Among the huge variety of varieties of garden strawberries, gardeners often give preference to Darenka, which is a product of domestic selection. This variety is perfectly adapted and adapted to the climatic conditions of our country.
Darenka ripens quite early, therefore it is considered universal, which is one of the main advantages of the variety. However, it is not remontant (does not bear fruit several times in the same place), which can be considered a minus, albeit not a very significant one.
History of variety development
This garden strawberry is the fruit of Russian selection; it was bred in Sverdlovsk at the local horticultural breeding station. The author and originator of Darenka strawberries is breeder I. I. Bogdanova. To obtain a new variety, Festivalnaya and Rusanovka strawberries were crossed.
The new variety was included in the Federal State Budgetary Institution "State Variety Commission" in 2004
and is zoned for cultivation in the central regions of Russia, the Volga region, Western and Eastern Siberia, and in the middle zone. But according to reviews from gardeners, Darenka strawberries can be grown almost everywhere in Russia.
Photo of Darenka strawberries
Features of growing in pots
In addition to traditional cultivation in garden beds, you can try growing strawberries of this variety using a new, but already quite popular technology - in pots. Growing berries using this method has its own characteristics, which should be known to those gardeners who decide to use it.
Attention! More information on growing strawberries in pots.
Strawberry Darenka - characteristics and description of the variety
Strawberry Darenka is not a remontant variety
, the fruits ripen early, their color is traditional pink.
The bushes are small in size, with large erect foliage, its color is light emerald. The leaves are wrinkled, with medium light pubescence, without a characteristic shine, slightly concave inward. The bushes form well with pale red tendrils. The inflorescences are compact in size, each of which can bloom no more than 5-6 flowers. The color of the petals is soft white. Peduncles protrude above the foliage level.
Good to know!
Darenka strawberry flowers appear simultaneously of both male and female types, so the variety is self-pollinating; planting other pollinating varieties nearby is not required.
Photo of Darenka's ripened strawberries
As a result of field research conducted in the first decade of this century by specialists from the selection department of the Samara Scientific Research Institute of Horticulture, it turned out that Darenka bushes can form a large number of flower stalks almost simultaneously
. As a result, 45-50 ripe berries were collected from each plant. But more than 70-75 pieces of fruit were collected from individual large bushes.
Ripe berries are large, approximately the same size, the average weight of the fruit is about 10 g, the first of them can weigh up to 30 g, their shape is regular, blunt-conical or heart-shaped with a neck. In a state of absolute ripeness they have a dark red color with a characteristic shine. The pulp is compacted, also dark red in color, the taste is sweet with sourness. The aroma of ripe berries is pleasant strawberry.
Small seeds are slightly pressed into the pulp. According to the tasting assessment of specialists, ripe Darenka strawberry fruits are rated 4.5 points out of 5
.
Ripe berries are easily separated from the sepals. In specially prepared containers, the harvested crop tolerates transportation well at any distance.
The collected berries are distinguished by their versatility of use; jam made from these strawberries is especially tasty - fragrant and aromatic.
Frost resistance of Darenka strawberries
Darenka bushes are highly resistant to cold, which is one of the main advantages of the variety, but still, in the middle zone and regions with colder climates, it is better to cover the plantation of this strawberry for the winter.
Photo of planting strawberries
Growing from seeds
Another method that can be used to propagate Darenka strawberries is to grow them from seeds. It can be divided into several stages.
Preparing seeds for sowing
Before you start planting seeds, they need to be prepared: germinate in damp tissue and stratify at low positive temperatures. These agrotechnical measures will help the seeds germinate faster, become stronger and more hardened.
Sowing time
You can sow Darenka seeds already in February-March, then small plants will have time to grow from them by the time it gets completely warmer. You can sow seeds earlier, but in this case they will have to be illuminated.
Sowing in peat tablets
You can grow strawberry seeds not only in soil, but also in peat tablets. Before sowing, the tablets need to be placed in a tray, filled with warm water, and when they swell, sow 1-3 seeds in the center of each of them.
Sowing in the soil
The easiest way to grow Darenka strawberries is in containers filled with fertile soil. Sowing it is very simple - just put the seeds on a moistened surface, cover with film and place in a warm and bright place.
