We get a big harvest of strawberry Ali Baba

Fragrant sweet strawberries - the favorite of many gardeners and gardeners. Remontant varieties that allow you to harvest throughout the season and always have fresh tasty berries on the table are especially popular. One of the successes of the breeders can be called the strawberry variety "Ali Baba", created about 20 years ago by the Dutch company Hem Genetics.

Description

To begin with, let's explain some confusion between strawberries and strawberries. This variety is not a strawberry (garden strawberry), strawberry "Ali Baba" is a product of selection of alpine strawberry (a cultivated variety of wild strawberry).

The plant forms a powerful branched low (15-20 cm) bushes with many inflorescences. The berries are small, usually weighing 4-5 g (sometimes up to 7 g), conical, bright red in color with white flesh, sweet with a slight acidity and a pronounced aroma of wild berries.Variety remontantny, the first berries ripen in mid-June, fruiting continues until the first frost. From one bush you can remove up to 500 berries per season.

Features of growing "Ali Baba"

For the strawberry "Ali Baba" producers in the description of the variety emphasize its simplicity and simplicity of cultivation. But at some points it is better to pay special attention.

Lighting

Like its progenitor of wild strawberry, Ali Baba prefers penumbra. If you plant it in an open place, there is a chance of getting dry and hard berries; if you plant it in a shady place, the crop will be small.

The soil

Strawberry prefers non-acidic breathable fertile soil. It is necessary to land the land before landing or to spill it with ashes. Low wetlands should be avoided, as they are highly likely to cause fungal diseases when grown on them.

Do not forget about crop rotation. Good forerunners of strawberries are garlic, onions, carrots and beets. After solanaceous (potatoes and tomatoes) and cruciferous (cabbage, radishes, turnips), it will be difficult to grow.

Terms and rules of sowing

Strawberries "Ali Baba" refers to varieties that do not form a mustache, so reproduction is possible only by growing seedlings from seeds or dividing the adult shrub. Seeds are sown in February, and their preparation for this start 2-3 weeks earlier.

Selection and preparation of seeds

Selection of seeds should be approached responsibly - with the wrong choice, you can lose the whole season. It is better to buy them in specialized stores, it can be found on the market even cheaper, but nobody guarantees their quality to you. If there is a strawberry of this variety, then you can collect the seeds yourself. Of course, there will not be such a germination rate as in purchased seeds, but the number of seeds collected eliminates this disadvantage.

Strawberry seeds are characterized by a large variation in the time of emergence of shoots, the difference can reach 3-4 weeks. To obtain friendly shoots spend stratification of seeds, This can be done in several ways:

• spread the seeds on a damp napkin moistened with melt water, leave for 6 hours in a warm place, then cover with foil and place in the refrigerator for 3 days, then land in prepared soil;
• put clean snow in a container with prepared soil, tamp it a little and put strawberry seeds on it with tweezers or a toothpick, cover with a film and put in a bright place; the snow will melt, the seeds will fall to the ground, warm and germinate;
• process seeds with growth stimulants, for example, Epin or potassium humate.

Planting strawberries

Strawberry seedlings are quite demanding on the soil. The easiest way is to buy ready-mixed soil. If you could not find a suitable one, then you can prepare it yourself:

• 1 part of large river sand, 3 parts of neutral peat, 1 part of humus;
• 1 part of neutral peat, 2 parts of sod land, 1 part of coarse sand;
• 2 parts of black soil, 1 part of sand, 2 parts of peat.

You can grow seedlings in peat tablets, following the manufacturer's instructions.

The prepared soil is placed in a container with a layer of at least 5 cm, leveled, shallow grooves are made in it at a distance of 2 cm and moistened with a sprinkler.Strawberry seeds spread in the grooves with tweezers or a toothpick re-moisten the earth. From above the seeds are not sprinkled with earth. The container is covered with a film and put in a bright place (on the window sill). It is necessary to ensure that the soil does not dry out.

