Content
Experienced summer residents and gardeners are well aware that the seductive taste and aroma of strawberries or garden strawberries often hides the hard work of growing and caring for them. Therefore, it is not surprising that among the majority of strawberry lovers, the desire to find and plant varieties with the largest berries in their garden is increasing. Not only do these berries cause envy and admiration among all friends and neighbors, but also easily disperse in any market. The yields of these varieties are generally admirable as well, and the effort involved in caring for strawberries will not be wasted.
Bogota strawberries are considered to be one of the largest-fruited in the kingdom of garden strawberries. But she has many other advantages, thanks to which she, even after the end of the advertising boom, continues to enjoy considerable popularity among gardeners.
Description of the variety
There is an opinion that the Bogota strawberry variety comes from Holland. There is no reliable data on this, but it is known for certain that it existed back in the late 90s of the last century, when it was submitted for registration to the State Register of Russia by the North Caucasian Research Institute of Mountain and Piedmont Gardening, located in Kabardino-Balkaria.
Strawberries Bogota were included in the State Register only in 2002, and the North Caucasian Scientific Center for Horticulture, Viticulture, Winemaking, located in Krasnodar, was the originator of the variety.
The variety is officially recommended for cultivation only in two regions of Russia: in the North Caucasus and the Far East. It is in these areas that he is able to show the best that he is capable of. Nevertheless, Bogota strawberries are willingly grown in other regions, where they also do well, but the yield and size of berries can vary greatly depending on the climatic conditions of cultivation and the composition of the soil of a particular region.
Strawberry bushes of the Bogota variety are distinguished by strong growth force and good foliage, although at the same time they look quite compact. They reach a height of 20-30 cm, and do not spread much on the surface of the earth. Leaves are leathery, dense, large, wide, light green in color, have strong wrinkles and are folded at an angle along the central vein. They keep on thick, medium pubescent cuttings with wide, green stipules.
Both flowers and berries of this strawberry variety are large in size. White and bisexual flowers, followed by berries, are formed at the level of leaf growth. The inflorescences are multi-flowered, so that more than a dozen berries can form on one peduncle. Large and thick peduncles quite successfully cope with their task and hold a significant harvest of large berries on the weight.
The mustache of the Bogota strawberry variety is formed a lot and they are also powerful and thick. On the one hand, this, of course, is good, since it allows you to multiply the variety without problems or choose the healthiest specimens for replacement. But, on the other hand, the work of caring for strawberries is added at times.
In the south, it ripens, as a rule, in July, and in more northern regions it can begin to bear fruit closer to August. These ripening times can be very convenient for those who wish to have an uninterrupted conveyor of strawberries on their site throughout the summer.Since it was during this period that many traditional strawberry varieties had already departed, and remontant ones may not yet have time to gain sufficient sweetness.
Strawberries of the Bogota variety cannot be called drought-resistant at all - they require mandatory irrigation and only in such conditions can they show good yields. Although you cannot call it a record, 600-800 g of berries can be harvested from one bush. In industrial terms, the average yield of this variety is 127 c / ha. In this sense, it is inferior to the most productive varieties, like Elizabeth 2. But on the other hand, it surpasses many of them in terms of taste.
Bogota strawberries are also quite demanding on soils and grows best on black soil - it is not for nothing that they are zoned for the conditions of the North Caucasus. On soils of other varieties, the size of the berries may not change for the better. In addition, this variety cannot be called frost-resistant - in the middle lane, it can freeze out without shelter.
A description of the Bogota strawberry variety would be incomplete without mentioning its disease and pest resistance. Here, the opinions and reviews of gardeners sometimes differ. The originators claim that it has complex resistance to many diseases and successfully resists most harmful insects. To some extent, this is true, because its leaves rarely suffer from all kinds of spotting, and the berries are not subject to rotting, except when planting thickened or in very wet and rainy seasons.
Characteristics of berries
And yet, the berries of Bogota, which are the main value of any sort of strawberry, can leave few people indifferent.
At one time, in numerous commercials about this strawberry variety, it was stated that the most gigantic berry ripens in it, the mass of which easily reaches 160 cm. And the dimensions in a circle of about 10-12 cm do not even allow it to fit into a glass.
Perhaps, in the ideal conditions of the south of Russia on luxurious black soil and subject to high agricultural technology of this size, Bogota strawberries can be achieved. But for most summer residents and gardeners, the size of the berries will be much more modest. The originators state that the average weight of one berry is 12.9 grams. There is no particular contradiction here, since the average weight is taken from the total mass of berries for the entire harvest period. And only the very first berries are especially large, and even then in the most favorable conditions. In general, the fruits are really large, some of them consist, as it were, of several berries grown together, unfolded at an angle. Hence, there is a wide variety of forms found - from truncated-conical to rounded-comb-shaped.
The appearance of Bogota strawberries is very presentable - they are bright red, dense, shiny with many slightly depressed seeds of a yellowish tint.
The pulp is also red, has an average density. Berries do not wrinkle during storage, do not flow, therefore they are characterized by good transportability.
But the most important thing is still taste. Many are skeptical about large strawberries, believing that they cannot be especially tasty. But strawberry Bogota easily refutes such misconceptions. The berries are really sweet, with a slight harmonious sourness, and have a characteristic strawberry aroma. Professional tasters give Bogota strawberries one of the maximum ratings - 4.8 points on a five-point scale.
Berries contain 8.6% sugars, 90 mg /% vitamin C and 0.72% acid.
The purpose of the Bogota strawberry variety is dessert - that is, the fruits are good, first of all, for fresh consumption. But this does not mean at all that it cannot be wiped with sugar, frozen and used in a variety of sweet culinary dishes.Just because of the large size of the berry, it can be difficult to use it for cooking jam and for other blanks in its entirety.
Advantages and disadvantages
Among the advantages of the Bogota strawberry variety are the following:
- Large size of berries and good yield;
- Excellent taste characteristics of berries;
- Quite good resistance to many diseases and, above all, to rot and spot;
- It reproduces easily due to its high assimilation ability.
This variety also has some disadvantages:
- Demanding growing conditions and care;
- Reduced frost resistance;
- Low drought resistance.
Gardeners reviews
Gardeners love the Bogota strawberry variety and do not hesitate to praise its berries. Moreover, the variety has been known for quite some time and during this time has acquired a fairly good and reliable reputation.
Conclusion
Strawberries Bogota may require more attention and care from you than other varieties. But on the other hand, he will fully thank him with large and very tasty berries in the season, when there are practically no strawberries in the markets.
