Growing strawberry plants from seeds

Preparations for sowing

Most strawberries are propagated by cuttings. Sowing is more time-consuming. The seeds of the strawberry plant are the small yellow dots on the outer skin of the fruit. You can obtain these so-called nuts yourself without much effort.

1. Halve the strawberries. First, cut ripe strawberries in half.
2. Let the strawberries dry. Place the halves, cut side down, on several layers of newspaper. Let the fruit dry thoroughly at room temperature for a few days.
3. Scrape off the seeds. Some nuts fall off by themselves in the dry season. Carefully scrape off the rest with the blunt side of a knife. Store seeds that are not required in light-tight paper bags.

Sow your own strawberries

Best time to sow the strawberry is mid-February to early March. Then the plants get enough light to germinate and are big enough to plant out in early summer.

1. Choose a suitable vessel. You can find seed trays in stores for sowing. You can just as easily use discarded flat plastic containers. Make sure that the vessels have openings at the bottom. This allows excess water to run off and the young shoots do not get wet feet.
2. Fill in potting soil. Fill the vessels with potting soil. The plants germinate and thrive best in this nutrient-rich soil. Press down the potting soil a little and smooth the surface.
3. Mix seeds with sand. Mix the strawberry seeds with fine bird sand.
4. Scatter seeds. Spread this mixture evenly on the seed trays.
5. Cover seeds thinly. The strawberry is a light germinator. You should therefore only cover the seeds very thinly with finely sieved seed compost. Alternatively, you can cover the seeds with thin kitchen paper, unperfumed toilet paper or a sheet of glass.
6. Keep sowing moist. Always keep the seed slightly moist, but avoid waterlogging. So that the fine seeds are not washed into the ground, it is best to use a water atomizer to wet them.
7. Create the right climate. The seeds need at least 18 degrees and plenty of light to germinate. Depending on the variety, the first tender plants appear after two to three weeks.
8. Prick out the seedlings. After about six weeks it is time to prick out, that is, to separate seedlings that are too close together. The plants should be around two centimeters tall and show four to five leaves. Use a prick stick or spoon to carefully detach the tender seedlings from the seed tray and place them in small flower pots.

Soil and site conditions of the strawberry plant

You should leave the delicate plants in the house until the last frost has passed. In early summer it is time to plant out. Since strawberries have shallow roots, they thrive in flower boxes or pots on the balcony terrace.

Strawberries like loose, humus-rich and slightly acidic soil with a pH between 5 and 6.5. For planting in flower boxes or pots, buy potting soil with the relevant information. In the garden, you should dig up the bed two weeks before the planting time so that the soil is well ventilated. Work compost a bit of lime if the soil is very acidic. Finely chopped eggshells are also suitable.

The location is also crucial: strawberries need warmth and lots of light. It is therefore best to choose a sunny place. The plants also grow in partial shade, but then the harvest is not very abundant.

Care tips for strawberry plants

Your little strawberry plants will grow bigger quickly. The individual seedlings should therefore be planted around 30 centimeters apart. Many hobby gardeners prefer cultivation in rows - this makes it easier to care for the plants as well as the harvest.

Strawberries need a lot of water. Water regularly, even daily on hot summer days. However, avoid waterlogging. Make sure that the fruits do not get wet when watering - otherwise they will rot. To avoid fruit rot, you can put a layer of straw under the plants.

You should start fertilizing two to three weeks after planting out. For a bountiful harvest, give a fruit fertilizer with little nitrogen or a special strawberry fertilizer once a week.

So that you get particularly strong plants, cut off the first set of flowers. You should also remove the first offshoots that form after a few weeks. Otherwise, they deprive the mother plant of nutrients.

The first strawberries will soon appear. Snails and birds will appreciate this fruit Likewise. With snail barriers and cover nets, you keep losses within limits. The pests also include spider mites and strawberry mites, which you can control biologically with predatory mites. In very damp weather, gray mold infestation quickly occurs. Remove the infected parts immediately so that the infection does not spread any further.

Strawberries are perennial and have their highest yield in the second and third year. For overwintering, remove the cuttings and thin out the plant. Loosen the soil and fertilize again. In cold areas, cover the plants with a layer of straw or garden fleece to prevent frost damage.

If the yield starts to decrease by the fourth or fifth year, replace the strawberry plants. If re-sowing is too troublesome for you, you can easily propagate the plant by cuttings. Do not cut the child off the mother plant until the roots begin to form, or carefully dig up cuttings that are already rooted. Plant the offshoot in the desired place.

Popular strawberry varieties

Botanists have given the strawberry the scientific name Fragaria. This perennial from the rose family is available in numerous varieties that bear fruit at different times. It is best to mix early, medium and late ripening strawberry varieties. So you can harvest fresh strawberries from May until the first frost. Or you can switch to a variety that has several harvests a year.

The very aromatic and wonderfully sweet variety Lambada ripens from mid to late May. The new Dutch variety Elianny is one of the early varieties. This strawberry variety is characterized by a fine sweet and sour taste and a long shelf life Berry the end.

The classic among the medium-sized varieties is Senga Sengana. You can grow this robust plant with dark red, sweet berries yourself, even as an inexperienced gardener. Harvest time is here from the beginning of June. Popular medium varieties are Elsanta with a strong aroma and firm pulp and the bright red corona.

You can harvest the late-bearing strawberry plants from late June to mid-July. With the very high-yielding and resilient Symphony variety, you will have great success as a hobby gardener. You are also well served with the juicy and long-lasting salsa variety. Malwina is a bit sensitive to pressure, but has an intense taste.

In well-stocked specialist shops you can also get strawberry plants that have carried several times. These so-called remontaining - more often blooming - varieties are harvested from June and again in late summer or autumn after a break. The very high-yielding Ostara variety and the fruity-sweet Selva are known, which thanks to their long shoots are also ideal for planting hanging baskets.

Sowing strawberries is a bit tedious, but the effort is worth it. With good care and choice of the right variety, you can harvest the delicious fruits all summer long.