When does the strawberry season begin and end?
Strawberry is one of the most beloved berries in our country, whose place in the mistress’s conservation arsenal and in the country is beyond doubt.It is necessary to know exactly when strawberries ripen, because it helps summer residents to feed and feed the plant properly, and the hostesses, armed with relevant knowledge, can correctly choose the moment when the berry is relatively inexpensive.
Seasonality
Like any other crops, strawberries have different varieties, which differ not only in taste, size and color of fruits, but also in terms of fruiting. Gardeners in our country call the most unexpected dates of the collection of this delicious berries, starting from the end of May and ending in late autumn. However, the extreme values require special varieties and growing conditions, and almost the entire harvest in most regions falls on June - it is then that it is worth buying berries for canning and fresh use.
If we talk about strawberries ripening even in the fall, we usually mean special remontant varieties - those that are capable of bringing in crops several times a year. For summer residents this is a real find, because with a relatively small bed of strawberries you can collect quite a lot, even when it is almost impossible to find it on the market.
However, it is not for nothing that such products do not usually go on sale - the fact is that because of repeated ripening during the year, the plant is very depleted, and therefore the berries differ for the worse in size and taste.
Consequently, the strawberry season can last a good six months, but usually it is only interesting to those who grow strawberries for themselves - such varieties are not offered for sale.
Dependence on weather conditions
When strawberries ripen, strongly depends on the specific region. Contrary to popular belief, strawberry is not a southern plant - in fact, it is a domesticated strawberry, which has traditionally grown in many Russian forests. However, this berry also requires warmth in order to grow and fill with juice; therefore, it is abundantly clear that in the south the berry grows more actively and ripens earlier - here it is already possible to feast on early varieties in May. When moving to the north, where the climate is cooler, the strawberry season shifts greatly in time, and can begin even in mid-June.
However, the climate of the region allows only approximate assumptions about when the berries can be ripened., but it is necessary to re-do the discounts for the weather in each year, especially since they affect not only the beginning of the season, but also its duration in general. Since strawberries, as mentioned above, do not belong to tropical fruits, the weather is too hot to her. On the contrary, during flowering, the plant is in dire need of periodic natural watering, since the amount of the ovary directly depends on this, without which the harvest is impossible in principle.
When the weather is too hot and there is a minimum of rains, flowering strawberries just crumble, not giving an ovary, which means there will not be a large harvest, although the distortion in the opposite direction with endless rains and the absence of the sun will not be good either. A relatively small number of potential berries allows the plant to put all its energy into ripening the entire crop at once, so it sows in unison and very quickly, and then departs as rapidly.
In conditions of a large garden plot or a real strawberry plantation, a huge variety of varieties can be planted, so that even without the use of remontant varieties, the season can last for about five weeks.
If, however, there is only one variety available, and even the weather corresponded to the worst fears, you should not be surprised if the berry harvest season turns out to be very short-term and runs just in two weeks.
Terms for some Russian regions
If we talk about individual regions of our country, then the most promising for growing strawberries is still south.The berry may have to be protected from excessive sun, however, at least it will not freeze here. The same Krasnodar Territory is distinguished not only by its favorable climate, but also by very fertile soil. All these features allow harvesting in the second half of May, although it is only about early varieties. All other types of berries are pulled up during June, and good local conditions make it possible to grow strawberries of any kind with almost no restrictions.
Although the conditions in the Moscow Region are completely incomparable with those available to the south of Russia, still strawberries are actively grown here, only the production volumes are somewhat smaller, and the season is significantly shifted in time. Theoretically, you can enjoy the new harvest in early June, but usually it is only the first swallows grown in greenhouse conditions and in strict compliance with all rules.
As for the mass receipt of fruits on the market, it is not possible before the middle of the month. If we take into account a wide variety of varieties, then the strawberry season, not counting remontant varieties, can last here until mid-July or even until the end of this month.
It should be noted that with a huge demand from a multi-million dollar city, large agricultural associations mainly deal with the production of berries, which have all the possibilities for maximally stretching the season.
It is quite hot on Lake Baikal in the summertime, but still this area can hardly be called southern - the heat here does not come so quickly. Because of this, the strawberry season usually starts late - its beginning is comparable in time to the beginning of the season in Moscow, that is, the first berries of the early varieties are harvested in mid-June.
Due to the severity of the local climate, the season for most varieties of strawberries is short. - even three weeks here are considered a good achievement, so you should hurry to buy a treat as soon as it appears on the shelves.
Most of Siberia is not yet densely populated, therefore there are much fewer large enterprises engaged in strawberry growing, but small summer residents and just people collecting strawberries in the forest constitute a significant market share.
In the Leningrad region, which is traditionally considered the north, the conditions for strawberries, as a rule, are no worse than in Siberia - there is just no heat that is so destructive for a potential ovary. In general, strawberries are grown mainly in greenhouse conditions, because its season is quite extensive and includes June and July.
It is important to note that in most of the retail outlets of St. Petersburg, not the local berry is sold, but imported - it is delivered from the southern regions of Russia or warmer countries, for example, Belarus or Armenia. This statement is true even when the strawberry picking season lasts, because local stocks are not always enough.
Modern trade makes it possible to abandon the concept of “strawberry season” in principle, because in the distant southern countries this berry is grown almost year-round, and from there it is brought to us. In large supermarket chains you can meet fresh berry in early spring and late autumn - it is brought from Israel and Chile.
On the duration of the strawberry season and features of the choice of varieties, see below.