Strawberry Figaro: description of the variety, reviews from gardeners when growing with photos and videos

The early strawberry variety Figaro is the result of the work of Dutch breeders, and there is still no clear opinion about this variety. Supporters extol its taste, the size of the berries and their portability, while opponents trumpet the capricious nature of the culture and poor immunity to the varied Russian climate. The article gives the characteristics of the variety, features of planting and care, as well as an analysis of the positive and negative aspects of the crop.

Description of the variety and photo

"Figaro" has an average ripening period. The plant has large berries, powerful, erect, slightly hairy stems and large leaves. They have a light green color. Strong peduncles can have no more than 8 flowers. Flower clusters are long and strong. They are located above the leaves. This arrangement of inflorescences leads to their increased sensitivity to night frosts.

The variety is intended for cultivation in open ground. "Figaro" also gives good results when grown in greenhouses not intended for early production. Strawberry beds are located in areas exposed to direct sunlight. The best soils for Figaro are considered to be light and medium soils with a pH of 5.0-6.5. This does not mean that strawberries cannot be grown on other types of land.

Depending on the composition of the soil, appropriate fertilizers are selected. Strawberries withstand the frosts of central Russia well. The greatest harvest is produced in the second year of fruiting. Strawberries are considered the leader in yield among mid-season and late-ripening varieties cultivated in the country.

Important. The duration of fruiting of the variety is 1 month.

Strawberries are characterized by a good degree of resistance to diseases that affect the root system of the plant.

Among the advantages of resistance to defeat:

gray mold;
powdery mildew.

The powerful bush of the plant protects flowers and berries well from frost and sunburn. Gardeners collect 1-2 kg from one bush during the ripening season.

Recommendations for cultivation

When caring for garden strawberries of the Figaro variety, it is very important to remember the following rules for its cultivation:

large-fruited and highly productive strawberries require constant watering, this is especially important in hot and dry weather;
good results are obtained by using a drip irrigation system, which meteres the access of water to the root system of plants and evenly moistens the plantings;
During the fruiting period, strawberries must be watered very carefully so that excess moisture does not cause the ovaries to fall off;
fertilizers are applied after watering;

if chicken manure is used for feeding, then it must be diluted with water in a ratio of 1:20;
very high efficiency is shown by the use of special fertilizer for strawberries, which should be applied according to the instructions supplied by the manufacturer;
Strawberry beds need to be weeded and loosened periodically.

After harvesting, you need to prepare the strawberry bushes for winter by carrying out the most necessary measures: removing old and diseased foliage, spraying with insecto-fungicides, mulching and covering.

Characteristics of berries

The surface of the fruit is colored juicy red-orange, and the flesh is pink. Their weight starts from 20 grams. Berries can be eaten not only fresh, but also frozen, used to make jam, marmalade or various types of drinks.

Strawberries are characterized by increased hardness. This is of great importance for fruit transportation and storage:

cone-shaped;
with glossy surface;
with thick skin.

The first fruits are a slightly ribbed product. The subsequent ones usually have a beautiful shape. The average weight is significantly greater than that of other off-season varieties. Small strawberries are rare at the end of harvest. Fruits ripened in sunny weather have a good taste.

Important. When strawberries ripen during the rainy season, a white neck sometimes forms.

The large size makes collecting them easier. Strawberries are also very easy to sort. The size of the berries does not decrease when grown for 5 years.

Reproduction

"Figaro" can be bred in two ways: with tendrils and seeds. You can get seeds from a ripe fruit. To do this, the surface is cut off and left to dry in the sun. After this, the dry piece of berry is rubbed with your palms, separating the seeds from the skin of the fruit. Before planting, the seeds are poured with rain or melt water for 2 days. It should change every day. Seeds soaked in water can be planted in universal soil soil.

Important. Until planting, seeds must be stored at 0-2°C.

When propagated by tendrils, the rosettes are cut off from the main bush and buried in previously abundantly moistened soil. The soil must be moist to a depth of at least 20 cm. For division, bushes that are 3-4 years old are used. When planting, it is fertilized.

