Elizabeth 2 is one of the most popular repair varieties of garden strawberries. With proper care, the crop produces three waves of harvest. We learn how attractive this variety is for gardeners, and how to grow large and sweet berries in a temperate climate.
sort of garden wild strawberry "Elizabeth 2"
delicious and fragrant strawberries of the Elizabeth 2 variety can be harvested from the bush until autumn
garden strawberry grade "Elizabeth 2" is distinguished by good keeping quality and suitability for transportation
Description of strawberries and its origin
Elizabeth 2 grows safely in the southern and central regions of Russia. This variety was bred in 2001 in the Don Cattery. Having successfully tested in different climatic zones, the variety confirmed its adaptation to the changing climate of the middle zone. The variety is not afraid of winter temperatures, spring frosts and prolonged rains - all that usually interferes with the normal fruiting of garden strawberries in a temperate climate.
A brief botanical description of the variety Elizabeth 2:
- Bushes. Powerful and spreading, well leafy.
- Leaves. Large, shiny edges are ribbed. Well protect fruits from rain and pollution. The color of the leaves is saturated - emerald green.
- Flowers. White, the core is bright yellow.
- Fruit. Thick, "varnished." Large, weigh 40-50 g. With skillful agricultural technology, larger berries are obtained - 60-65 g. Individual specimens-champions reach 100 g. Color - bright red. The form is a tuberous cone. The taste is sweet, dessert, in the aroma - honey notes. Beige seeds, planted deep.
Pros and cons of the variety
The advantages of the Elizabeth variety:
- The fruits are well transported and stored. The fruits are moderately dense, they are practically not affected by abundant watering.
- Early ripening.
- Berry picking throughout the summer.
- The berries have an excellent presentation and good taste - are in demand in the market.
- High immunity to diseases.
Disadvantages:
- After 2-3 years of cultivation, productivity decreases.
- Demanding for growing conditions.
Elizabeth 2 gives good crops only on fertile soils fertilized with modern fertilizing.
Characteristics of Elizabeth 2
The main advantage of the Elizabeth 2 variety is the maintainability. It bears fruit almost continuously. The first berries appear in early summer, and the fruiting season lasts until mid-autumn. The most delicious crop is harvested on hot summer days, in June-July. September berries have less sweetness.
Berries ripen in waves. Several crops are harvested during the season:
- the first is in early June;
- the second - in the first decade of July;
- the third - in mid-August.
The pros and cons of the Elizabeth 2 variety are presented in the video below:
The characteristics of the variety Elizabeth 2:
Parameter | Description |
Productivity | in open ground - 3.5 kg per 1 sq. km. m, under the film and in greenhouses - up to 10 kg per 1 sq. km. m, one bush per season gives 2-3 kg of berries |
Disease and pest resistance | high |
Drought tolerance | average |
Frost resistance | medium, up to minus 23 degrees, can freeze during severe frosts (even under the film and sawdust) |
Ripening time | from the end of May to the 20th of September |
Taste characteristics | the taste is sweet, dessert, tasting rating - 4.7 out of 5, sourness appears in the autumn or when ripening is incomplete |
Scent | nice strawberry |
Transportability | good, dense pulp, berries do not let juice during transportation |
Appointment | universal - eat fresh, harvested (you can freeze, cook compotes - when cooking berries do not fall apart) |
If flower stalks are not removed, this repairing variety forms 3-5 mustaches, on each of which 2-3 sockets.
Landing Features
If purchased seedlings are used for planting, purchase it in spring or summer - in the second half. Take bushes of wild strawberries in nurseries or in specialized stores. Seedlings should not have any suspicious symptoms - spots or other damage. The landing is extended - you can plant Elizabeth 2 at any time from the beginning of spring to September.
For landing, choose a site:
- flat, slight bias is allowed;
- with good lighting;
- not blown by the winds.
The soil for planting is prepared in advance:
- dig a bed, removing the roots of weeds;
- acidic soils for three years before planting deoxidized with lime, contributing to 1 square. 300 g of ash;
- during digging - 1-2 months before planting, a fertile mixture is introduced into the soil:
- humus - 1 bucket;
- peat - 1 bucket;
- superphosphate - 40 g;
- potash fertilizers - 20 g.
Choose a suitable landing option:
- Bushes are planted at intervals of 15-20 cm, the row spacing is 60-80 cm.
- Bushes are planted on a bed in 2 rows. Between adjacent ridges the interval is 70 cm, between rows - 40 cm, between bushes - 20 cm.
For two-sided landing, shelter is often used with black film - it covers the aisles. This agrotechnical move retains moisture in the soil and prevents weeds from growing.
Landing procedure:
- Dig small holes, 7-8 cm deep.
- Pour cold water into the wells - about 0.5 liters.
- Form a small mound inside the hole.
- Lowering the bush into the hole, carefully spread the roots.
- Sprinkle the roots with the ground so that the root bud is above the ground.
- Pour 0.5 liter of water under each bush planted. Mulch the soil around the bushes with humus or other mulch.
The planted seedlings must have at least 5 full leaves, otherwise the plant has little chance of getting accustomed.
How to care for Elizabeth 2?
