One of our favorite berries is strawberries. Its most popular varieties include Strawberry Gigantella. The variety description will let you know if it is suitable for growing in your area.
Features varieties of popular berries
Strawberry variety Maxim Gigantella was bred in Holland. Its distinguishing feature is high productivity, however, it will require appropriate care. The variety is notable for the large size of the berries.
A thick and powerful bush is the first sign by which the Gigantella strawberry is identified. Variety characteristics correspond to the following parameters:
- The height of the bush is 0.5 meters (plants aged 3 years).
- The diameter of the bush is 0.6 meters.
- The leaves are bright green in color, rather large.
- The weight of the fetus can reach 80-100 grams.
- The fruits are sweet and fleshy.
- The seeds are clearly visible on the berries. Strawberry Gigantella, the description of the variety confirms this, it resembles a grater to the touch.
Agrotechnical standards of cultivation
This variety is very popular with modern gardeners, as it has a high yield. For example, from one bush you can collect up to 3 kilograms of fruit, of course, subject to the agrotechnical standards of cultivation. Also a positive aspect is the possibility of growing this crop in the same place for up to 8 years in a row.
Extremely unpretentious is the Strawberry Gigantella. The description of the variety, made by breeders, suggests that it can be grown in any cultivated and developed soil. It goes without saying that if the land is infertile, not cultivated from weeds, not previously plowed, then you should not expect a high yield. The only requirement is the occurrence of groundwater no closer than sixty centimeters to the surface.
The bush is not capricious in leaving, grows and stretches quickly, gives a large number of antennae. In order for the crop to be plentiful, the mustache must be cut off.
How to prepare the soil for planting?
To add from 3 to 4 kilograms of manure, 7 grams of potassium chloride and about 20-30 grams of superphosphate per square meter of cultivated soil to the selected plot of land.
If you have acidic soil, it is best to lime. Limestone can be replaced with dolomite flour, slaked lime, chalk, vegetable ash. It is important to remember that liming the soil at the same time as fertilizing it with fresh manure is not possible. It is better to apply organic fertilizers in the fall, and calcareous materials in the spring.
How to properly prepare gigantella strawberry seedlings?
In order to preserve the variety, it is necessary to select several fruitful bushes, preferably aged from one to two years. After the strawberry Gigantella Maxim ceased to bear fruit, you must cut the mustache. From each stolon (antennae) take one or two sockets.
Place the sockets in water with potassium permanganate for a day. After planting them in a greenhouse or open ground.
Rules for planting seedlings in the soil
It is better to dip the root of the plant in clay-earthen mixture before planting in the ground. Dug holes should correspond to the size of the roots so that the root system is not damaged during planting.
In order for the plants to adapt well and take root, it is necessary to irrigate daily, maintain loose soil, and fight weeds. Plants that have three developed leaves on a short petiole can be considered good seedlings. Before burying, strawberry rhizomes must be straightened. Press down the top of the ground with both hands slightly. Abundantly water the planted plant.
When planting, an interval of 10 centimeters between plants and 15-20 between rows should be observed. It is better to mulch the soil in the rows with compost or hay.
Both in autumn and spring, you can plant such a variety as strawberries Gigantella. Reviews of gardeners indicate that it is better to choose the time from the second half of August to the beginning of September. Planting at a later date often leads to the death of plants or poor survival.
In addition, seeds can also be used. Strawberry Gigantella in this case will grow as beautiful and large as in the case of propagation of a mustache.
Care
So that the berries do not undergo gray rot, it is not recommended to feed the bushes with nitrogen fertilizers in the first year after planting. Moreover, this category of fertilizers contributes to the activation of leaf dew, and not the root system. At this time, it is better to use phosphoric or potassium top dressing. It is better to do it in the early spring.
In the second year of life of the plant, Strawberry Gigantella Maxim can be fertilized with ammonium nitrate in a proportion of one hundred grams per one hundred square meters. If the land before planting seedlings was sufficiently fertilized with organic fertilizers, then this procedure can be safely skipped.
Starting from the third year, strawberries can be fertilized with a mixture of one hundred grams of superphosphate, one hundred grams of potassium chloride and one hundred and fifty grams of ammonium nitrate per ten square meters of soil.
To implement disease prevention and prevent the propagation of pests, it is necessary to remove dry leaves on the bushes in time, this will also make your strawberry Gigantella grow better and faster. The reviews and recommendations of experienced gardeners suggest that during the beginning of flowering, it is necessary to lay the straw between the rows, water it abundantly and make mineral fertilizers.
Growing a tasty and juicy berry is not so difficult, especially if you follow the recommendations of professionals. If you purchase seeds of a species such as Gigantella strawberries in the store, the description of the variety on the package should correspond to all the characteristics and characteristics of this plant.