Strawberries Carmen: description of a mid-late variety of garden strawberries, photos and reviews
Most Russian regions have harsh winters and a short, cool summer season. In such conditions, it is difficult to grow strawberries, which are demanding on weather conditions.
However, thanks to the efforts of breeders, new varieties of this berry crop have appeared in recent decades, which are characterized by high resistance to frost, good yield and excellent taste.
This set of positive qualities is also inherent in the Carmen garden strawberry, which will be discussed in this article.
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Photo of strawberries Carmen
Strawberry Carmen: variety description
The Carmen strawberry bushes are tall, lush and strong with large foliage. The leaves are wide, with large jagged edges, slightly wrinkled, dark emerald in color, with a characteristic gloss.
Strawberry Carmen on a bush - photo
The peduncles are strong, and up to 5-7 ovaries can form on each of them. The height of the peduncles reaches the level of the foliage, which practically does not shade the ripening berries. Therefore, during the ripening process, fruits gain a sufficient amount of sugars. Despite the strength and power of the flower stalks, they usually lie down on the ground under the weight of the ripening crop.
The flowers are medium in size, white in color, appear in early June, and fruiting occurs in the first ten days of July. Male and female flowers are formed on the same peduncle.
Carmen strawberry bushes produce a large number of tendrils that must be removed regularly, otherwise the shoots will take away a large amount of nutrition, which is necessary for the formation of ovaries and ripening of fruits.
But a large number of mustaches allows you to propagate this variety using only your own seedlings.
Carmen strawberries are grown on private farms, as well as on an industrial scale for further sale of products (but on a small scale).
The variety does not require special care, has good frost resistance, and rapid adaptation to any climatic conditions. Planted plants quickly acclimatize to a new location.
Video about Carmen's garden strawberries:
The resistance of Carmen bushes to periods of drought is also quite high, so this variety of strawberries successfully grows and bears fruit in the southern regions of Russia, as well as in colder regions of the country.
Treatment of diseases and preventive measures
This species is quite resistant to most diseases characteristic of strawberry bushes. The exception is gray rot - berries are easily affected by it.
The disease spreads very quickly and in a short time can destroy a large number of not only fruits, but also entire bushes. Appears in conditions of high humidity and if plants are planted in a poorly lit and ventilated place.
Affected plants are treated completely with chemical solutions (Teldor, Horus, Switch, Alirin-B). There are also a number of folk remedies that help get rid of rot (infusion of ash, mustard, solution of manganese and iodine). Mulching is an excellent preventative method.
Main characteristics
The strawberry variety Carmen is non-repairing, but has a long fruiting period - up to 2.5-3 weeks.
The shape of the berries is conical with blunt tips, the color of the shiny fruit is deep red. The weight of the berries of the first harvest can reach 35-40 g, subsequent ones can weigh half as much. The pulp is compacted, with a pleasant sweet taste, which also contains a slight sourness. Severing the berries from the stalks is dry.
The harvested crop can be transported to different distances and can be stored under appropriate conditions for up to several days.
Ripe berries have a universal purpose and can be eaten fresh, used to decorate confectionery, make preserves and jams, and put in the freezer for long-term storage.
Advantages and disadvantages of the variety
The main advantages of Carmen strawberries include:
- large-fruited variety;
- stable fruiting in all weather conditions;
- no special care required;
- the bushes are highly resistant to cold;
- plants can adapt to any climatic conditions;
- planting material takes root in a new place in a short time.
But this strawberry also has a number of disadvantages:
- Strawberry bushes are spreading, so they require more space in the beds;
- large fruits appear only at the beginning of the season, and later they become smaller;
- during the rainy season, fruits may be affected by gray rot.
Pests and ways to get rid of them
There are also a number of pests that can harm plants.
Bushes of the Carmen variety may be affected by mites. For removal, any summer resident can successfully use such products as “Fufanon”, “Neoron”.
If damaged by a weevil, the plant will not be able to bloom. To get rid of pests, they are sprayed with an infusion of wood ash or an “Insecticide” product. In this case, it is necessary to remove the affected parts of the plant.
Leaf beetles are capable of infecting plant leaves. They are destroyed with insecticides or treated with wormwood infusion. Slugs are destroyed using freshly slaked lime or appropriate chemicals. If affected by a nematode, you will have to completely remove the affected bush.