Strawberry Figaro

Average ripening period. The variety is distinguished by large, very dense, red-orange berries with delicate pink pulp. Productivity is one of the highest. Picking Figaro is easy and convenient: thanks to the long stalks, the berries will lie in front of you as if on a tray.

Landing

You can plant throughout the growing season, but the best time is early autumn and late summer. Soil: any except swampy and too dry sandy soil, however, moist, nutritious and breathable sandy loam and light loamy soils with a slightly acidic reaction are preferred. Spring planting: requires site preparation in the fall: dig with a pitchfork to a depth of 25-30 cm, selecting weed rhizomes and adding organic matter for digging - 5 kg of compost, peat or rotted manure per m². In addition to organic matter, complete mineral fertilizers are added to the soil at the rate of 40 g of double superphosphate, 20 g of potassium sulfate and 5 kg of wood ash per m². Moreover, when planting in spring, organic matter is applied in the fall, and mineral fertilizers in the spring. If the soil on the site is highly fertile, fertilizers may not be applied. Autumn planting: the preparation procedure is the same as for autumn planting, only organic and mineral fertilizers are applied to the soil at the same time, and in this case half the dose of mineral fertilizers will be sufficient

Growing strawberries in the ground involves weeding, hilling and loosening the rows, watering and fertilizing, preventive or therapeutic treatment against diseases and pests, as well as pruning bushes and preparing the area for wintering. Watering: on average - once every 7-10 days, and during the period of filling berries - once every 5 days. Top dressing: first - in early spring, as soon as the snow melts, with a solution of complex mineral fertilizer at the rate of 1-2 liters per young bush and 2-5 liters per adult bush. The second - during the period of flower stalks appearance: a solution of bird droppings (1:20) or mullein (1:6) fermented for a week with the addition of 1 cup of ash per bucket. The expense is the same. The same composition is used to fertilize at the beginning of flowering, and in mid-August a solution of half a glass of ash and 50 g of daily superphosphate extract in 10 liters of water is added to the soil. Fertilizers are applied to pre-moistened soil, trying to ensure that drops do not fall on flowers and leaves.

Ripening period

Trimming

For the general health of plants and the destruction of pests that accumulate mainly in the foliage and root part of plant stems. Immediately after harvesting the main harvest, without waiting for the remaining berries to ripen, the foliage is removed. Before the cold weather, the bush should fully recover and acquire new foliage. In any case, the deadline for pruning is early August. If it has not been possible to trim the leaves before this time, it is better not to touch them at all. When removing the leaves of garden strawberries, you need to trim them right down to the ground, leaving only the roots. Trimmed strawberries are watered abundantly, fed with mineral and organic fertilizers, and weeding, loosening and watering are carried out in a timely manner.

Landing

The consequence of improper planting of strawberries is a decrease in their yield. Before planting, the area intended for plant propagation is dug up to a depth of at least 30 cm and loosened 2-3 times.

Along with digging up the strawberry bed:

add fertilizers to the soil;
clear the ground of plant rhizomes and weeds;
remove beetleworm and wireworm larvae.

Important. You need to dig up the beds for autumn planting 15-20 days in advance.

In the case when strawberries are planted in beds in the spring, the soil is dug up in the fall. Before digging the soil, organic fertilizers are added to the soil.

These include:

compost;
peat;
manure.

You can plant in beds from spring to autumn. When growing a plant on fertile soil, there is no need to add fertilizer to it before planting. An excess of nutrients in the soil causes the plant to grow spreading bushes and the berries to significantly decrease in size.

During planting in summer or early autumn, its roots are well established in the ground. In areas with snowy and frosty winters, it is better to plant the plant in the ground in the spring. The distance between bushes should not be less than 20 cm, and row spacing - 70 cm. When planting, plants are rooted along the root collar. With the square-cluster method of planting, the bushes are placed on an area of 50*50, 9-10 cm from each other.

