How to grow strawberries from seeds at home

Growing strawberries at home is a laborious process. But only by planting seedlings on their own, any summer resident can be sure of their quality and that the desired plant variety will grow. To obtain a large yield of fragrant berries, it is necessary to familiarize yourself with the rules for choosing soil for planting and planting material, with preparing them for planting, with the conditions of maintenance, care and transplanting seedlings to a permanent place.

Sowing dates

Sowing is necessary depending on the desired timing of the first harvest. If you plant strawberry seeds in February, then the bushes will bear fruit in the summer. When planting them in April, the bushes will only grow by the fall, but they will have time to get stronger and will delight with abundant fruiting next year.

In addition, the presence of additional illumination of the seedlings affects the time of planting the seeds of the plant. If the balcony is well-lit, then the sowing process can be started even in December. But in the absence of lamps, it is advisable to sow in March.

Seed selection

Strawberry kernels can be prepared by yourself or purchased at a gardening store. At home, with a large berry, you need to cut the pulp with seeds in strips and dry. Then put to be stored in paper bags.

When buying seed, you should carefully study the information on the package.

• A well-known and proven manufacturer will not sell a low-quality product.
• The variety must be suitable for the region.
• Must remain at least 1 year before the expiration date.
• The choice of a variety depends on the purpose of growing. If breeding for your own consumption is supposed, then it is better to prepare the seeds yourself. You can choose non-hybrid varieties: they have excellent taste properties. When growing strawberries for sale, you should pay attention to hybrid varieties. Their benefits include high yield and disease resistance.

It is interesting!

Some varieties have been developed that can bear fruit on the balcony all year round. However, they require proper care.

Soil preparation

The market for products for gardeners is quite wide: everyone can choose the substrate to their liking. Ready-made universal mixtures are sold that are suitable for the cultivation of any plants; you can purchase specialized soil suitable only for a certain culture.

Advice

Garden strawberries are capricious, so it is advisable to take special soil to grow seedlings from seeds.

Experienced gardeners, taking into account long-term observations, skillfully make the substrate themselves. It is important that it is light, crumbly and simple.

The most common formulations:

• coarse sand and vermicompost in equal parts, 3 parts of non-acidic peat;
• sand - 2 parts, 1 part each of peat and turf;
• sand - 3 parts, soil from the garden and humus - 1 part each.

It is recommended to add some wood ash and manure to the second composition for growing on the balcony.

In the soil mixture from the garden, there may be pest larvae. To disinfect the earth, you can use one of the following methods:

• warm up in the microwave for 5 minutes;
• steam in a water bath;
• place in the oven for 30 minutes at 150 ° C;
• process with a strong solution of potassium permanganate.

After the performed manipulations, the soil should be placed in a warm place for 15-10 days.

Selection of capacity

For growing seedlings on the balcony, containers can also be made independently or bought.

What can be used as a container for planting strawberry crops?

• Plastic cups, cardboard packaging for juices or glasses for sour cream - when choosing such a container, it is important to make small holes from the bottom so that the water from irrigation does not stagnate.
• Plastic boxes - a kind of mini-greenhouses are obtained. You can cut arcs from a plastic bottle, stretch plastic wrap over them.
• Peat tablets are very popular, convenient for growing strawberries from seeds, picking and planting in a permanent place.
• Food containers - it is advisable to select containers with a transparent top. So a container with such a lid will be used as a miniature greenhouse.

Before starting all the manipulations with planting strawberries, it is important to fill the container with a solution of potassium permanganate for 30 minutes. This will protect against the occurrence of fungal infections.

Preparing seeds for planting

Before sowing seeds on the balcony, they need to be prepared. For the prevention of diseases, the seed must be disinfected: soak in a weak (1%) solution of potassium permanganate. You can use solutions of boric acid, hydrogen peroxide, copper sulfate or aloe juice.

Strawberry seeds should be wrapped in a small piece of fabric, wrapped with thread and placed in a solution prepared in advance for 15 minutes. Then remove the bag and rinse it with clean water several times.

The next important stage in seed preparation is stratification. It can be done in two ways.

1. Sowing in the snow. Fill the container with a substrate, cover it with snow on top: a layer of 1-2 cm in a compacted form. Sow the seed on the snow, cover with foil and refrigerate. The snow will melt and the grains will sink into the ground.
2. Refrigerated stratification. Place the seeds on a damp cloth, wrap in a plastic bag, leave in the refrigerator for 7 days. At temperatures from +4 to + 5 ° C, the process of awakening and preparation for further growth starts.

Stratification is needed to ensure quality and simultaneous emergence.

Sowing in a container

To grow strawberries on the balcony, you need to fill a suitable container with soil, level, slightly compact, moisten, make small grooves. Using a sharpened match, tweezers or a toothpick, it is necessary to spread the plant seeds at a distance of 2 cm from each other. They should be pressed a little against the substrate, but not covered with them from above.

Advice

For convenience, when planting different varieties of planting material in one container, you can attach the name of the variety in front of each groove.

After transferring the seeds to the ground, it must be moistened with a spray bottle, covered with plastic wrap or closed with a container lid. Make sure to make small holes on the surface of the container. It is advisable to place the container in a warm and lighted place, but not on the windowsill itself - the grains will dry on it before they germinate.

Landing in peat tablets

Cultivating strawberries on the balcony in peat tablets is considered the most convenient way. It is worth considering the process of planting material in special washers, inside of which is placed compressed peat enriched with fertilizers.

1. Place washers in a container, pour well with water, let it swell.
2. Place 2-3 seeds in the groove in the tablet, do not sprinkle with soil.
3. Cover with foil, put in a lighted and warm place.

The first shoots will appear in 2-3 weeks.

Seedling care

When the first shoots appear, they should be ventilated daily and moistened with a spray bottle. After a month, the cover must be completely removed. After three leaves grow, the seedlings must be dived. The main thing for seedlings on the balcony is sufficient watering.

When the bushes of the plant consist of 6-7 leaves, the seedlings can be transplanted into open ground. The process must necessarily take place on a cloudy day.

Strawberries are a useful and valuable berry.Growing plant bushes on the balcony is troublesome, but you can be sure of the quality of the resulting seedlings.

When breeding strawberries, it is important to follow the recommendations described above, and gradually adhere to the rules for planting the crop.