Strawberry seeds: collection and storage, planting features

Although strawberry seeds can be found in any specialty store, experienced gardeners still recommend collecting them on their own. The main reason for this decision is that there is not a lot of planting material in purchased bags, and besides, it does not always germinate. Preparing the seeds with your own hands, it will be possible to guarantee their freshness.

Although strawberry seeds have an extremely small size, they are very easy to notice, because they cover the outside of the skin of the berries. They look like yellow little elongated dots. Seeds are either bought in the store, or collected from the most powerful and resistant plants growing in the beds. In addition, you can purchase interesting varieties of berries on the market, and then purchase the procedure for separating seeds. If we consider a separate berry, then seeds are better to take those that border the stalk or are in the middle part. In this case, the lower part of the strawberry should be excluded, since in this place they ripen worse and are of lower quality.

Speaking about the advantages and disadvantages of reproduction with the help of seeds, it makes sense to mention that such planting material is made independently, which means this method is cheap and simple. By planting your own seeds, you can immediately understand what the result will be a plant. In addition, there is the possibility of planting seeds with different ripening periods, and therefore enjoy the harvest for almost the entire year. Special disadvantages when using seed is not observed.

Strawberry seeds should be collected only from ripe fruits, juicy and fragrant, because only ripe samples contain the maximum number of seeds. They must not be over-ripe, rotten or damaged in any way. As a rule, in order to plant a new variety in your garden, it will be enough to collect planting material somewhere from five or six berries. If the fruits are already collected, but there is no time to cut the seeds, you can remove the strawberries in the freezer. And when there will be time, defrost and carry out the required procedure.

In general, there is enough from three to five large berries, or from six to ten small ones. It is important to calculate the required amount so that they can be used all at once when landing. The pips are not stored for more than twelve months, so their further use does not make sense. It is recommended to propagate with seeds by seedless varieties, bearing small berries, or hybrid varieties. In the first case, they are such remontant varieties as “Ruyana”, “Seasons”, “Alexandria” and “Golden Dessert”. Of the hybrids, as a rule, are selected varieties "Temptation", "Homemade delicacy", "Grandian", "Nastya" and others.

There are three main methods of how to get strawberry seeds correctly. In the first case, you need to take large, intact berries, and with them with a sharp blade carefully cut off the skin with seeds. It is important to do this carefully, trying to grab as little pulp as possible. The resulting fragments are laid out on plain white paper or a napkin so that the seeds look up. Slightly squeezing the skin, you need to remove the grain from it.

At the next stage, the received material is sent to dry for about two days. It is important to choose the right place so that the sun does not shine there and excessive humidity does not occur. Although forty-eight hours is considered the optimal time, if the seeds come to a necessary state earlier, it will be possible to harvest them early. The seeds are gently picked up from the paper, with the help of fingers are separated from the remnants of the pulp, and then laid out in paper bags. By signing the packaging, you can remove the seeds for permanent storage until the beginning of the work on planting the crop. Again, the chosen place must be dry.

The second method is ideal for producing seeds at home, since its implementation will require a blender. Water is poured into the device so that more than half of the container is filled, and then selected berries are lowered. Then the treatment mode is activated for one two minutes, and the resulting mixture is passed through a sieve. To simplify the procedure, you can use additional water. If everything is done correctly, then the required grains will remain in the sieve. The resulting material is laid out on the fabric and retracts to dry.

Speaking of the blender, there is also an option in which the seeds are scraped together with the skin, and then processed in a blender without the pulp. The danger that the grains will be damaged by the technique is absent, as they are very strong. If some seeds crumble, it means that they were so bad and would hardly have come up. If, after sifting through a sieve, the seeds are not separated from the pulp, they can be processed once more in a blender with water. Such a procedure is repeated until the components finally disperse. To dry the seeds after the blender will have only a few hours.

The third way to extract seeds is the easiest, because it only requires a toothpick or something like it, like a needle, pin, or other sharp stick. With its help, you will need to disconnect the seed after seed, one after another. At all, The basic rule for seed production is that the flesh must be separated.

After drying, the seeds will need to be sifted again to remove those that do not exactly germinate. To do this, you can try to drop all the grains in a glass with plain water and see which ones pop up. Those that appear on the surface are considered not suitable for germination. It is better to store the seeds in a paper envelope or in a small bag of polyethylene. The packaged material is laid out in a plastic container with a tight-fitting lid, or even a glass jar, which can also be tightly closed.

Putting off the obtained seeds for a long time, it is important to remember that they must find themselves in total darkness. The essence of this requirement is that the light activates the growth and development of seed, therefore, this process should not be started ahead of time. Then the temperature is important - the heat also starts the processes. Therefore, you need to store the seeds at a temperature remaining in the range from 12 to 16 degrees Celsius. Usually these conditions correspond to the glazed loggia, storage room or basement. In addition, you should be prepared that excessive moisture can worsen the condition of the seeds.

Before planting seeds, they will have to be prepared. To do this, first the grains are laid out between two wetted cotton pads, and then removed in a tightly closed plastic box. Be sure to try to make a few holes in the lid to provide ventilation, otherwise excessive moisture will lead to the appearance of mold. The container is placed where it is light and warm for two days, and then refrigerated for another two weeks. Some gardeners also disinfect seeds, keeping them in a saturated solution of potassium permanganate.

When the seed is not too fresh or germination is necessary, the seeds are also soaked in a growth stimulator. It is important to mention about such a procedure as freezing.Within its framework, sachets of seeds are kept in the refrigerating chamber just before planting for two and a half weeks. And also it is possible to freeze containers with sprouts. To do this, from above they are tightened with a film with holes or agrofibre and placed for several weeks either in the refrigerator or outside in the snow.

The ideal soil for strawberries looks like a mixture of sand and river land with peat additives. In advance it can be held for a quarter of an hour in the oven to sanitize, eliminate pathogens and insect larvae. However, after such processing, it is important to wait two to three weeks before planting strawberries. Seeds are usually germinated in boxes or peat pots, and then planted in beds. The tank, where the seedlings will develop, is filled with earth, and after it, grooves for seeds are formed.

Each well is designed for one grain. They are laid out with tweezers or matches and are pressed down a little. If the seeds are small and in large quantities, then they are allowed to simply scatter on the surface. Covering everything on top of the ground should not be, on the contrary, the surface will need to simply tighten the film, in which holes are punctured. Incidentally, some experts sow strawberry kernels on a layer of snow. As soon as he begins to thaw, he slowly begins to tighten the seeds into the soil.

When on the sheets appear about five of these sheets, it will be possible to transplant strawberries into the ground, or else you can first plant in separate pots. The optimal beds are on a flat and well-lit surface on the south-west side, but with the necessary shade, allowing the sprouts to grow stronger. The acidity level should be neutral. When planting bushes, you need to make sure that there is a gap of ten centimeters between them. Immediately after planting, the strawberries are watered with water infused by the sun by spraying. It is also important to mention that planting in open ground should be carried out only on warm and dry days.

Planting on the beds is carried out either in spring or in autumn, but in both cases only during the period when there is no danger of frost. The beds are pre-irrigated a little, and the seedlings for about a week gradually become hardened. If necessary, the roots are shortened roots to a length of ten centimeters. During transplantation, they are strictly directly placed in the hole.

How to plant strawberries from seeds, see the next video.