Picking sprouts
When young strawberry plants have 3 leaves, they must be transplanted into individual containers of sufficient volume (at least 5 by 5 cm). Picking is carried out in order to plant plants that are sown too densely and provide them with the necessary space for growth.
Why don't the seeds germinate?
Strawberry seeds generally take a long time and difficult to germinate, and if they were not prepared, then this process may drag on. Or they will not have enough heat and light, so when growing seedlings from seeds you need to monitor this.
Attention! More information on growing strawberries from seeds.
Diseases and pests
To prevent the occurrence of various diseases, you should thoroughly loosen the soil around the strawberry bushes, and also constantly remove weeds.
The main diseases that can affect the Darenka variety:
- powdery mildew;
- fruit, root, gray rot;
- jaundice;
- withering.
Photo of gray rot on strawberries
You can fight these diseases in the following ways:
- Treatment of bushes before and after flowering with iodine solution is effective against gray rot (1 teaspoon of iodine is diluted in a bucket of water);
- against fungal diseases use a solution of Fitosporin;
- against powdery mildew, it is necessary to treat plants with a solution of potassium permanganate (2 tablespoons of the drug are diluted in a bucket of water).
Diseases and control methods
Cultivated plants of this variety can be affected by diseases, so gardeners who decide to grow Darenka need to know what causes it and how to deal with it.
| Disease | How and with what to fight |
| White, gray rot | Preventive measures and treatment of infected bushes with fungicides |
| Black rot | Remove infected berries and burn them |
| Root rot | Dig up and burn diseased bushes, treat the soil with fungicides |
| Late blight rot | Compliance with agricultural cultivation techniques, treatment of land and seedlings with fungicides |
| Powdery mildew | Transplant the strawberries to a new place, disinfect the soil |
| Fusarium wilt | At the initial stage of infection, treat the bushes with fungicides |
| White, black spotting | Treat bushes with copper preparations, remove severely affected ones |
| Brown spot | After harvesting, treat plants with Fitosporin |
Strawberry Darenka - agricultural technology for growing the variety
You can plant strawberry bushes in a permanent place both in spring and in autumn. When planting Darenka strawberries in spring, the optimal timing for such a procedure is the last ten days of April - the first ten days of May; when planting plants in autumn, it is better to carry out this procedure in the last ten days of August - the first ten days of September.
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Growing and care
Strawberry Darenka is an unpretentious variety. There are usually no difficulties with its cultivation.
Before planting, the soil should be cleared of the roots of perennial weeds. The soil must be loosened and pre-fertilized. A slope is acceptable on the site, but it is better if the clearing for the berry garden is flat. If the seedlings are planted in the spring, it is advisable to remove all flower stalks in the first year of the bush’s life so that the plant takes root well, develops and produces larger and better berries in the following seasons. Darenka doesn't give much of a mustache. But even a few whiskers must be removed in a timely manner, unless, of course, they are needed for propagation of the variety.
When planting Darenka strawberries, preference is given to areas where they were previously grown: garlic, carrots, legumes, beets, dill, radishes. Can be planted after flowers - tulips, marigolds, petunias. But the soil after potatoes, zucchini, pumpkin, peppers, tomatoes, and cucumbers is absolutely not suitable.
Pests and diseases are controlled only if they appear. As a preventive measure, you can use early spring spraying with Bordeaux mixture.
Watering Darenka is necessary primarily during flowering and fruit formation.
To protect against frost, the bushes are covered with shavings, leaves, pine needles or non-woven material.
Preparation for wintering also includes:
- removal of excess tendrils, dry and diseased leaves;
- digging up row spacing (up to 10 cm is enough);
- autumn fertilizing with fertilizers - organic or complex according to the formula per 1 m2 of up to 40 g of potassium and phosphorus;
Landing rules
Before the planting procedure, you need to prepare the beds and water them with fungicidal preparations to prevent the development of gray rot in plants.
The selected area should be well illuminated by sunlight, be loose and fairly fertile. Moisture should not accumulate in the soil, since Darinka strawberries are not highly resistant to most rots.
The distance in the beds between strawberry plants should be about 0.3 m, and the width between rows should be 0.35 m.
How to plant strawberries correctly - video
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https://youtu.be/q2C-rVDGrTs
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Strawberry plantations begin to be irrigated in the last ten days of April. At least 12 liters of sufficiently warm water is poured onto each square of the plot. In the future, strawberries should be watered a couple of times a week, but in hot, dry times the amount of watering should be increased.
