Strawberry “San Andreas”: characteristics and cultivation of the variety

Growing strawberries for someone is a pleasant hobby, but for someone a real business.Regardless of what goals the gardener sets himself, everyone tries to get a good and rich harvest of delicious and fragrant berries, while spending a minimum of effort. Repair garden strawberries varieties "San Andreas" as well as possible meets all these criteria.

Strawberry “San Andreas” was bred in California, USA at the very beginning of the 2000s. Since 2010, the variety began to actively move in the European market and in the CIS countries. Today, this strawberry is officially allowed to be cultivated in Belarus, but in Russia and Ukraine the variety has not yet passed the mandatory certification, however, it is actively planted by ordinary summer residents. Especially the variety is popular in the south of our country - in the Krasnodar Territory and the Rostov Region, where it shows a stable yield.

In the central part of Russia, the fruitfulness is not so great, but given the good winter hardiness of the variety, low demands on the soil and exceptionally high commercial properties, the popularity of this strawberry grows here from year to year.

The advantages of this variety are many.

• Fruits "San Andreas" have an excellent presentation - they are dense, shiny, rough to the touch. Seeds deepened inside. Fruits have a bright scarlet color, the flesh on the cut is pink-orange with thin streaks of white color.
• The shape of the fruit is cone-shaped, with a slightly rounded tip. The berries are very large, the weight of each is 30 g, in favorable growing conditions real giants weighing 60 g can be found. Such berries can be comparable in size with a chicken egg.
• The berries are quite dense, because of this they can tolerate transportation and long storage well, so the variety is popular with farms, where the berries are grown on an industrial scale with a view to further implementation.
• The shrubs of the garden culture are medium grown, the leafy plates have a light green color, the roots are quite strong and branched, which has a positive effect on the overall yield and size of fruits.
• This variety gives quite a few whiskers, and they are quite small, so they should definitely be rooted to replace the old part of the landings.
• At the time of bud formation, up to 9-10 peduncles appear on the strawberries, which are able to withstand the weight of ripe berries. With proper care, the yield of each bush can be 1-1.5 kg of berries.

Like any other remontant strawberry, San Andreas is a berry of the so-called neutral day, thus reducing the total light day does not affect the yield and the size of the fruiting. Usually, the first berries are picked at the end of May, and the latest ones are cut off in mid-October. The ripening of the variety is undulating, with an interval of 5-6 weeks. If in July there is sultry dry weather, then the size and number of fruits can be significantly reduced.

Strawberries of this variety are resistant to most fungal diseases, as well as to insect pests - this is due to the high immunity of the plant. Reviews of taste characteristics of the variety are rather contradictory, however, the overwhelming majority of gardeners give them a rating of 4 to 4.5 points out of five, the rest claim that the pulp of the berry is too dense and even rough.

Fruits "San Andreas" have a universal purpose - they are eaten raw, added to sweet pastries, and also used for making preparations for the winter.

Strawberry “San Andreas” loves fertile sites on the south or south-west side of the dacha. It is desirable that the terrain be flat, without deep depressions and height differences, because any stagnation of moisture is harmful for strawberries - it can provoke the development of fungal diseases that lead to the death of plantings.This variety is neutral to illumination - crop yield is equally high both on open plots of land and in shaded places.

The best precursors of the crop will be radishes, calendula, garlic, parsley, dill or carrots, but after the plants of the nightshade, as well as after cucumbers and cabbage, it is not recommended to plant this variety of strawberries.

An ideal place to buy would be proven nurseries, plants in which have all the necessary certificates and guarantees. Buying seedlings on the market, you always risk to buy the wrong sort, and sometimes unscrupulous sellers under the guise of seedlings and do sell wild strawberry varieties. For those who have never acquired seedlings "San Andreas", we will give a number of useful recommendations.

When buying seedlings, it is imperative to focus on the total number of young leaves, optimally so that there are at least three of them. Leaf plates should have a rich green tint, light pubescence and natural shine.

Horns must be very thick, because this is one of the main factors affecting the crop. Experienced gardeners believe that the optimum thickness of the horns is 7 mm or more. It is necessary to inspect the roots of the plant, they must be branched, naturally colored and odorless rot. If the root system is broken and rotting in some places, it is better to refuse the purchase. It is recommended to plant seedlings at the end of April - beginning of May, but only if you are absolutely sure that there will be no return frost anymore, since any decrease in temperature for a fragile plant will be disastrous.

In the southern regions, the landing dates may move slightly. Here, the heat is finally established by mid-April, but in areas with a temperate climate, it makes sense, on the contrary, to transfer strawberry planting to the second half of May. Land for strawberries can not be prepared in advance, however, it is desirable to dig up the soil with the addition of humus and compost from autumn, and to treat the site with nitrogen-containing preparations in early spring.

Strawberries are planted in beds with a step of 30-40 cm, a similar scheme will allow the plant to form a strong ground part and give a good harvest. Keep in mind that the core of the bush during planting should be flush with the surface layer of the soil.

