Each summer, bright aromatic berry, popularly known as meadow strawberries, ripens in the fields and meadows. By planting this wild perennial in their area, gardeners collect good harvests of tasty and healthy fruits.
Plant description
Meadow (field) strawberry (Fragaria viridis) is a close relative of forest and garden strawberries. They not only belong to the same genus, but are also very similar in appearance and taste.
The appearance of the bushes
The meadow strawberry has several characteristic features that make it easy to distinguish it from close relatives.
Brief description of the plant:
- Bush. Low, moderately spreading - no more than 20 cm. Shoots - creeping, whiskers - thick and short, stem - thin.
- Leaves. Trifoliate, oval, serrated along the edge. Color - emerald green. Pubescence on the underside.
- Inflorescences. They consist of several flowers with white, slightly pointed petals. Diameter - up to 2 cm.
Berries
A feature of meadow strawberries is the spherical shape of the berries. Weight - 1-3 g. Poorly separated from the cups. At the stage of technical ripeness, the color of the berries is pinkish-red, interspersed - white-green.
When fully ripened, the berries are bright red, almost cherry, with dense, but juicy and aromatic pulp. The berries of meadow strawberry have a pleasant sweet taste. When they keep up, strawberry spirit spreads over the entire meadow or meadow.
The taste of meadow strawberries is noticeably influenced by the weather. If it rains, the berries are watery, in extreme heat - dry.
Composition and properties
The sugar content in meadow strawberries varies from 4.5 to 15%. Nutritional value of 100 g of berries:
- calorie content - 36 kcal;
- proteins - 0.8 g;
- fat - 0.4 g;
- carbohydrates - 6.3 g.
In the composition of meadow strawberries, there are many all kinds of acids (folic, citric, malic, etc.), copper, manganese, pectin and tannins, ascorbic acid.
The plant has beneficial properties:
- Fresh berries. They increase appetite and improve digestion. Useful for anemia.
- Dried berries. They have a diaphoretic effect.
- Berry juice. It is indicated for scurvy and vitamin deficiency.
- Decoctions and infusions of berries / leaves. Useful for diseases of the gastrointestinal tract, colds, kidney disease.
- Decoction of leaves... Heals wounds and regenerates tissue.
- Decoction of flowers. Helps with diseases of the heart and blood vessels.
Meadow strawberries are an allergen, therefore, it is recommended in combination with dairy products that reduce the allergic effect.
Differences from wild strawberries
Both berries - wild strawberry and meadow strawberry - grow naturally. They are often confused, but these wild crops have many differences.
Comparison of meadow and forest strawberries:
Parameters and characteristics | Forest | Lugovaya |
The form | Elongated | Spherical |
Sepals | Raised up | Pressed tightly to the berry |
Leaves | Uneven | Triple, with relief, equal in length |
Yield | Higher because the flowers are bisexual | Low, as ovaries are formed only on female flowers |
Ripening time | In June | In July and early August |
Taste | More special strawberry flavor | Intense strawberry flavor similar to garden strawberries |
Prevalence
A perennial plant grows wild almost throughout the European part of Russia. It can be found in the meadows of the Crimea, Siberia, in Asia and Western Europe.
Meadow strawberries are found in open spaces - in the steppe, in meadows, in forest belts, in juniper thickets, on the eels. The plant prefers to grow in small shade from tall grass.
How to plant meadow strawberries?
Meadow strawberries cannot replace a garden analogue grown for sale or for the sake of harvesting. It is planted, rather, as a treat, a source of taste pleasure and nutrients. Agricultural technology of wild berries is almost no different from the cultivation of garden crops.
How to choose seeds?
The most convenient and easiest option is to buy seeds from a store. Choose a product from a reliable supplier and with an expiration date. If you are unable to find meadow strawberry seeds, prepare them yourself. To do this, you have to go to the field for berries.
How to collect seeds:
- Choose the most ripe berries from the best bushes.
- At home, with a sharp knife, peel a thin layer of fruit along with the seeds.
- Spread the seeds on a saucer lined with 3-4 layers of gauze.
Under the sun's rays, strawberry pulp dries quickly, without having time to rot. Seeds are collected from gauze, folded in a paper bag to sow on seedlings in spring.
Site selection and preparation
Meadow strawberry is an unpretentious plant, so there will be no problems with choosing a place for it. It grows well both in the sun and in shading. Best of all, the berry bears fruit after:
- legumes;
- cabbage;
- lettuce;
- Luke;
- garlic;
- beets;
- carrots.
Site preparation:
- Dig up the soil in the fall. Add organic fertilizer (compost or humus) 1 bucket per 1 sq. Km. m. Add a glass of wood ash. If it was not possible to prepare the soil in the fall, do it in the spring, 2 weeks before planting.
- While digging, remove weeds, stones and other debris from the soil.
- If the site is located in a lowland, organize small beds approximately 10 cm high.
Landing dates
The timing of sowing seeds for seedlings depends on the climate in the region, and during planting in the ground, you also have to take into account the current weather, air and ground temperature.
