How to grow strawberry seedlings from seeds?
Strawberries are a favorite berry of many. How to grow strawberry seedlings so that you can enjoy delicious and aromatic berries at the beginning of summer? You can grow it with seeds. This method and method is now very popular among gardeners. Having sown the seed at home in winter, the first berries already appear at the beginning of summer, which do not disappear from the bushes until the very cold weather.
Strawberry is a berry that fascinates with its taste and extraordinary aroma, even strawberry leaves have a healing effect. This berry is gaining popularity all over the world. Breeders of many countries have bred different varieties of strawberries, so strawberries are becoming popular among gardeners. You can grow your favorite plant using seeds. After all, not always purchased seedlings of garden strawberries can give the desired result. Therefore, we will grow strawberry seedlings from seeds in order to get a healthy plant and a good harvest.
Growing strawberry seedlings from seeds is very easy and fun. So let's figure out what can be sown?
- Remnant strawberries are very popular. Seeds are affordable. It differs from ordinary and garden strawberries in that this species blooms and bears fruit continuously. On a small bush of the plant, flowers, green berries and red fruits can be observed. Strawberries are used in flower beds, landscape design and just like a home balcony plant. There is also a very large selection of varieties that bear fruit until late autumn.
- Garden strawberries or pineapple strawberries are also popular, but quite expensive.
- And of course you can use your own seeds, which are collected from the best varieties of strawberries, but be careful, you do not need to collect from hybrids.
Growing strawberry seedlings can be roughly divided into three stages:
- Sowing seeds.
- Timely and proper care of seedlings.
- Planting seedlings in the ground.
When and how to sow strawberries for seedlings?
From the beginning, select the seeds from which you want to get seedlings. It is better, of course, to sow strawberries for seedlings of different varieties. Seedlings of remontant strawberries and seedlings of garden strawberries do not differ in sowing, care. Therefore, let's start with the first stage of growing strawberry seedlings.
You can start sowing in early February or March, in order to get the fruits as early as possible. Of course, you can sow in May, June, but you need to be more careful and with great attention to the seedlings. You will not have time to plant late seedlings in the ground, that is, to a permanent place, so she will have to spend the winter in boxes on the windowsill.
Therefore, we will start growing seedlings as early as possible. The seeds of garden and remontant strawberries are small, so you will need light and loose soil, which should contain sand, humus, peat... You can prepare the mixture yourself or purchase ready-made soil mixes. A mixture such as for Begonia, For Violets, and a universal mixture is suitable. Before planting the seed the earth needs to be steamed or treat with a solution of potassium permanganate.
You will also need a shallow container (about 5 centimeters) with drainage holes. You can use single pots as well as large boxes. If you plant in separate pots, then in the future you free yourself from diving, because the seedlings are very delicate and fragile.
Planting strawberry seeds for seedlings is a very delicate process.Prepare the soil a few days before sowing, it should be moist and at room temperature. If you are going to sow different varieties of strawberries, be sure to sign or leave a recognition flag with the inscription of the variety.
Plant one seed in the ground at a distance of about a couple of centimeters from each other. It is not necessary to cover the seeds with soil from above, it will be enough to sprinkle water on the ground from a spray bottle so that the seeds sink tightly into the ground. Be sure to cover the seedlings with foil and put them in a warm place, but not near the battery. Overheat the soil, and nothing will work.
It is imperative to open the film every day in order to ventilate or moisten the soil. The first shoots will appear in about a few weeks.
Second phase... Seedlings will appear small, fragile, grow rather slowly. Therefore, you need to monitor watering. It is impossible to overmoisten the soil, as such a disease as "black leg" may appear. Move the seedlings to a bright, warm place; you do not need to remove the film. Ventilate the ground twice a day. As soon as the first leaves appear on the sprouts, increase the number of airings, thereby accustom the young sprouts to room conditions.
It is impossible to sharply remove the film, since the plant may die from temperature and humidity changes. If the plant has grown a little stronger, it's time to start picking, this applies to the seedlings that were sown in a common box.
Watering should be moderate. In separate small pots, strawberry seedlings are kept until a rosette of leaves up to 7 cm in diameter is formed. If the size is larger, then it is worth transplanting the seedlings into a pot with a larger diameter.
It is not worth feeding young and only sprouted seedlings, since the plant takes all the nutrients from the soil. That's when the real five leaves appear, you can gradually accustom the plant to daily watering with fertilizers.
Stage three - preparation and planting of strawberry seedlings in open ground. This stage is very important, since it is imperative to prepare the seedlings, that is, to harden the young plant. Start accustoming the plant to sunlight, wind, rain, take seedlings to the balcony, veranda. Such hardening must be done gradually and carefully so as not to destroy the work that has been done. Increase the time spent in the fresh air each time and by the end of May, you can leave small bushes of strawberries outside overnight. You can plant bushes in the ground only after they get stronger. Choose a sunny, fertile place in your summer cottage and you can plant it.
The distance between the bushes should be about 30 centimeters, between the rows about 50 centimeters. Proper care and watering will bear the first fruits by mid-July.
Frigo technology
This is a new technology that is not cheap. The essence of the method is as follows.
A strawberry bush (strawberry) is dug up in the fall, before the first frost occurs. It is during this period that the plant is at rest. The leaves are trimmed so that the stem remains about 3 centimeters. Of course, such seedlings look a little strange, but the most important thing here is the root system. Seedlings must be treated with special solutions, thereby preparing them for sealed storage in a refrigerator. A certain temperature is constantly maintained there, which allows the seedlings to be stored for a long time before selling or planting.
Advantages of frigo technology:
- This type of strawberry should not overwinter in the beds, thereby excluding the influence of unfavorable factors.
- The harvest is good.
- Frigo seedlings can be planted at different times in order to create a constant fruiting cycle.
- The seedlings can be transported over long distances due to their compact size.
- Rapid survival rate due to good root system.
- After rooting, frigo seedlings are not affected by dry and hot weather, thanks to the good root system.
There are, of course, disadvantages to such seedlings. These include:
- The difficulty of preserving at home, since the seedlings need a temperature from 0 to + 1C with an air humidity of at least 90%. If the temperature is at least half a degree higher, then the growth process will start.
- Also, the difficulty lies in accurately determining the timing of digging the plant.
But if you are a real gardener, then you don't care about any difficulties.