Content
Garden strawberries, a large and sweet berry, are grown by everyone who has a plot. Every year, breeders introduce new interesting varieties. Strawberry Irma, a variety bred in Italy for its northern mountainous regions, is relatively new to Russia. In our climate, it performed well and found its fans.
Characteristics of the variety
The remontant Irma strawberry has taken root in our gardens, thanks to the excellent taste of the beautiful berries and the fact that you can enjoy it for almost 4 months. The day-neutral plant combines high tasting qualities, productivity and transportability. The properties of the variety show themselves excellently in latitudes with sufficient levels of natural precipitation. During prolonged rains, the berries may crack slightly, but they still retain their flavor and are suitable for processing.
In those regions where rain is a welcome guest, strawberries have to be watered. It happens that by the end of the first season the bushes wither. Replanting needs to be taken care of. Strawberries of this variety are also grown in greenhouses.
One strawberry bush is guaranteed to produce more than 1 kg of fruit; if the care requirements are met, the yield increases to 2.5 kg of berries. They are consumed fresh, because the remontant Irma strawberry, as the reviews say, contains a high percentage of vitamin C.The berry is rich in organic acids, antioxidants, valuable and necessary mineral elements for the body: selenium, zinc, iodine. The fruits are prepared in the form of various jams and preserves for winter desserts.
Features of fruiting
As noted in the description of the variety, Irma strawberries belong to the mid-early variety. The first harvest of attractive berries is harvested in mid-June. Abundant fruiting continues until autumn.
- The berries do not have a pronounced smell;
- The sugar content is constant, independent of rainy days;
- The first berries are the sweetest;
- In the last days of August and the beginning of autumn, the most abundant harvest of fruits is obtained;
- Then the berries become smaller and change their shape slightly.
To help the plant form a full-fledged second wave of harvest, planting strawberries of the Irma variety, according to reviews, it is necessary to regularly water, feed, loosen and mulch the soil.
Advantages and disadvantages
Based on the photos and reviews of gardeners about the Irma strawberry, as well as the description of the variety, the natural conclusion is that the plant is popular due to its obvious advantages.
- Excellent taste properties;
- Stable yield;
- Drought resistance: the berries can withstand the sun;
- High commercial qualities: fruits are dense, shelf-stable and transportable;
- Frost resistance;
- Ease of reproduction through a mustache;
- The strawberry variety is sufficiently immune to damage from mites, fungal infections: gray rot and spotting, moderate sensitivity to Alternaria pathogens.
The disadvantage of the Irma strawberry variety, as follows from the description, is a decrease in fruiting during periods of prolonged heat. Installing a drip irrigation system, as well as shading the strawberry plantings with a net, will help in this situation. Then at the end of the season, gardeners harvest an excellent harvest of Irma strawberries, as can be seen in the photo.
Description
The Irma strawberry bush corresponds to the variety description and photo: compact, low, with sparse, dark green large leaves. The plants have a well-developed root system. The bush does not create a lot of whiskers, but enough for reproduction. Peduncles are tall.
In reviews, gardeners admire the fruits of the Irma strawberry, which weigh 25-35 g. The berries have a dense structure, but without hardness, do not crunch, are fleshy, juicy. The shape of the berries is cone-shaped, with an elongated sharp top, and there is a neck near the stalk. By autumn, the shape of the nose loses its ideal lines a little.
Delicate glossy cover and flesh are bright red in color, without voids. Summer berries have a higher percentage of sugar content. The taste of the fruit is pleasant and delicate, inherent in the entire harvest, even in the rain. The unobtrusive sourness sets off the sweetness of the berries and gives a delicious dessert taste.
Growing
The Irma variety gives a particularly good and generous harvest of berries in the second year of growth. And then the strawberry yield declines. For household plots and summer cottages, yields in the third and fourth years are acceptable, provided timely fertilizing is done. Then the plantings of remontant strawberries are changed. Reviews from those who grew Irma strawberries indicate the ability of strawberries to easily propagate by tendrils. This method is easier and more familiar.
Reproduction by mustache
The strawberry variety is easy to propagate as it produces enough runners.
- Gardeners, according to reviews of Irma strawberries and the description of the variety, choose which plants they leave for picking berries and remove the tendrils from them;
- Others grow into future seedlings. But on these bushes the flower stalks are already removed so that the plant can feed the cuttings;
- It is better to root only the first two rosettes;
- The tendrils are left on biennial plants and the plantation is renewed for commercial purposes for the next season.
Propagation by seeds
The method of growing the Irma strawberry variety from seeds through seedlings, according to reviews from lovers of the sweet berry, is more complex and labor-intensive. But the troublesome process ensures the purity of the variety.
- Sow Irma strawberry seeds in February or early spring in containers with soil for vegetable seedlings, covering the top with a thin layer of soil;
- The containers are covered with film or glass, but ventilated and watered daily if the soil is dry;
- You need to adhere to the optimal temperature - from 18 0C;
- Shoots appear after three weeks. They require maximum lighting;
- The seedlings are moved to a permanent place when 5 leaves are formed on it.
Site selection
Planting and caring for remontant Irma strawberries, as experience shows, will be successful if the appropriate site is selected: sunny, rich in nutrients. If possible, the ideal area for planting this variety may have a slight slope to the southwest.
- Clay and sandy soils should be avoided for planting the Irma variety;
- Soils with very high or too low acidity levels are also undesirable;
- Strawberries grow well in areas where there used to be radishes, garlic, legumes, forage or green crops;
- Humus and compost are added to the soil;
- The addition of peat is also accompanied by 200-300 g of lime or dolomite flour;
- Mineral fertilizers include superphosphate and potassium chloride.
Landing
Strawberries are planted in spring or autumn. But late autumn planting entails low productivity of the first fruiting season.
- The width between double-row strawberry ribbons is 60-80 cm;
- Inside, between the rows, a distance of 35-40 cm is enough;
- The holes are made at a distance of 15-25 cm. They must be dug to a depth of 10-12 cm in order to freely accommodate the roots of the plant;
- For planting, prepared soil is poured into the holes: 1 bucket each of site soil and compost, 2 liters of humus, 0.5 liters of wood ash.
Care
Caring for strawberries is not difficult, but the culture requires attention.
- Regular watering is needed, especially in hot July. Then the soil is slightly loosened, weeds are removed and covered with a layer of mulch;
- In the first year of planting, for a better harvest, the peduncles of the first wave are removed, as well as all the tendrils;
- It is necessary to periodically pick off reddened leaves;
- Strawberry leaves are sprinkled with wood ash. The product serves as a top dressing and protects plants from pests;
- If the berries are still ripening in October, the plants are covered with film or agrofibre;
- In late autumn, cut off the mustache and damaged leaves. Humus or peat is placed on the soil and covered with snow in winter;
- In the spring, during flowering and the creation of ovaries, mineral complex fertilizers are applied.
This universal variety with sweet berries will appeal to connoisseurs of fresh homemade produce.