Approximate sowing dates for seedlings:
- middle lane - end of January-mid-February;
- south of Russia - from January to March;
- Ural and Siberia - from late February to late March.
Rules and Schemes
Meadow strawberries are usually planted in rows - in one or two lines. The planting pattern is the same as for garden strawberries, but given the small size of the bushes, you can "squeeze" the planting a little.
Classic strawberry planting scheme:
- the distance between the bushes - 15 cm;
- between rows - 60 cm;
- between the lines (with a two-line planting) - 30 cm.
How to care for meadow strawberries?
In nature, meadow strawberries grow without human help. But by planting it in the beds, gardeners are counting on a good harvest, and in order to get it, some care is needed.
Watering
Meadow strawberries are not as demanding on watering as garden counterparts. Water it with the weather. If it rains, artificial humidification is not required, and in the heat, the frequency of watering is increased - from once a week to 2-3 times.
The frequency and rate of watering also depends on the age of the plants. After transplanting, seedlings are watered often and little by little; as the growth rate is increased, the water rate is increased to 20-30 liters per 1 sq. m
Top dressing
Top dressing of meadow strawberries is carried out three times - at the flowering stage, during the ripening of berries and after harvesting. Complex fertilizers are used to feed the berries, for example, Kemiru-Lux or Ideal.
Top dressing is carried out along with watering to prevent damage to the roots. After each moistening - when the soil dries slightly, it is loosened, along the way weeds are removed. To prevent weed growth and rapid evaporation of moisture, the beds are mulched with straw.
How and when to transplant a plant?
Finished seedlings are planted in the ground heated to + 14 ... + 16 ° С. The approximate timing of transplanting strawberry seedlings into the ground for the middle lane is the second half of April-May. In the south and north, they make an amendment for a couple of weeks in the appropriate direction.
Pruning
To increase the yield of wild strawberries, gardeners cut off a growing mustache so that the plant does not waste energy on the formation of rosettes.
After the completion of fruiting, the bushes are cut off, stepping back 10 cm from the soil. This event allows you to remove old, drying leaves, and with them insects, spores of fungi and other parasites that may be on them.
Pest and Disease Control
Wild strawberries in nature do without spraying. Once on a site among horticultural crops, this plant runs the risk of contracting various fungal, viral and bacterial diseases.
To prevent strawberry diseases, it is sprayed with Phytosporin or Fitoverm before flowering. These drugs protect the buttocks from rot, powdery mildew, fusarium wilt and many other diseases.
To protect strawberry beds from slugs that eat berries and young leaves, sprinkle the soil with wood ash or crushed superphosphate.
To protect against pests, strawberries are treated with insecticides - "Karbofos", "Aktellikom", etc. Such means save the plant and its fruits from aphids, leafworms, ticks and other insects.
Reproduction of meadow strawberries
Meadow strawberry is a wild plant and successfully reproduces without human help thanks to the mustache and rooted rosettes. Gardeners use any method convenient for them for reproduction:
- Mustache. Outlets are separated from the uterine bushes and planted on prepared beds.
- Seeds. Seedlings are grown from them, which are planted in open ground in spring.
- By division. The mother bushes are dug up and divided into several horns.
Harvesting and storage
In the middle lane, the first berries of meadow strawberries ripen in the middle of summer. They have a relatively dense flesh structure, but still require careful collection.
The berries are picked together with the green sepals. They are put in wide plastic bowls, in the bottom of which holes are made - for ventilation and to prevent juice from flowing out. The best container for collecting strawberries is traditional wicker baskets.
Storage methods:
- in a refrigerator at a temperature of 0 ... + 2 ° С - the berries remain fresh for about a week;
- freezing - berries are washed and placed in plastic containers;
- drying - in special dryers at a temperature of +135 ° C.
Applications
Meadow strawberries are used in a similar way to the garden variety - they make jam, compotes, jams, grind with sugar. Harvested berries are used for baking, dry fruits are added to tea and cereals.
When cooking wild strawberry jam, some housewives do not break off the cups from the berries - for a more natural product.
The plant is widely used in folk medicine. Decoctions are prepared from dried berries and leaves that increase hemoglobin, lower blood pressure, improve bowel function, and normalize sugar levels.
Another area of application of wild berries is cosmetology. Strawberry face masks are made from it, which refresh the skin and eliminate pigmentation.
Reviews
Maryana, Yuryev-Polsky. At the cottage, we grow several beds of meadow strawberries. It is quite large, I can easily collect a three-liter jar. The berry is not stored for a long time, so I rub it with sugar. Compared with ordinary strawberries, these berries have a unique taste and aroma, while much juicier and larger than wild strawberries.
Nikolay, Tula. Previously, this berry had to travel several kilometers, but now it grows in our garden. Unpretentious, very responsive to care. Less - it is much longer to collect than strawberries, as the berries are small.
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Meadow strawberries will not give you big yields, do not count on them for homemade preparations. But to enjoy these summer berries, which have a special taste and aroma, it will work out.
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Russia. City Novosibirsk
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