With any method, its bushes are planted in moist soil. Immediately after planting, the plant is watered abundantly, and the ground is mulched with humus.

Strawberry Figaro - a new competitor on the berry Olympus

The early strawberry variety Figaro is the result of the work of Dutch breeders, and there is still no clear opinion about this variety.

Supporters extol its taste, the size of the berries and their portability, while opponents trumpet the capricious nature of the culture and poor immunity to the varied Russian climate.

The article gives the characteristics of the variety, features of planting and care, as well as an analysis of the positive and negative aspects of the crop.

Characteristics of the variety, its advantages and disadvantages

The plant itself is a powerful bush with large light green leaves. The berries are red-orange with pink flesh and good taste. They reach a weight of 20 g, are characterized by resistance to deformation and good transportability, and are suitable for various shapes of workpieces. However, if the bushes are not properly cared for, then over time the berries become smaller.

This variety is mid-season, intended for cultivation in open ground. Although it is noted that it is also suitable for greenhouses, the harvest will not be early. Figaro loves sunny places with light to medium soils. Resistant to mild frosts.

Gardeners should not be afraid of a low yield in the first year of fruiting - Figaro will show its maximum in the 2nd year. It is noted that the variety produces slightly less than 1 kg of berries from one bush. Figaro is often compared to the Elsanta variety. The results are ambiguous: Figaro has almost half the berries, but Elsanta has higher yield stability.

The advantages of Figaro include:

fruit size, their aesthetic and taste qualities;
frost resistance;
good keeping quality and transportability;

The disadvantages include:

unstable yield;
the exactingness and capriciousness of strawberries in compliance with agricultural technology;
low vegetation potential.

Landing

Although the Figaro variety can be planted from April to October, it is preferable to plant in late August or early September so that the plants have time to take root and become stronger. When choosing a place to place beds with strawberries, you should take into account that the best predecessors are garlic, onions, mustard, radishes, and peas.

The area intended for planting strawberries is dug up to a depth of at least 30 cm, thoroughly cleared of rhizomes and weeds, and fertilizers, most often manure, are applied.

The site must be prepared 3 weeks before planting: dug up, cleaned, added manure, leveled, and left to rest. Next, prepare the wells.

They are located in a row at a distance of 20-30 cm from each other, the distance between rows is 50-70 cm.

After planting, the strawberries should be watered well, and an hour after watering, loosen the soil around them. Watering regime is a very important point in the process of cultivating this variety of strawberries. The first two weeks it must be done strictly in the morning and evening.

Since strawberries are very demanding on agricultural technology, violation of these rules will lead to a decrease in yield.

Care

The set of measures for caring for plants of this variety does not require anything special and consists of traditional operations for caring for strawberries:

Weed control and weeding. Weeds take up plant resources and contribute to dampness, which can cause various diseases. Therefore, you need to get rid of them as they arise. Weeding and loosening provide air access to the roots. This allows for improved absorption of nutrients from the soil.
Hilling - once a season. To strengthen the bush and increase the growth of green mass, it is recommended to hill it at the end of June.
Watering. During the period of flowering and ripening of berries, strawberries need daily abundant watering. On hot days, watering is carried out before sunrise and after sunset.
Update. After fruiting has ended, the old leaves should be trimmed without touching the core. After this, weed and feed the strawberries. It is necessary to trim the leaves again before preparing for wintering. This simple technique will increase productivity and prevent Figaro from degenerating.
Feeding. Strawberries traditionally prefer a combination of organic and mineral fertilizers. The first include manure and wood ash, which are scattered between the rows during flowering to increase the number of buds and fruits (it is important to remember that the presence of burnt plastic and metals in the ash is unacceptable!). The second group includes Agricola, which is used throughout the growing season, and Azofoska, which is used traditionally before the start of strawberry flowering, when the soil has warmed up well. A reasonable balance of organic and mineral fertilizers should be maintained. Excess of them will not benefit strawberries. Traditionally, Figaro is fed 4 times.