Variety Elizabeth 2 requires a little more attention than non-maintenance garden strawberries - after all, this plant gives three crops per season instead of one. In order for the bushes to have the strength to bear fruit three times, it is important to provide them with good watering and top dressing.
Watering
Features of watering:
- Watering should be frequent, but small.
- Water should evenly nourish the soil without creating a favorable environment for root rot.
- In the hot season, the frequency of watering increases.
- It is not recommended to water the strawberries by sprinkling - this can provoke rot of the fruit.
- The best way to water is drip irrigation.
- When watering, the soil should be moistened to the entire depths of the roots - about 30 cm.
- Water consumption each time is determined by the condition of the soil. If, for example, the earth is dry 2 cm deep, 0.5-1 l of water is enough. If you need to completely wet the soil - to the depth of the roots, pour 3-5 liters under each bush.
The lack of water negatively affects the berries - they grow medium-sized, dry, fresh to the taste.
Top dressing
In order to collect good strawberry crops, it is important to feed plants with nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium on time. Fertilizers, one of which plants feed under the root every two weeks:
- agrofoska;
- sodium or calcium nitrate;
- superphosphate;
- organic matter - humus, compost;
- ashes;
- herbal infusions.
You can find out more about spring feeding strawberries in this article.
Foliar top dressing is recommended. They are especially useful during fruiting. Plants can be treated:
- A mixture of boric acid (1 g), potassium nitrate (2 g) and potassium permanganate (2 g). The indicated doses are dissolved in 1 liter of water.
- A solution of wood ash. One glass of ash is poured with 1 liter of boiling water. The cooled and filtered infusion is used for spraying.
- Yeast solution. 1 kg is dissolved in 5 l of water. Yeast can withstand during the day, 0.5 l of starter culture is dissolved in 10 l of water.
Sprinkle garden strawberries in the evenings so that the wet leaves do not burn the sun.
Loosening
Removable strawberries require regular cultivation. Moreover, loosening the soil is recommended before each watering - then moisture will penetrate the root system faster. During loosening, weeds are removed, and at the same time, organic fertilizers can be sprinkled - it is difficult to feed garden strawberries with them. After loosening, the soil is mulched.
Strawberry propagation
Variety Elizabeth 2, like any garden strawberry, propagates in three ways:
- The seeds. Prepare containers with a height of not more than 12 cm - fill them with earth. Seeds soaked in water are slightly buried in the soil. Cover the containers with film or glass. Every day, the planting is aired by raising the glass / film for 10 minutes. The soil is moistened as necessary.
After half a month the seeds will sprout, ventilation is increased to half an hour. After the appearance of the first leaves, plants are planted in separate containers. Half a month before planting in the soil, the plants are hardened, taking them out into the street. From the moment the first sprouts appear before planting, 4 months pass. - Mustache. Choose the bushes that give the largest yields. The mustache on which the rosettes formed is sprinkled with earth. When the sockets are rooted, they are transplanted. They usually do this at the end of July.
- By dividing the bush. When young plants are planted, they have one growth point, and then they become many, sometimes more than a dozen. Therefore, the bush is easy to disassemble into several bushes. They usually do this in spring or summer. The bushes obtained by dividing are immediately planted in the ground. Experienced gardeners recommend first planting delenki in the shade, and a month later - in the beds.
Read all about cultivating remontant strawberries from seeds here.
Diseases, pests and their control
Immunity to most diseases that affect garden strawberries is one of the main advantages of the variety Elizabeth 2. But it does not interfere with safety, it is recommended to conduct several sprayings as a prophylaxis. After the snow melts, the strawberry plantings are sprayed with garden solution of copper sulfate or Bordeaux liquid 1%.
To deter pests, the free space between strawberry beds is planted with garlic or flowers with a pungent odor - marigolds or nasturtium.
Pests of strawberry and control measures:
Pests / Diseases | How to fight? |
Gray rot | Spraying with iodine solution - 3 times with an interval of once every 10 days (10 ml per bucket). |
Powdery mildew | Spraying with a solution of colloidal sulfur (10 l - 80 g). |
Strawberry Nematode | Remove plants along with a lump of soil. |
Slug | Sprinkling soil between rows of fluffy lime or ash. |
Straw Mite | Spraying with Agravertin (per 1 liter of water - 2 ml). |
Transportability
The variety is especially valuable for those who grow strawberries for sale. In Elizabeth 2, commercial qualities are successfully combined with transportability. Berries, having a dense structure, perfectly tolerate transportation, do not choke and do not flow. They retain an attractive appearance for a long time, while maintaining integrity and taste characteristics.
Reviews
Elena R., Astrakhan. The variety does not degenerate as soon as other repair plants, but I still rejuvenate the plantings every year. After a good seasonal crop, I’m renting another one - in the spring. Then I clean all the bushes, plant rye on the site, and at the end of summer at this place, after digging, I plant rosettes from the bushes of last year's planting.
Gerasim I., Barnaul. The variety is early, the berries are large and beautiful. But the taste is not good enough. My wife and I put the berries into processing. Perhaps the berries were tasteless due to the rainy summer.
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To get three crops per season, you have to make a fuss - the repairing varieties need increased attention. The Elizabeth 2 variety successfully combines excellent commercial qualities with high productivity - the variety is good for amateur cultivation, including for sale.
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Russia. City Novosibirsk
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