Renovated strawberry "San Andreas" prefers a soil with a neutral acidity, for example, black soil. At the same time, if the land can not boast of special fertility, then do not despair - the situation can be corrected by periodic dressing. The size of the crop will depend on the regularity of such procedures and their quality.

During this period, the plant responds well to organic matter — for this purpose, mullein or bird droppings are dissolved in warm water, allowed to infuse, and each bush under the root is watered.The second feeding will be needed by the young plant in the middle of the growing season, as a rule, it falls on the stage of active flowering. At this stage, phosphoric and potassium-containing preparations will be effective, they are made at the rate of 15-20 g per square meter of planting. At the very end of the growing season, the third fertilization is carried out. At this time, the harvest has already been harvested and the plants begin to prepare for a long cold winter.

Processing should be carried out in late October - the first half of November. In nitrogen, the plant does not need it at that moment, but it still needs phosphorus and potassium - usually at this time superphosphate and potassium chloride are introduced at the rate of 20 g per 1 sq. Km. m. acreage. If the soil itself is barren, then it makes sense to add organic fertilizers for the winter. Chilled manure or humus has a rather high efficiency. For every 5 square meters. m. land contribute 10-15 g of organic matter. These standards are designed for an adult plant, young seedlings require half the nutrients.

For the formation and maturation of the fruit the plant requires regular watering. It is optimal if the irrigation is drip, since it is this method that allows you to maximally balance the necessary flow of water to the strawberry roots. If there is too much water, it will inevitably lead to the appearance of fungus, and if the earth lump begins to dry out often, then you will not have to rely on a good harvest. Watering should be carried out 2-3 times a week, preferably in the morning or in the eveningSince there is a high risk of burns on the leaf plate during the day, and excessive evaporation often leads to the greenhouse effect, which degrades the quality of the fruit.

Strawberry “San Andreas” is reproduced in two main ways - mustache and dividing the bush. When breeding a mustache, you should select the strongest and healthiest bushes, take the antennae and prikopat near the plant. Once they get as strong as possible, give the roots and grow a little, they need to be separated from the main plant and moved to a permanent place. The division of the bush is also a fairly common method.

For such manipulations, adults, the largest plants, whose age is not less than two years, are selected. Shrubs neatly divided into two or three parts, each planted in open ground. It is best to do this in early spring or late autumn.

After each watering, the ground is covered with a dense, cracked crust - therefore, the next day after watering, the area between the rows should be pierced and the landing should be mulched. As already mentioned, in the case of extreme heat, when the thermometer rises above the 30 degree mark, a little shading should be created for the seedlings. And if garden strawberries are grown in areas with cold winters, in the autumn it is better to cover the beds with agrofibre, roofing felt or plastic wrap.

The variety "San Andreas" is very resistant to most fungal infections, especially to gray rot and anthracnose. But there is almost no immunity to powdery mildew. If a plant encounters this disease, its leaves curl and begin to grow brown. All infected shrubs must be uprooted and burned, and all other plants should be sprayed with a solution of colloidal sulfur or potassium permanganate for prophylaxis. Sometimes on the leaves appears violent spotting, then they become red, and then quickly fall off. To save strawberries from such a misfortune, it can be treated with copper-containing compounds, such as copper oxychloride.

Of the garden pests "San Andreas" most often encounters with strawberry mite, which feeds on the vital sap of plants.Signs of damage are yellowing and twisting of the leaf plates. If you do not carry out antiparasitic treatment, the plant stops growing and developing. To protect the plant should be sprinkled with karbofos, however, this can be done only after harvest. Another pest of culture is aphid, however, to get rid of it is quite simple - you should spray all the green parts (including the back side) with a solution of ordinary laundry soap with ashes.

For the prevention of the appearance of infections and pests, it is possible to periodically conduct foliar treatment with the following composition:

• wood shredded ash - 2 tbsp. l .;
• refried vegetable oil - 3 tbsp. l .;
• vinegar - 2 tbsp. l .;
• liquid green soap - 2 glasses;
• water - 10 liters.

All components are thoroughly mixed and processed plants.

Reviews of strawberries "San Andreas" can not be called unambiguous. The fecundity of the crop is noted, the fruit has an exceptionally high marketability, good keeping quality, and resistance to transportation. Many people like the size of the berries. However, the taste characteristics suit not all. In addition, strawberries bear fruit "waves" several times during the growing season, while the first harvest is often tasteless and sour, but closer to the autumn you can get fragrant and very sweet fruits. It is at the end of the growing season that the plant begins to show its true taste.

It is noteworthy that such strawberries turn red before they ripen, therefore Before eating should wait for the final technical ripeness. In regions with a temperate climate, the variety does not meet expectations in terms of fecundity - there, the size of the crop depends largely on climatic conditions and weather conditions. The undoubted advantage of culture is simple agricultural technology and resistance to most fungal diseases. This is an interesting and unusual variety, however, it is better to cultivate it in the southern regions, where conditions are most favorable for the full growth and development of strawberries.

The process of growing strawberries "San Andreas" and features of the variety, see the video below.