Top dressing

1 In the spring, immediately after the snow melts Agricola 2 Before flowering Azofoska 3 During the period of berry formation Manure and wood ash

4 In mid-August Agricola and ash

Pest Control

Figaro is considered a disease-resistant variety. In any case, the root system is the strong point of the plant and is resistant to powdery mildew.

But the weak point of Figaro is the rotting of the heart and fungal infection by verticillium. These are mushrooms whose mycelium releases substances that are toxic to strawberries and causes the plant to wither. The disease is called verticillosis.

Its main symptom is dried lower leaves. Over time, the berries rot, then the bush dies off entirely. The main danger of this disease is that strawberries can be affected for a long time, and the active consequences appear after 2-3 years.

The best fight against disease is its prevention. In the case of strawberries, this means a competent choice of planting site, constant removal of weeds, as well as replanting Figaro every 3-4 years, as well as constant presence next to the garlic beds.

It is a natural fungicide and disinfects the soil and air.

Another element of prevention is compliance with crop rotation and crop precedence rules. The risk of infecting strawberries becomes higher if they are planted in a place where beets, nightshades and cucumbers previously grew.

If damage does occur, the plant must be removed and disposed of. It should not be added to compost or burned to avoid the risk of reintroducing spores into the soil. Next, you need to cultivate the soil in place and around this bush.

For processing, “Fitosporin”, “Bordeaux mixture”, “Maxim” and others are used. Spraying and watering are carried out on cloudy days; it is advisable that after treatment there is no rain for at least 24 hours.

Reproduction

Figaro is propagated in two ways: seeds and mustaches. The first method is considered more difficult. You can get seeds from a healthy ripe fruit. You need to cut off the skin with the seeds and leave it to dry. After this, the skin must be ground, the seeds separated and stored at a temperature of 0-2 degrees.

Before germination, seeds must be pickled in a weak solution of potassium permanganate. This is done to disinfect and increase the immunity of plants.

Seeds saturated with water are placed on the prepared soil, spread over the surface with a toothpick and covered with film. As soon as the shoots appear, the film is removed and cared for as for ordinary seedlings.

After two true leaves appear, the seedlings are picked and placed in peat pots, and from there they are then planted in open ground.

During the growing season, strawberries grow mustaches, at the ends of which a rosette of a daughter bush is formed. Figaro produces few whiskers compared to other varieties, but they still exist.

This is a simpler and more effective method, since we are dealing with a more mature and strong plant that receives nutrition from the mother bush. The best are considered to be 1st and 2nd order sockets.

If the bush produces a long tendril with more rosettes, then they should be pinched.

Having chosen a suitable sample for rooting, it is pinned to the ground, or planted in a pot and watered. When the strawberries take root, cut them off. If propagation is not part of the gardener’s plans for this year, then the tendrils simply need to be trimmed so that the mother plant does not waste resources on them. Strawberries no younger than 4 years old are chosen as mother strawberries.

Preparing for winter

Preparations for the rest period begin in August:

cut off old leaves. But under no circumstances should they be left in the beds and aisles;
remove diseased plants and replace them with young ones;
fertilize with complex fertilizers. To prevent the roots from getting burned, fertilizers are applied only to moist soil;
mulch with a thick layer of compost or humus;
limit nitrogen fertilizers to prevent the growth of green mass;
treated with insecticides against pests;
if August and September are dry, then the beds are watered once a week
at the end of October-beginning of November, when frosts begin, the strawberries are covered with a double layer of agrofibre; if the winters are not severe, then with one. Condensation does not accumulate under it, it protects well, and is not dangerous in case of recurrent frosts.
In the spring, the shelter is removed during the first thaw, otherwise the bushes will rot.

Figaro is a rather controversial variety of garden strawberry with excellent taste and marketing properties. However, fierce competition among other varieties, a scrupulous requirement for observing all the subtleties of care and a tendency to fungal infections do not make it popular among gardeners. Although high yields and tasty fruits give hope that Figaro will find its niche among strawberry varieties.

