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To answer the question of when strawberries ripen, you should know the region of its growth, the name of the variety and the belonging of this variety to one-time or remontant varieties. The ripening time is also influenced by whether the plants were grown in open ground, in a greenhouse or under a film.
Which ripens earlier: strawberries or strawberries
Strawberries and strawberries are related plants, but confusion has occurred with their names. The berry, which they used to call strawberry, is actually correctly called garden strawberry. There is also a forest berry, which is called strawberry.
For the convenience of the reader, further garden strawberries will be called strawberries, as all amateur gardeners are used to doing, and wild-growing forest and field berries will remain strawberries.
In terms of ripening, forest strawberries are slightly behind strawberries. This is due to the fact that it grows in the shade of trees, which delays ripening by half a month. If strawberries have grown in a sunny meadow, then they can ripen before their garden cousin.
About the strawberry season: in Russia, in its mid-latitudes, the strawberry season falls in mid-June and lasts from two weeks to a month. In the southern regions, the beginning of collection may move to the end of May, and in the northern regions - to the beginning of July.
When meadow strawberries ripen
When does wild field strawberry ripen? Meadow and field strawberries ripen earlier than forest strawberries, due to the fact that they receive more sunlight, but are inferior to forest strawberries in size and juiciness of berries.
Forest uncultivated strawberries are quite suitable for transplanting and growing in a garden plot, they do not require any special care. At the same time, it will ripen half a month earlier than the one that grows in the neighboring forest from where it was transplanted.
The decisive factor in the beginning of the term, when the strawberries ripen, is the air temperature. If at the initial stage of growth a sufficient temperature can be + 2 ... + 5 degrees Celsius, then during the ripening period, daytime temperatures should reach from +20 to +24 degrees, and at night from +14 to +17 degrees.
Meadow strawberry
When strawberries ripen
By the type of fruiting, strawberries are divided into varieties: bearing fruit once a year, and remontant (multiple fruiting).
Varieties that give birth once per season are divided into four types:
- early, beginning to harvest from the second decade of May;
- medium early, lagging behind the early ones by a week;
- medium, the ripening period of which is shifted by a week from the medium early;
- late, they ripen at the end of June.
The first harvest of remontant varieties roughly coincides with the first harvest of disposable strawberries, the average time when strawberries ripen may come in the first week of July, the last - in mid-August. Such varieties are many times more productive than disposable ones, but they require more fertilizers and are less durable.
The strawberry season in Russia is very extended in time due to the vastness of the country, so it is worth talking about the timing of its collection in accordance with the region where it grows.
Repair strawberry
In the suburbs (Moscow region)
Strawberry picking in Moscow begins in mid-June, but only on condition that the weather is sunny and warm.If the rainy season fell during this period, then the time when strawberries ripen in the Moscow region is postponed to the end of the month. Of course, adjustments should be made for the difference in timing depending on the variety.
In central Russia
There are a huge number of varieties suitable for cultivation in central Russia. The time when strawberries ripen in these areas depends on the variety and method of growing. Average terms in Bryansk, Samara regions roughly coincide with those in the Moscow region. Using early varieties and certain agronomic techniques, you can learn to get ripe berries from the end of May.
To get an early harvest, it is recommended:
- plant early varieties;
- plant in mid-summer, in extreme cases, no later than early September, so that the bushes have time to take root;
- cover plantings with film or non-woven covering material.
In the middle lane, usually strawberry plantings are reliably covered with snow, so there are no problems with overwintering. And yet, you should know that in the absence of snow, temperatures below -10 degrees are dangerous - you need to take care of the shelter of the beds.
In the Krasnodar Territory
In the Kuban, harvesting has been going on since early May. The weather can make adjustments: if it rains during the ripening period, the berries can rot and lose their presentation, so it will be useful to know the weather forecast.
The climate of Rostov is slightly different from that of Krasnodar, although you cannot call it cool either. And yet, the harvesting time of garden strawberries is ten days behind its southern neighbor. The farms of the Rostov region grow strawberry varieties imported from Crimea.
Other regions
- in the Voronezh region - on the fertile chernozems of the Voronezh region, strawberries ripen by June 10;
- in the Lipetsk region - the Lipetsk and Volgograd regions in climatic conditions from the Voronezh region are not very different, therefore, the terms when strawberries ripen here are the same;
- in the Nizhny Novgorod region - in his reviews a gardener from the Nizhny Novgorod region writes that he picked the first two berries on June 14, so the season is open (it should last until the end of July).
In 2018, all temperature records were broken, so in all regions the harvesting dates for strawberries came a little earlier than usual. If similar weather conditions occur in 2019, then adjustments will also have to be made in the harvest time.
How to pick strawberries correctly and quickly
The answer to the question of when strawberries are harvested seems to be clear - as soon as they are ripe. But not everything is so simple, because each variety has its own ripening periods. This is why the approach to harvesting must be individual for each variety. The harvest time has come if the berry is colored red on all sides and if it is firm enough but not tough.
As already mentioned, garden strawberries do not ripen at the same time, so it is recommended to harvest them every other day constantly until they run out. If the weather is hot, ripe berries are picked daily.
What time of day to clean? It is preferable to pick berries in the morning or in the evening, this is the most comfortable time for a person, and the berries themselves, not overheated by the sun, will be better preserved.
How to pick strawberries from a bush correctly? Here are some tips:
- strawberries will not survive if they are plucked without a stalk (if it is difficult to pluck by hand, you should use scissors);
- berries should be placed in flat containers in layers, but the number of layers should not be more than three;
- so that no debris remains on the strawberries, they must be immediately cleaned with a brush.
Correct and quick picking of strawberries
DIY strawberry picker
To facilitate the process of picking berries will help a simple device - a "cup" combine, which you can make yourself.
It is assembled from 27 wooden knitting needles with a diameter of 3 mm and a length of 24 cm, a circle of plywood or plastic with a diameter of 77 cm, and a ring made of the same material with an outer diameter of 77 cm and an inner diameter of 57 cm. The circle is the bottom of the future "glass".
Having stepped back from the bottom edge 5 mm in a circle, you need to drill 27 holes with a diameter of 2.5 mm, distributing them evenly around the circumference. 27 holes are also made along the ring at the same distance, only their diameter should be 3 mm.
Now the assembly:
- You need to thread the needles through the holes of the ring so that the ring is approximately in the middle of the needles.
- Then connect the structure to the bottom by inserting the pointed ends of the needles into the holes of the circle. A drop of glue must first be placed in these holes.
- The ring should also be fixed to the knitting needles with glue. A glass of knitting needles is ready.
When picking strawberries, a ripe berry, passing with a petiole between the needles, will come off along with the stalk and roll to the bottom of the glass.
From answers to common questions: do strawberries ripen after harvest? In fact, strawberries are not a tomato, and they are not capable of ripening. But gardeners have learned to eliminate this disadvantage as well. In order for the berries to ripen in the assembled form, they are covered with foil, but only so that it does not touch the berries (make some kind of a tent), and leave for 6-8 hours. Then the berries are turned over and the procedure is repeated.
And yet, it is much better to let the strawberries ripen in the garden, then they will certainly delight the gardener with excellent taste and the brightest strawberry aroma.