After the appearance of two true leaves of the seedlings, the bushes swoop into separate pots, after the appearance of 5-6 they are planted in open ground.

Ali Babu is seated in rows, the distance between them should not be less than 30 cm, the distance between seedlings should be at least 20 cm. At first, you should hold the seedlings under the film.

How to care for "Ali Baba"

As mentioned above, “Ali Baba” is rather unpretentious, but in order to fully reveal its potential and to get the largest and most tasty crop, it is necessary to take into account some subtleties.

Correct watering

Strawberries like moist, but not waterlogged soil, in addition, the variety "Ali Baba" is positioned as drought-resistant. In order to maintain the optimum humidity it was easier, the bushes should be mulched (sawdust, straw or grass), so the necessary moisture level is maintained in the soil. With insufficient watering the berries will be small and not juicy.

Fertilizing

"Ali Baba" remontant grade, which bears fruit all season. Without top dressing, the plants will quickly become depleted. To prevent this from happening, the land must be regularly fertilized. In the spring, ammonium nitrate or carbamide (50 g per 10 m2) and humus are introduced, and potassium phosphorus fertilizers (15-20 g per 10 m2) or organic fertilizers (respectively prepared bovine or bird droppings) form during the formation of peduncles and active fruiting. For better formation of ovaries and resistance to pests, it is recommended to treat bushes with boric acid preparations.

Soil care

Strawberries prefer lightweight, breathable soil, so it will have to be periodically loosened. On the other hand, the root system of strawberries is superficial, so this should not be abused, especially during the fruiting period. Therefore, mulching is the best option, it allows you not to loosen the soil, and even weed control will be much easier.

Wintering plants

"Ali Baba" is a rather cold-resistant variety, but to avoid unpleasant surprises for winter, it is worth preparing. Bushes for the winter are covered with dry raspberry branches or fir (pine) paws. An alternative may be the installation above the beds of low arcs with covering material stretched over them.

Breeding methods

There are two ways of reproduction for this bezusey strawberry: by seeds or by dividing a bush.

To collect the seeds selected healthy large juicy berries. Use a sharp knife to thin the skin off the seeds, dry it for several days and then rub it with your fingers to separate the pulp from the seeds. Properly prepared seeds are stored for 3-4 years. Germinate them as described above. An adult bush can be divided into several parts with a sharp knife, the main thing is that each of them has at least two healthy young roots and at least three leaves. Last year's brown roots cut off.

Delenki placed in a pre-prepared wells, the depth of which must match the length of the roots (you need to make sure that the roots do not bend). The hole is instilled and the plant is watered with a 1% solution of urea or ammonium nitrate.Leaves with delenok need to be removed. This procedure should be carried out in cool time, with cloudy weather, preferably in late spring or early fall.

Since the strawberry "Ali Baba" greatly expands, the division and thinning of bushes should be carried out even if you do not want to multiply it. In this case, just leave the most powerful and powerful plants.

Diseases and pests

This is a fairly stable variety, but still fungal diseases and some pests do not bypass it.

To combat fungal diseases (late blight and spotting), it is necessary to maintain an optimal moisture regime, prophylactically process strawberry bushes with Bordeaux mixture or Fitosporin, remove old and faded leaves.

From strawberry and spider mites as a preventive measure, timely cleaning of leaves before hibernation, weed control, decontamination of planting material with a weak solution of potassium permanganate, planting calendula in between rows helps. If the prophylaxis did not help and strawberry plants are already infected, it is possible to spray the infusions of onion peel with infusions (for 10 liters of water 200 g of huskinfuse for 5 days) or a solution of dandelions (400 g leaves or 200 g of the roots insist 2-3 hours per liter of water). In advanced cases, you will have to turn to chemistry and process the strawberry plantings with Bitoxibacillin or Karbofos.

Grade "Ali Baba" is rightfully one of the most popular: fruitful, tasty, cold-resistant, resistant to diseases and pests, which does not require particularly careful care. Few of those who tried to grow it, were unhappy. We hope, and you will like it.