compounds, potassium, ash, and ready-made mineral supplements. These compounds will help the plant recover quickly and produce a large harvest next year.

Wintering

The Honey variety is considered frost-resistant; there are no special measures to insulate it. In order for the bush to survive even a cold winter, you need to do the following:

• carry out water-recharging autumn watering;
• loosen the soil around and under the bush;
• mulch the beds, preferably with peat, compost;
• cover with straw, leaves, spruce branches or special covering materials.

Agrofibre would be a good substitute for natural material. You should not insulate the bushes too much, as you can provoke debate and the formation of mold inside.

Care

Honey strawberry care includes:

1. spring treatment of plants against diseases and pests;
2. watering;
3. feeding;
4. weed removal;
5. mustache removal.

In early spring, as soon as the snow has melted, the strawberry beds must be cleared of dried leaves. In dry spring, plants can be watered. At the beginning of the season, it is recommended to apply nitrogen fertilizers to the bushes.

According to gardeners, Honey strawberries are resistant to spotting and moderately resistant to root rot. If all norms of agricultural technology are followed: maintaining the required distance between bushes, timely weeding, following the rules of watering and crop rotation, plants rarely get sick.

For prevention, spring treatments can be carried out against fungal diseases and pests of berry crops. It is recommended to start fighting diseases in early spring using chemicals:

• "Hom"
• "Topaz",
• "Maksim".

If it was not possible to carry out treatment before flowering, it is recommended to abandon chemicals and spray with biological preparations:

• "Alirin"
• "Gamair"
• "Fitosporin".

If the beds are not mulched, in the spring the soil must be loosened and hilled up, raking the soil from the sides. In this case, the central socket must remain on the surface of the ground.

Honey does not like frequent watering, but the soil should not be allowed to dry out either. It is better to moisten the soil after harvesting the fruits. When watering, water should not fall on the strawberry leaves. It is better to make special grooves for watering next to the plant.

Important! The peculiarity of strawberries is that if you water the plants 2-3 days before picking the berries, the harvest will be tasteless.

Whiskers should be removed throughout the season.

Harvesting is carried out as the berries ripen. Store strawberries in a cool place, preferably in the refrigerator, for no more than 3-4 days. To get sweet fruits, you need to wait until they turn bright red.

All dried and diseased leaves and tendrils should be removed from bushes that bear fruit. In the fall, the procedure can be repeated.

Starting from the second year of planting, the bushes can be cut off completely for the winter, leaving only the central rosette.

Diseases and pests of the variety

The Honey variety has average immunity to diseases. The exception is Verticillium wilt, which can affect plantings in warm, humid summers.

Verticillium wilt

This fungal disease can manifest itself in different ways depending on the composition of the soil and weather conditions. The “instant” form affects plants within a few days; a hidden disease may appear in a year or two.

One of the characteristic signs is drying of the lower leaves. Plants are depressed, stunted in growth, acquire a reddish tint and die. But even those bushes that do not die will have a stunted appearance and will not produce good harvests. The fight against verticillium is possible, but its prevention is much more effective, and it consists of simple measures:

• Buy healthy seedlings.
• Maintain crop rotation. Mustard and legumes as precursors, as well as green manure (vetch, lupine), are especially good at preventing the disease.
• Carry out preventive spraying with Fundazol or biological products Trichofit, Fitosporin before flowering.

Gray rot

This attack is also caused by the spread of fungal spores, the mycelium of which covers the berries with a fluffy coating. To prevent the disease from affecting strawberries, especially in a greenhouse, the following precautions must be taken:

• Choose the right landing site. Sunny, well-ventilated, without stagnant groundwater close to the surface of the earth is the best option.
• Avoid dense plantings.
• Do not allow the soil to become waterlogged.
• Mulch only with fresh mulch. Remove all last year's plant debris from the site and burn it, because it is in them that pathogens overwinter.
• Spray with boric acid and potassium permanganate (2 g per bucket of water). This is both prevention and treatment at the first signs of illness.

Aphid

Those who like to drink juice from young strawberry leaves are not uncommon in the garden beds, but you can fight them with folk remedies and agrotechnical measures:

• Do not thicken the plantings.
• Regularly water, mulch, and feed the plants so that they quickly gain strength, then they are not afraid of pests.
• Planting onions between rows, aphids do not like them.
• If the pest overcomes the plants, treat the strawberries with an infusion of ash (two glasses per bucket) with the addition of liquid soap.

The Honey variety is early ripening and chemical pest control methods are not suitable for it.

Slugs

Naked slugs are a serious problem for gardeners because the pests, which come out to feed at night, really like ripe berries. Slugs eat holes in the fruits and completely spoil their presentation. And many people grow the Honey variety for sale.

The following measures can help get rid of slippery pests:

• Pollination of strawberry plantings with sifted ash.
• Sprinkling the rows with sawdust and dry sand.
• Spraying with a solution of vinegar and water (1 to 6).

It has been noticed among gardeners that slugs are partial to beer; there is a method of luring slugs to containers with a foamy drink.

Photo gallery: main diseases and pests of honey strawberry

The appearance of gray rot on strawberries is often caused by non-compliance with agricultural practices.

Infestation of strawberries by aphids leads to the appearance of ants, which further harms the plants.

Slugs do not like dry, rough surfaces and are easily attracted to regular beer.

Verticillium wilt usually begins with drying out of the lower leaves.

Reproduction

To propagate the variety, buy seedlings in containers or use the tendrils of adult bushes, at the ends of which rosettes of leaves are formed. These rosettes can be planted and later become adult plants.

The whiskers are collected according to the taste of the fruit. To do this, in the first and second year of planting, all the mustaches are cut off and the bushes with the most delicious berries are noted. In the third year, on the bushes on which the most delicious and largest fruits were formed last year, all flowers are removed and the mustache is allowed to develop.

No more than one rosette is left on each antennae. Fertile soil is poured around the mustache. After rooting, the rosettes are transplanted to a new location.

How to plant strawberries

Plant seedlings in the evening or on a cloudy day, this will help the plant take root better. High-quality Honey strawberry seedlings should have a root collar of at least 8–9 mm.

1. Throw a handful of soil into a pre-prepared hole and plant a seedling, making sure that the roots of the plant do not bend upward.
2. Fill the hole with soil so that the apical bud of the bush is flush with the ground.
3. Water the plantings well.
4. Mulch with peat, sawdust, straw or humus.