Strawberry Shelf

Through selection, specialists from Holland have bred the Polka variety. It is also known as Polka. The taste of the fruit attracted the attention of Russian gardeners and took its rightful place among other types of strawberries.

The compact green mass consists of dark green glossy leaves. Plants are small - maximum 15 centimeters in height. Their strength of growth is average. The edges of the large leaves are decorated with serrations. Peduncles are directed upwards, they are massive and strong. Most often, the buds are hidden under the foliage. Another characteristic of the variety is its developed root system. The mustache is formed in large numbers.

There is no repairability, which means that strawberries bear fruit only once during the growing season. This is a mid-early variety. First, the harvest is harvested in the southern regions with a warm climate. Bushes bear fruit at the end of June, but in the northern regions the first crop is harvested around mid-July.

From one bush, from 0.5 to 1.5 kg of strawberries are harvested. If you regularly water a garden crop and grow it in a sunny area, then up to 50 berries will form on one plant. The most abundant harvest is obtained from young bushes that have reached the age of two. The fruits can be easily transported, while maintaining an attractive appearance.

Ripe garden strawberries turn bright red. The surface is smooth and glossy. The top can be painted white. With proper care, the berries are very large and weigh from 60 to 80 grams. The shape of the fruit is conical or heart-shaped. If the berry is fully ripe, the flesh will be dark red. It is moderately dense and very juicy.

The taste is sweet, caramel. Many believe that the fruits of this variety have excellent gastronomic qualities.

The Dutch variety Polka is resistant to both cold and heat. In arid climates, the bushes will be able to fully develop. Due to the fact that the plant forms many whiskers, these need to be removed regularly. Lateral shoots are left only on those bushes that they plan to use for plantation renewal. In one area, strawberries can be grown for up to three years. It is easy to care for the variety, therefore it is recommended for novice gardeners. In hot and dry summers, you need to water the bushes regularly. Long-term lack of moisture leads to a deterioration in the yield. The fruits become smaller and lose their taste.

A fruit crop is planted in autumn or spring, adhering to this scheme:

• illuminated areas are chosen for young plants;
• if planting is carried out in the spring, with the arrival of autumn, the soil is dug up and fertilized with complex compounds;
• in the spring, the upper layers of the soil are loosened and markings are made (grooves are drawn every 35-40 centimeters);
• grooves are made for roots, leaving gaps of 20-25 centimeters;
• you need to plant the bushes in the morning, in cloudy weather;
• after planting, the seedlings are irrigated every day for about 10 days;
• to keep the soil moist, cover it with a layer of mulch.

Also, when growing strawberries, you should follow the standard agricultural technology requirements:

• weed removal;
• fertilization;
• loosening the top layer of the earth;
• cleaning the site from plant residues.

When choosing a site, pay attention to illuminated locations, protected from winds and drafts. Ideally, if the landing site will be located on a small hill, where moisture stagnation is excluded. The variety prefers fertile and light soil. Before planting, the earth must be dug up, watered and fed with nutrients.

The Shelf is pollinated on its own, since it has bisexual flowers.

If fertilizer was laid in the holes during planting, you will not have to feed the bushes in the first year. But in the next season, formulations containing nitrogen are used. This component is essential for the development of a thick and healthy green mass.

The laughs of making dressings are as follows.

• Before flowering, it is recommended to fertilize the bushes with nitroammophos. A tablespoon of this component is diluted in a bucket of water.
• Potassium nitrate and wood ash are selected during the formation of buds and ripening of berries. During this period, strawberries need feeding the most.

The Polka variety has an innate frost resistance, but it is able to withstand frosts only up to 15 degrees below zero. In warm European countries, the bushes overwinter without shelter, but in the Russian climate they need to be protected. It is best to take a special dense material. You can use straw to save money. Before wintering, dry and diseased leaves must be removed, the soil is loosened, and the plantation is watered.

Garden strawberries boast good health, but if you break the rules of agricultural technology, the bushes begin to hurt. Also, weather conditions can shake immunity.

Let's take a look at the most common infections.

• Gray rot. This is a fungal disease that affects berries. They are covered with a fluffy gray coating. The infection is provoked by high humidity. Affected bushes must be uprooted and burned immediately.
• Powdery mildew. You can identify it by the purple hue on the leaves. They also roll up into tubes. Large bushes form twisted berries that are covered with a pale bloom.
• Brown and white spots. Fungal diseases that multiply with the help of spores. You can identify them by brown or pale spots on the leaves. Affected plants turn yellow and soon dry out completely.
• Fusarium wilting. A dangerous ailment due to which the petioles and leaves are covered with brown spots. If the bush is completely affected, it cannot be cured.

To preserve the berry plantation, the following preventive measures are observed:

• strawberry bushes need to be transplanted to a new place every 3-4 years;
• the site should be regularly cleaned of weeds and plant debris;
• the soil is covered with mulch;
• processing with Bordeaux liquid is carried out before the start of flowering;
• there must be enough free space between the bushes.

Due to the fact that the bushes form a lot of whiskers, it is recommended to propagate the variety with their help. It is customary to grow shrubs for renewal and enlargement of the plantation separately. Lateral shoots are rooted and detached from the mother plant only after a cap of 5-6 full leaves has been formed. Young seedlings are immediately grown on a permanent plot.

If it is not possible to get planting material, you can use seeds. This is a lengthy and painstaking method, but with due diligence it will be possible to grow healthy plants. The division for the Polka variety is not used, since the bushes obtained in this way do not take root well.