Strawberry Honey

Features of the strawberry variety Honey, which has not lost its popularity for many decades. Planting strawberries and caring for berries to ensure high yields.

Honey strawberry: variety description and characteristics

Strawberry Honey: photo of the variety

Surely not a single garden plot is complete without planting strawberries. Only one attractive type of berry makes you want to grow this crop, and even the taste of strawberries is even more loved by everyone since childhood. Among these, perhaps, can be attributed to the variety of strawberries Honey. It should be noted that this variety is far from a novelty; strawberries were bred by American breeders back in 1979 on the basis of the Vibrant and Holiday varieties. And the variety got its name from the name of the American city, where it was bred - Honeoye. Since then, the Honey strawberry has become very popular, known for its rich harvests and large berries.

The Khonei strawberry variety has compact, but, at the same time, rather strong bushes with well-developed peduncles, capable of withstanding ripened fruits. The leaves are large, dark green in color, reaching up to 22 cm in length.

The Khoney strawberry variety is early, the bushes start to grow actively in the second decade of April. Flowering lasts about two weeks, during which time from 15 flowers appear on one plant. Fruit ripening occurs within two weeks. At this time, berries are picked every 2-3 days. By the way, to accelerate the ripening of berries, some gardeners cover the beds with agrofibre, which provides a microclimate that promotes faster ripening of strawberries.

In general, up to 400 g of berries are harvested from one Honey strawberry bush per season, which certainly characterizes the variety as a high-yielding variety. The ripe berry weighs 35 - 40 g, it has a characteristic shine and rich color. The flesh is quite dense, with a beautiful red-orange color. The sweet taste of the berry is complemented by a slight sourness. Gradually, towards the end of fruiting, the number of berries decreases, at the same time, they acquire a richer strawberry flavor and aroma.

Honey strawberries tolerate transportation well, retaining their appearance even during long transportation. The harvested berry is stored for at least 3 days, without losing, at the same time, freshness and taste.

Also, it should be noted the cold resistance of the strawberry variety Honey and its resistance to diseases affecting strawberry leaves.

Among the disadvantages of the Khonei strawberry variety, the plant's intolerance is indicated, both to an excess of moisture and to insufficient watering. The rest of the shortcomings, rather, are typical for the berry culture as a whole, regardless of the variety, these include the darkening of the harvested berries during their long-term storage and the likelihood of infection of the root system with infections.

Planting and caring for honeybee strawberries

Strawberry Honey: video about the variety

Honey strawberries are recommended to be planted in the autumn, no later than a month before the arrival of cold weather. During this time, the plant should have time to take root and get stronger.

The site must be chosen with fertile soil that has a slightly acidic reaction. Loam and sandy loam soil are suitable for growing strawberries. The place for planting berries should be well lit.

Previously, before planting the Honey strawberries, minerals and organic matter are introduced into the soil, at the rate of at least 7-8 kg per 1 square meter. A nutrient solution consisting of potassium-phosphate fertilizers (30 g of potassium sulfate, 50 g of superphosphate) will not be superfluous.

It is important when planting strawberries Honey to maintain a distance between bushes of 30 cm, and in row spacings - at least 50 cm.The depth of the planting holes is 10-12 cm.

When planting a bush, the Khonya strawberry variety is recommended to remove long roots, leaving about 5-8 cm. Dried and damaged leaves are cut off.

Placing a Honeydew strawberry seedling in the planting hole, the roots of the plant need to be straightened. Do not forget that it is impossible to deepen the root collar during planting, you just need to slightly huddle with loose earth. By the way, when buying Honey strawberry seedlings, be sure to pay attention to the root collar. In a strong, healthy planting material, its width is at least 1 cm.

After planting, Khonei's strawberries are watered, mulched with humus or peat. The first week after planting, if possible, the bushes should be watered daily. In the future, once a week is enough.

To prevent the growth of weeds and evaporation of moisture, the strawberry bed is covered with foil or straw.

At least once every two weeks, the land around the bushes is loosened, if necessary, fertilizing and preventive treatments for various pests and diseases are carried out. If you notice signs of a disease, in order to avoid its spread to other plants, you need to immediately remove the affected parts of the plant, and then process the bush, as well as the land around it.

As previously noted, Honey strawberries are quite demanding on soil moisture. It will be necessary to determine the amount of watering and their volumes empirically, observing the condition of the bushes. Excess moisture, as well as its lack, will have a bad effect on the condition of the bush. Also, weeds should be regularly removed, which, as we remember, strongly draw moisture from the soil.

Autumn care for Honey's strawberries includes treating the plants with Bordeaux mixture and mulching the soil around the bushes.

Strawberry Honey: reviews of gardeners

Many gardeners have been practicing the cultivation of Honey strawberries for more than one year. Having given preference to this variety, all of them note a good berry yield, excellent taste, frost resistance of the plant, little damage from pests and fungal infections. It should be noted that reviews of this variety of strawberries are left by both gardeners of central and central Russia and the Siberian region, which indicates a good adaptation of the variety to various climatic conditions.

Of course, not everyone managed to grow a rich harvest in the first year. Some gardeners, who first planted Honey's strawberries, complained about the large spreading bushes and not too rich harvest. However, the next year the situation was easily corrected by increasing the amount of fertilizing with organic fertilizers.

Many people positively evaluate such a feature of the Honey strawberry variety as the gradual ripening of the fruits, which allows you to enjoy fresh berries for longer, which become even sweeter by the end of fruiting.

And, of course, the best characteristic of the Honey strawberry is that it continues to be in demand by gardeners for more than a decade.