Strawberries Carmen: growing, planting and care
It is very important to select only strong and healthy seedlings for planting. The root system and shoots of planting material should not show signs of disease or other damage. The length of the roots should be at least 6 cm, the foliage should be intact, the horn should have a thickness of about 7 mm.
Strawberry planting dates
You can plant Carmen strawberry seedlings after the snow has melted and the soil has warmed to 10-12 degrees Celsius.
. Plants are also planted in the fall, but at least 30 days must remain before the onset of frost.
You should plant seedlings from your strawberry plantation in the last ten days of July - the first ten days of August. In this case, the bushes have time to strengthen well before the onset of winter, and begin to bear fruit in the next season.
Selecting a site for planting
The site for planting this variety of strawberries should be chosen in places well illuminated by the sun's rays, which are protected from gusts of cold wind. Plants should not be planted in low-lying areas where it is too cold and damp, as well as in swampy areas and where groundwater comes too close to the soil surface.
Before planting, 10-12 kg of humus or peat should be added to the sandy soil for each square area.
. A large amount of river sand is added to heavy clay soil.
Preparing beds for planting Carmen strawberries
Before planting seedlings, it is necessary to properly prepare the beds. First, all plant residues are removed from the soil and burned, then it is dug up. At least 10 kg of humus and 150 g of wood ash are added to each square of area.
This strawberry does not tolerate acidified soils well, so about a month before planting, lime or dolomite flour is added to the soil for deacidification.
Planting strawberries for beginners - video
Planting scheme
Typically, Carmen variety strawberries are planted in a strip method, the direction of the rows is from north to south. The distance between the bushes should be about 0.3 m, and the row spacing should be 0.6 m.
You should not thicken the plantings, this can lead to diseases in strawberries, the appearance of a large number of slugs, and the fruits will become smaller - as a result, the yield will decrease.
Reproduction
Strawberries of the Carmen variety can be grown in several ways:
- seeds (grains);
- dividing bushes;
- stepchildren.
Seed propagation is most often used for large industrial crops (in agricultural holdings). Sowing of Carmen strawberries with grains is usually carried out at the end of winter or beginning of spring (February-March) - this guarantees high-quality seedlings, which, when favorable conditions occur, can be transplanted into beds.
To grow Carmen strawberries from seeds, you can use the following methods:
- in containers with added soil;
- in washers with peat.
First of all, to get good seedlings you need to find good seeds. It is best to purchase them from a special nursery, or, if Carmen strawberries are already growing in the beds, then prepare seeds from your own berries. A mature and large fruit is selected, without rotting or signs of disease, from which the skin is carefully removed. The resulting cleanings are dried under the sun for about 4 days, and then the seeds are sent for storage.
If strawberry seeds of the Carmen variety were harvested manually, then stratification should be carried out before sowing. The grains are laid out on damp cotton wool and covered with cellophane, then put into the refrigerator for approximately 4 days.
Some farmers carry out the stratification process along with sowing. Thus, snow 2 cm thick is placed in the prepared container or tablets, where the grains are already laid out. All this is also put away in the refrigerator. As soon as the snow melts, the grains themselves are immersed in the prepared soil or peat. Next, to obtain seedlings, the container is placed in a warm and well-lit place.
For sowing Carmen strawberries in this way, the best time is from the end of winter to mid-spring (February-April). Daylight hours are still short at this time. Therefore, it is necessary to provide artificial lighting for seedlings.
Further care for Carmen's strawberries
If you follow the rules of agricultural technology, you can count on good fruiting of Carmen strawberries.
Rules for watering strawberries
After planting the seedlings, they should be watered every day and use only warm water (preferably rain). But many gardeners install drip irrigation on strawberry plantations.
How to water strawberries correctly
In the future, watering the bushes of this berry crop should be carried out depending on the weather. The top layer of soil in the beds should be constantly moist, but without stagnation of moisture in the soil. From the beginning of budding and during the active appearance of ovaries, the amount of watering should be increased, and in rainy weather - reduced.
Loosening and weeding
After each watering or rain, you need to loosen the soil to remove the dry crust that forms. All weeds must be removed at the same time.