Strawberry Figaro - a new competitor on the berry Olympus Link to main publication

Source: https://VashaKlubnika.ru/sort/klubnika-figaro

Watering during cultivation

When growing strawberries, it is necessary to follow the watering regime. The yield indicator depends on this. Soil humidity at the time of flowering and ripening of the berries should be at least 70% on sandy soil and 80% on hard soil. Adjustments to irrigation can be made taking into account the climate in the region.

Important. In the first 15 days, water the strawberries 2-3 times a day.

The optimal method of watering is drip irrigation. You can make your system yourself. To do this, you need to lay hoses with sprayers along the beds. Plants should only be watered with warm water.

Preparing for winter

Preparations for the rest period begin in August:

Source

Care and feeding

Caring for strawberries includes a set of activities. They include:

Weeding. The plant does not like being around weeds. The beds are weeded as they grow and at least 6-8 times per season. Along with weeding, the mustache is trimmed.
Loosening the soil. The roots of the plant must have access to oxygen. The soil is loosened 3 times before the strawberries begin to bloom and once every 2 weeks. The depth of soil loosening should be 3-4 cm.
Hilling. This is done to strengthen the plant. With high-quality hilling of the plant, its bushes become lush and yields increase.
Watering. The soil in beds with strawberries must be moistened to a depth of at least 30 cm. During watering, the row spacing is filled with water.

Depending on the stage of plant growth, it is fed with various types of fertilizer. Before winter, strawberries are insulated. For this you can use film or foliage. To ensure proper nutrition of the plant, when feeding it, alternate organic and mineral fertilizers.

Among the most common mineral fertilizers:

Azofoska. Contains nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium.
Stimovit. Used for pest control.
Agricola. The plant is fed with this type of fertilizer at all stages of growth.

Among the most commonly used organic fertilizers by gardeners for feeding strawberries is compost and manure.

Strawberry Figaro: Elsanta's underrated competitor

At the end of the last century, Dutch breeders developed a non-repairing strawberry variety, Figaro. Due to capriciousness or poor adaptability to cold Russian winters, this berry never found wide popularity among farmers and gardeners. However, reviews on online forums about the large fruits and attractive taste characteristics of the variety still excite the imagination.

The average size of the Figaro berry is 30-60% higher than that of the Elsanta variety, popular among gardeners, but the yield is 20% lower

Description of the variety

It is difficult to say the exact ripening time of Figaro, since in warm regions this strawberry begins the season along with mid-season varieties, and in cold regions it catches up with late ones.

The variety is intended for open ground. It can also be grown under film, but not for early production. In general, Figaro is optimally suited to the mild climate of central Europe.

Bushes

The plant has powerful, erect, pubescent stems and large light green leaves. Peduncles rise above the foliage and produce 5-8 flowers. The number of peduncles is small, branching is moderate. The flower stalks bend under the weight of the fruit. The variety produces very few mustaches.

A characteristic feature of the Figaro variety: the presence of several 4- and 5-legged leaves, while most of the foliage is “three-legged.”

Berries

The first berries are very large, conical or wedge-shaped. The number of deformed fruits is small. The skin is shiny, orange-red, the variety is not prone to darkening of the berries. Starting from the middle of the season, the berries become smaller, so the average weight at the end of the year is 20 g. With insufficient care, the plant even becomes small-fruited.

The pink-red flesh is moderately firm, fleshy and very aromatic. Reviews about the taste characteristics vary greatly. There are several explanations for this - incorrect agricultural technology, different climatic conditions, or the variety does not have ideal consumer qualities.

Figaro berries are suitable for thermal processing and deep freezing, and tolerate transportation well

Productivity

Figaro reveals its productivity potential in the second year of fruiting. In terms of this indicator, it is difficult for many mid-season varieties to keep up with it. Up to 700 g of berries ripen on one bush.

Advantages of the variety

Despite conflicting reviews, Figaro strawberries have a number of advantages:

the fruits are beautiful, fragrant;
high productivity;
low percentage of deformed berries;
immunity to fungal infections;
suitability for transportation;
ability to be stored for a long time;
practically no chlorositis.

