Strawberry "Irma" - a popular variety of garden strawberries, bred by Italian breeders. In Russia, the variety has been known for about 10 years. Photos, description of the Irma strawberry variety, reviews - all this is in the article.
general characteristics
The irma strawberry variety is considered to be remodeling, that is, the bushes bear fruit throughout the season. This usually happens 3-4 times.
The first fruits ripen by the end of May. The berries have an elongated shape resembling a cone, a bright red color. Berry mass can reach up to 60 grams. The taste of berries is brighter in summer and autumn than in spring. Berries are juicy with tender flesh, they have a high sugar content.
The bushes are medium in height, with strong root structures, large leaves of a dark green color. Mustaches are not too many, but peduncles are developing well.
The variety is characterized by a high level of productivity and excellent resistance to winter frosts. 1-2 kg of berries are picked from one bush, and with careful care, this figure increases to 2.5 kg. Thus, irma (strawberries, the description of which is the subject of our attention) is a rather high-yielding culture.
Cultural benefits
Strawberry Irma has the following advantages:
- high productivity;
- resistance to insufficient moisture;
- fruit flavor that does not deteriorate after heavy rains;
- excellent appearance of berries;
- resistance to spotting and mite damage.
Growing seedlings
The process of cultivating irma strawberries (the variety description, photos, reviews we are considering here) begins with growing seedlings. In February-March, containers are prepared, filled with nutritious earth, and seeds are planted.
The temperature regime for the development of seedlings is maintained at a level not lower than 18 degrees. Until seedlings appear, the plantings are covered with a film, which is removed daily for 30-50 minutes.
When five leaves appear on plants, seedlings can be planted on beds. The place is chosen sunny. Shading significantly reduces the quality of the crop: berries will decrease in volume.
Landing work
When planting irma strawberries (variety description, photos, reviews about it are the topic of the article), it is worth listening to the following tips:
- The soil is prepared in advance. Lupine, clover, canola, and legumes are considered to be successful predecessors. After them, the earth is saturated with nitrogen.
- Before planting, the earth is loosened, all weeds are removed.
- Organic is added to each pit. Nutrient soil is prepared from 10 kg of earth, 10 kg of compost mixture, 2 liters of vermicompost and 400 grams of ash.
- The optimal width of the beds is one meter, the bushes are planted with an interval of 0.5 meters.
- The roots during planting are directed vertically.
- After planting, the plants are well watered, covered with mulch. For this purpose, sawdust, needles, grass are suitable.
Landing care
When peduncles appear, they are removed. In addition, care measures are as follows:
- Watering. Irma strawberries (variety description, photos, reviews we analyze in detail) are considered a moisture-loving crop, therefore soil moisture is important throughout the growing season. The mulching layer helps to save moisture on the bed, the soil does not dry out so.
- Loosening the earth. Between the rows the soil is loosened at least three times before fruiting.
- Weeding, removing reddened leaves.
- Fertilizer application. A good option would be ash. It perfectly protects against pests. You can sprinkle ash with foliage.
- Elimination of the mustache. Mustache must not be rooted, otherwise productivity will decrease.
Preparing for the winter
Before the onset of cold weather, the watering of the beds is stopped, the mustache and injured leaves are cut off. The beds are mulched with rotted manure or peat mixture. In winter, strawberries should be under the snow layer. Some gardeners in September cover strawberries with foil. Such actions help protect her from frost, the formation of gray rot.
Causes of Decreased Fertility
It happens that gardeners complain about a decrease in strawberry yield over time. They wonder: why is the yield falling? There are several reasons for this:
- If the flowering weakens, the berries ripen small, which means that the plant has reached exhaustion. In this case, the landing should be updated. The change of beds will help.
- If a strawberry planted in autumn does not bloom in spring, this indicates a late planting. Strawberries need to be planted no later than July.
- Productive bushes do not bloom. This happens due to insufficient watering or fertilizer. Reduce productivity and severe frosts in winter.
- If the bushes bloomed profusely, but did not give a good crop, it was possible that rains and the use of insecticides prevented pollination. To remedy the situation, you can spray the bushes with aniseed oil to attract the bees.
- The buds and ovaries fall off due to the defeat of the strawberry weevil. This is a small black beetle with a long proboscis, destroying greens and fruits of berry crops. In the fight against it, loosening of beds and insecticides will help.
- If the flowers darken in the center - the reason for this is frost. To prevent spoilage of flowers, planting shelter at night. Darkened flowers are cut off because they will not produce berries. Darkening can occur due to the appearance of a weevil.
Owner opinions
Reviews about the strawberry "Irma" positive. Gardeners note excellent survival on the site, the crop appears next year. The largest amount of berries can be obtained in 3-5 years. From one bush receive 1.5 kg of berries. The excellent taste of the fruit does not leave owners indifferent. Berries are used for making jam, jam, and they can also be frozen for the winter. After defrosting, the berries do not lose their taste.
Fans of this variety say that it is easy to care for, and the yield is very high. When growing strawberries on chernozem soils, fertilizers such as organics and superphosphate are applied. Under such conditions, each bush brings up to 2.5 kg of berries.
Strawberry Irma is considered a universal species, that is, it can be grown on any soil, in any climatic conditions. Remontance of a species is one of its advantages, because thanks to this property, fruits are harvested several times throughout the growing season.
So, we examined the description of the irma strawberries and the owners' impressions of this variety.