How to grow strawberry seedlings from seeds?

Planting strawberry seeds for seedlings is gaining more and more popularity every year. This method allows you to grow a new, rare variety of this amazing berry. But how to get really high-quality products at home? Despite the apparent simplicity, there are many important nuances. You need to know when and how to sow strawberries, how many times to water them, how to care and after what period of time they need to be planted in open ground.

Selection of seeds for planting

Of course, the easiest way is to buy ready-made strawberry seeds, but you can also collect them yourself from the fruits you like. This is done as follows.

1. Any beautiful ripe fruit should be taken. Not a hybrid variety, because they reproduce only with a mustache.
2. Put it to ripen.
3. Then remove the top layer from the slightly overripe berries. The middle can be eaten or discarded.
4. Carefully separate the seeds from the pulp under water. Then lay them on a napkin or a piece of cloth, dry.
5. Well-dried seeds, if stored properly, can be used for several years (3-4 years).

Germination

To get the harvest this year, strawberry cultivation must start in February. Preparing seeds for planting is quite simple. First, they are soaked for 2-3 days. Moreover, the water changes every day. The optimum temperature for germination is from 15 to 18 degrees Celsius. Then stratification is carried out with already swollen seeds (imitation of natural winter conditions). It helps to speed up the germination of seeds, the seedlings sprout together, grow strong and healthy. So what needs to be done?

1. After soaking, the planting material is laid out on wet tampons, a plastic bag is put on top and placed in the refrigerator on a shelf. The cooling period is 3 days.
2. After that, the seeds are placed in a warm enough place. The air temperature should be at least 15 degrees Celsius.
3. Lighting is important, with a lack of light, the embryo will not germinate. Therefore, if the room is dark, additional lighting devices are simply necessary.
4. It is also important to maintain moisture. When the seeds are dry, water is sprayed on top of them from a spray bottle. And to prevent the appearance of fungal diseases, the container is periodically ventilated.
5. After about 2-4 weeks, the first shoots appear, which are then planted in a prepared container.

There is also an easier germination option. Already planted seeds are placed in the refrigerator (it will take quite a lot of space) for 3 days, after which they are grown as usual.

Seedling soil

It is recommended to grow strawberry seedlings in special peat tablets, however, if desired, the soil can be prepared independently. To do this, at home, turf (half) is mixed and - one fourth each - sand and peat. Or you can mix sand, peat and vermicompost (ratio 1: 3: 1). The main thing is that the mixture is airy and crumbly. Further the soil must be disinfected, because young shoots of strawberries are very sensitive to various kinds of diseases and pests. The easiest way is to keep the soil over steam (30 minutes) or bake it in the oven at 150 degrees. It is important to take into account that after such procedures, it will take some time to wait for the microflora of the earth to recover (usually 3-4 weeks).

Seedling care before planting in open ground

For plants to grow and develop well, the container for sowing strawberries must have certain characteristics. Growing seedlings is best done in a container with the ability to create a microclimate using a film or lid. It is also desirable to have holes at the bottom to drain excess moisture.

Now you can start planting and caring for seedlings.

1. Sow strawberries in pre-moistened soil. It is very convenient to do this with tweezers, a sharp stick or other object with a sharp end. The seeds are placed on the surface of the soil at a distance of about 2 cm from each other. You can use snow to push them to the ground. For this, the ground is covered with snow 1 cm thick. When it melts, it gently draws the seeds into the soil.
2. Before sprouts appear, only spray irrigation is used. Its need is determined by condensation on the film or lid. A lot of droplets means you need to open and ventilate. If there are no droplets, watering is necessary. They also monitor the air temperature, it is maintained within 15-18 degrees.
3. After the emergence of friendly shoots, the care of the seedlings changes somewhat. Plants have an increased need for lighting. Watering is now carried out at the root. If condensation appears on the lid or walls, it is removed with a cloth (it becomes harmful for delicate sprouts). As the seedlings grow, they are opened more and more often and for a longer period of time, adapting to the environment.
4. When the seedlings have two real leaves, it will be necessary to pick. The strawberries are carefully dug in and the longest roots are pinched. Further cultivation continues under indirect diffused light, and the seedlings are planted at a distance of 8 centimeters from each other.

Advice

If some seedlings have sprouted high, so that a thin root became visible, they must be additionally sprinkled with earth. Otherwise, the stem with a leaf may collapse from the severity and the plant will simply die.

Planting strawberries

In 1.5-2 months after the emergence of seedlings, the seedlings begin to prepare for planting in the open air. First, it is briefly exposed on the street in the shade, having previously opened the protective surface. The duration of hardening is gradually increased. If the cultivation was carried out correctly, then in April the seedlings are left in the fresh air at night (at a temperature of 7-10 degrees Celsius).

But in open ground, strawberries are planted only when the weather becomes consistently warm. This is usually mid to late May, but there are exceptions. The main thing is to consider the following properties of strawberries.

1. The root system of seedlings develops at temperatures up to +18 degrees.
2. Above +18 and up to +25 degrees, leaves grow.
3. When the temperature exceeds +25, the root system stops developing.
4. Temperatures below +15 cause the outflow of nutrients to the roots, and below +5 causes the strawberries to go to rest.

As soon as favorable weather conditions come, the soil for the plantings is dug up and humus is added and potash fertilizers... It is necessary to transplant seedlings carefully, it is important not to damage the lump of earth near the roots. For this, seedlings are watered abundantly 1-2 days before planting. In the case when the cultivation was carried out in peat tablets, the plant is planted with them. The optimal distance between seedlings is 30-40 centimeters.

Advice

After planting, strawberries should be watered abundantly.

Pros and cons of propagating strawberry seeds

Growing strawberries from seeds has both advantages and disadvantages. For example, this method allows you to protect plants from the spread of viruses. In addition, nematodes and mites are not transmitted by seeds. They are easy to transport, take up little space and are relatively inexpensive. The disadvantages of growing seedlings include a rather laborious process.There is also a possibility that there will be few berries in the first year, they will appear in abundance only in the second. However, for those who have long dreamed of growing a rare variety of strawberries at home, such disadvantages will seem insignificant.

Proper cultivation and care of seedlings allows you to get really tasty strawberries. The main thing is to remember that the plant is very fond of sunbathing and humidity. At first, you even have to create a greenhouse effect, but when the strawberry seedlings get stronger, the rules of care will become less stringent. After planting strawberries in open ground, you only need to weed them in a timely manner, water them well and protect them from pests.

By the way, experienced gardeners have noted that seedlings grown at home from seeds are highly germinating. Therefore, if you have the necessary diligence and patience, the strawberry harvest will definitely turn out to be rich and tasty. In addition, if you wish, you can discover a new variety of this amazing berry at least every year, choosing the best in terms of taste and decorativeness.