Disadvantages of the variety

For commercial purposes, the variety falls short in many respects:

poor wintering, requires shelter in the middle zone;
difficulties with reproduction, few whiskers;
heat and drought resistance are below average;
does not tolerate return frosts;
tendency to small fruits if agricultural practices are not followed;
low resistance to verticillium and heart rot.

Thus, the variety is difficult to grow both in the southern regions and in areas with very cold winters. This strawberry needs a mild climate without sudden drops in temperature.

Growing and care

In agricultural technology, Figaro is standard, requires basic care, but, depending on climatic conditions, behaves unpredictably.

Watering

The yield depends on compliance with the irrigation regime. Soil humidity during flowering and ripening of berries on sandy soils should be at least 70%. Adjustments are made taking into account climate conditions. For the first 15 days after planting, strawberries are watered abundantly and daily.

The roots of an adult strawberry bush are located at a depth of 12-15 cm; when watering, the soil should be wetted to the specified depth.

The optimal method of watering is drip irrigation. This is a simple system that can be purchased ready-made or made independently by laying hoses with holes along the beds

Loosening, weed control

Strawberries don't like being around weeds. The beds are weeded as they grow, at least 2 times a month. To ensure that the plant’s roots have access to oxygen, the soil is regularly loosened to a depth of no more than 4 cm.

Sometimes, to strengthen the plant, hilling is required, after which the bushes become lush and the harvest is more productive.

Removing a mustache

The Figaro garden strawberry does not produce a lot of whiskers; the excess ones are removed in a timely manner. Otherwise, they will take away growth energy from the mother bushes.

Pest and disease control

The Figaro variety is resistant to diseases of the root system, gray rot, is weakly affected by powdery mildew, but has very weak immunity to heart rot and verticillium. As a preventative measure, in early spring the beds are treated with a 1% solution of Bordeaux mixture. To prevent strawberries from getting sick, you need to make sure that the soil is not over-moistened and that the bed is not overgrown with weeds.

An excellent natural “fungicide” is garlic planted between the bushes. The only thing is that onions, garlic, and beets can cause an outbreak of nematodes, so if the pest has manifested itself before, you should not plant garlic. Most pests will be repelled by tobacco powder scattered over the garden bed.

Reviews

I planted Figaro in April of this year. It was very surprising that the barely alive bushes, which had not even had time to grow leaves, had already produced flower stalks. The berries are dense, large, sweet and sour. In the first year, each bush had one peduncle; on some bushes I removed them, but I can’t say that this led to increased foliage growth. I'll keep watching.

My Figaro is severely affected by spider mites. Scalding the bushes with hot water helped. I heat the water to 80-85 degrees. and pour out 100-150 ml. on the bush.

Garden strawberries of the Figaro variety are suitable for growing in summer cottages and garden plots. It is not used for commercial purposes, as it has more productive and powerful competitors.

Source: https://sort-klubnika.ru/sorta/klubnika-figaro-neotsenennyj-po-dostoinstvu-konkurent-elsanty

Diseases and pests

Despite the high degree of disease resistance, Figaro can infect:

Fusarium and late blight wilt. The disease is caused by fungi. Brown spots appear on the leaves.
White and brown spotting. The causative agent of the disease is fungal spores.
Powdery mildew.
Gray rot.

The danger from pests is much higher:

Nematode.
Weevil.
Strawberry whitefly.
Spider and strawberry mites.

Pest Control

Figaro is considered a disease-resistant variety. In any case, the root system is the strong point of the plant and is resistant to powdery mildew.

Its main symptom is dried lower leaves. Over time, the berries rot, and then the bush dies off entirely. The main danger of this disease is that strawberries can be affected for a long time, and the active consequences appear after 2-3 years. The best fight against disease is its prevention. In the case of strawberries, this means a competent choice of planting site, constant removal of weeds, as well as replanting Figaro every 3-4 years, as well as constant presence next to the garlic beds. It is a natural fungicide and disinfects the soil and air.