In the autumn, you should not moisten the soil on the strawberry plantation more than once every 5-7 days.
Reviews from gardeners
Stanislav, 52 years old, Moscow region
Darenka has been growing on our site for four years now. We bought only 10 seedlings from the nursery, but during this time the plantation was significantly expanded. On old bushes, fruiting activity and the size of the berries gradually decrease; it’s probably time to get rid of them. In general, the yield is quite high - up to 1 kg of berries are obtained from a bush. The collected berries do not last long (3-4 days in the refrigerator), so we use the bulk of the harvest for winter preparations.
Alina, 38 years old, Barnaul
I prefer strawberries of Russian selection, since they are much more hardy and adapted to our far from “resort” conditions. In recent years, Darenka has become my favorite. It is one of the first to ripen; there are a lot of berries on the bushes. They are not too large, but I just like this size - perfect for whole-fruit jam. The berries are dense, dry, do not leak during transportation and do not lose their shape when cooked. The taste is no frills, but very pleasant, moderately sweet. I prefer to eat fresh with sugar, and even better when with cream or cottage cheese.
Yulia, 41 years old, Sumy region
I liked the variety for its unpretentiousness and low maintenance requirements. Of course, you need to remove excess tendrils, otherwise the bushes quickly thicken and degenerate, feed them with organic matter several times a season, and most importantly, water them. Plants do not tolerate drought and heat well; if you come and water once a week, you may be left without a harvest at all. We dripped and mulched the strawberry beds with a thick layer of straw. This year we were very pleased with the quantity, size and taste of the berries!
Fertilizing Daryonka's strawberries
Since the area is well fertilized before planting strawberries, no fertilizer is applied to this berry crop in the first year after planting.
In the following years, strawberry bushes should be fertilized at least three times a year.
After the snow has melted and the plantation has been cleared of plant debris, you can add azofoska, nitrophoska or nitroammophoska.
Advantages and disadvantages of the variety in comparison with others
The main advantages of Darenka strawberries include:
- high productivity;
- sufficient compactness of bushes;
- high resistance to frost, so the variety can grow in most regions of Russia;
- good presentation and taste of ripe berries;
- the harvested crop can be transported over considerable distances.
The disadvantages of this strawberry
It can be attributed to not too high resistance to most diseases, so preventive treatment of the plantation against possible fungal diseases, various types of rot, and powdery mildew is required.
Strawberry Darenka: reviews from those who planted
Below are just some reviews from those gardeners who have been growing the Darenka variety of strawberries for several years.
Irina, 49 years old:
“I decided to plant these early strawberries at my dacha. My loved ones appreciated the taste of the collected fruits; I also liked the sour-sweet taste of Darenka.”
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Olga, 39 years old:
“In the first season, we collected Darenka from our plantation in buckets. While they were driving it home, the berries were not crushed and did not give any juice. I will definitely be planting more beds of these early strawberries.”
Alexandra, 45 years old:
“A wonderful early variety with good yield. Although Darenka’s strawberries do not produce as many mustaches as we would like. But then you don’t have to bother with removing them.”
Elena, 50 years old:
“Darenka planted a couple of beds of strawberries 5 years ago. This year I prepared a new place for it, since the berries have noticeably become smaller, which means it’s time to replant the bushes. The transplantation was successful, the plants quickly acclimatized to the new location. I hope that next year I will again harvest in buckets.”
Anna, 48 years old:
“I would like to note the unpretentiousness of this variety and the early ripening of the fruits. I’m already finishing the harvest from my strawberry plantation, and my neighbors are just picking the first ripe berries from their strawberry varieties.”
Those gardeners who would like to plant strawberries with early ripening berries and high yields on their plot should try the Darenka variety - the delicious fragrant fruits of this strawberry will not leave summer residents or their family members indifferent.
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Reproduction and agricultural technology
The variety is quite unpretentious in care and does not require efforts from the gardener beyond the scope of standard agricultural technology. It is also easy to propagate using traditional vegetative methods: moderate growth provides a sufficient number of daughter rosettes necessary for expanding and updating the plantings.
Planting material for the Darenka strawberry variety is offered by many reputable manufacturers, including the originator
