Growing strawberries in your own garden is a great opportunity to enjoy the fragrant juicy fruits grown with love, throughout the season and even to the very frosts, if the variety is repaired. We are talking about strawberries Ruyan, the main feature of which is the complete absence of antennae, excellent winter hardiness, high productivity and continuous fruiting throughout the season.
Strawberry Ruyan: description
Strawberry Ruyan is characterized by compact hemispherical bushes and large conical bright red berries with juicy pink pulp. The first fruits appear in mid-June (in the second year of planting); seedlings will please the harvest in the first year at the end of summer. To form a strong bush in the first season, it is recommended to remove the formed flowers. This technique protects the plant from a waste of energy on the formation of fruits.
Peduncles are located above the level of leaves, so even after rain they remain clean. Berries are harvested as they ripen. Ruyan - wild strawberry resistant to pests, diseases, drought, as well as powdery mildew. With proper care, fruiting lasts for 3-4 years. At the end of this period, it is recommended to replace the Ruyan bushes. Strawberries, delighting with a delicious sweet crop, are characterized by a high density of berries, which does not allow their deoxidation from heavy rains.
Seed growing method
The cultivation of strawberries Ruyan is carried out mainly by seedlings. Seedlings are obtained from seeds that are sown in containers with fertile soil from February to May. Seeds before sowing for guaranteed germination must undergo a certain treatment. To do this, they must be washed in clean water, and then dipped in a weak solution of potassium permanganate for half an hour. Then you need to filter them through a damp cloth, which must be folded in a bag and tied so that the seeds are placed inside freely.
Directly in the bag, they should be washed under running water and left in the water for another day. Then the bag with the seeds should be placed in a container with moist loose sand, which should be placed in the refrigerator (the temperature should vary within 3-5 degrees of heat). Under such conditions, the seeds should lie for two months. Once a week they need to be removed, the sand should be moistened and the mold should be checked for planting material. At the first biting, the seeds should be sown immediately.
Sowing seedlings: features
Sowing is done with tweezers, which carefully distribute the seeds in a 2 x 2 cm pattern, sprinkle lightly (no more than 1-2 mm) and cover the sowing, placed in a warm place, with a film or glass. Every day, the container must be opened for an hour (for hardening). Shoots will appear in 10-15 days. Only after this, the film can be removed completely, put the crop in a bright light, not forgetting to water the seedlings, only do it very carefully.
Next, you should pick the seedlings, and when 5-6 leaves appear, the latter can be planted in open ground. The complex process of obtaining seedlings can be simplified.
To do this, in the summer several berries of strawberries can be placed on the garden bed and constantly watered from a watering can with a fine rain. The likelihood of seedlings with this method, which is suitable only if there are remontant strawberries on the plot of fruiting bushes, is quite high.
Strawberry planting
When planting strawberries of the Ruyan variety, you can use the bush two-line method, which avoids thickening of the bushes and protects against fungal diseases. You can also use the combination of crops with other crops. For example, it is recommended to plant garlic near strawberries, which helps drive away slugs.
It is better to plant strawberries on narrow (90–100 cm wide) beds; the distance between the bushes should be 40-50 cm. In the traditional planting method, the gap between the bushes is usually 20-25 cm, which leads to a strong thickening of the stands.
Before planting, you need to loosen the soil, make holes in which to add organic fertilizers (2 glasses of ash per 1 bucket of earth or 2 liters of biohumus per 1 bucket of compost) and pour well with water.
When planting seedlings, it should be controlled so that the apical bud is located on the surface of the earth (not too high), and the roots of the plants do not bend or deepen vertically. Planted plants need to be abundantly watered and mulched with a thin layer. As mulch, it is recommended to use needles, slightly dried grass, rotted sawdust or compost. Mulching is intended to protect the plant from weeds, berries from decay (in contact with moist soil), to preserve moisture and improve soil composition.
Ruyan (wild strawberry): features of leaving
Care for strawberries of this variety consists in timely watering, mulching, periodic weeding and top dressing.
An important care factor is watering; lack of moisture will result in smaller fruits and reduced yield. The necessary level of humidity is required to be provided in important phases of the growth and development of strawberries, determining its productivity. In the hot summer period, watering is required constantly.
Rowing row-spacing is required to enrich the soil with oxygen and preserve moisture in it. Before the ripening of strawberries, it is recommended to make three loosening. During the fruiting period, pause and resume loosening after harvesting as necessary. Mulching saves from frequent weeding, which retains moisture and prevents weeds from growing. In the process of weeding, old leaves, characterized by red color, should be removed along with weeds. This technique causes the rejuvenation of the bush.
As a top dressing, it is recommended to add organic matter in a small amount; it is better to do this before planting strawberries or in the process of planting it. As a protection against pests, it is recommended to sprinkle the leaves of plants with ash.
High grade: Strawberry Ruyan
Like any plant, Rujana strawberries need preparation for a difficult winter for everyone. She carries it quite easily. In this case, it is required to reduce watering and get rid of old and diseased leaves.
Strawberry Ruyan is a remontant strawberry that tolerates wintering, prefers sunny, well-lit places, grows well in partial shade of garden trees, so it can be planted in near-stem circles. It can also be grown as an ornamental potted crop. Strawberry Ruyan, consumer reviews of whose taste is highly appreciated, will be a worthy decoration of any site, delighting its owners with delicious and juicy berries.