After loosening, you need to lay a layer of mulch in the root zone of the bushes. Straw, rotted sawdust or peat should be used as mulching materials.
Regular removal of the whiskers is also required so that they do not take away nutrition from the developing fruits.
When mustaches are needed for further transplantation of strawberries, gardeners recommend leaving several mother bushes, which are not allowed to bear fruit by removing the mustaches. In this case, such plants will devote all their efforts to the development of mustaches and rosettes.
Feeding garden strawberry bushes
Carmen strawberries need to be fertilized regularly throughout the season to improve fruiting.
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During the budding period, it is recommended to add organic matter to the strawberry beds: a mullein solution diluted in a ratio of 1:10, or chicken droppings (concentration 1:20).
Yeast fertilizer for strawberries:
You can also add a solution of boric acid, and to enrich the soil with phosphorus and potassium, you need to add an infusion of wood ash.
Preparing berries for winter
In the process of preparing this variety of strawberries for winter, no special measures are required.
It is enough to cover the beds with fallen snow in winter, and the thickness of such cover should be at least 15 cm. If the winter is expected to be snowless, then before the onset of frost, the strawberry plantation is covered with spruce branches, straw or leaves.
Many gardeners use non-woven agricultural material for covering.
Landing
Growing in tablets from compressed peat has some differences from that described above. The washers must be placed in a plastic container into which warm water is poured. As soon as they are soaked, you should manually squeeze out excess liquid and then place them in an empty container. Up to 2 Carmen strawberry seeds are immersed in the planting recess of each tablet. This method has a clear advantage in that there is no need to carry out stratification and picking.
When seedlings are grown in soil, a common box must be used. As soon as the seedlings have sprouted in the container, that is, they have produced at least 3 leaves, they are planted in separate cups. To make it more convenient, replanting crops should be done as rarely as possible. Each strawberry seedling of this variety, along with the soil, is removed with a shovel and replanted. This method is called transshipment.
Reproduction by stepsons and division of bushes
When choosing propagation by stepsons, you should wait until the variety grows tendrils on the strongest bushes. As soon as the tendrils have roots firmly attached to the ground, they must be removed from the “mother” bush and planted in prepared holes.
The distance between the holes should be about 60 cm. When planting, you should carefully ensure that the roots are located clearly standing, without bending. The bottom of the hole is well moistened beforehand and the roots are pressed tightly against it. Next, the soil is filled in and everything is compacted tightly.
Plants 2-4 years old are usually propagated by dividing the bush. This process is carried out before the bushes bloom in the spring or after the end of the harvest season - in the autumn. An adult Carmen strawberry bush must be dug up and divided into several parts using a knife or by hand. However, this should be done very carefully - each seedling must have a strong rosette with at least 3 leaves and a developed rhizome.
Each new strawberry bush is planted at the same depth as the parent bush. Carmen reproduces by division best in cloudy weather. Subsequently, the seedlings must be shaded until they are completely rooted.
Choosing a place and time for landing
The place for seedlings is first cleared of weeds. The place should be level, there should not be any unevenness, and seedlings should not be planted on a slope. It is better to choose loam; if this is not possible, then add peat or humus.
The optimal acidity of the soil should be neutral, that is, pH 5-6. In case of high acidity, liming should be carried out; in case of alkalinity, peat or gypsum should be added to the soil. Excess water must be removed from the site and the soil must be loosened well. All fertilizers (both organic and mineral) should be applied at least a couple of months before the strawberry seedlings are planted.
Planting in spring in the temperate latitudes of central Russia should be carried out in mid-May. In autumn it is worth planting before the first frost arrives - approximately in the first half of September. This way the crop will be able to fully adapt to the growing conditions.
Reviews from those who planted Carmen strawberries
Marina, 45 years old, Volgograd region:
This strawberry is one of my favorite non-remontant varieties. From the beds I collect a large amount of juicy, sweet fruits, which are enough for food and for winter preparations. Caring for this variety does not pose any special problems, you just need to regularly remove the mustache.
Natalya, 44 years old, Krasnodar region:
Last season, I decided to leave only Asia and Carmen on my plot of all strawberry varieties. However, I didn’t like the last variety too much - with large, powerful bushes, the variety’s yield is low. Therefore, next season I will probably replace Carmen with another more productive strawberry variety.
