How to grow strawberries from seed at home for seedlings?

Strawberries are a very healthy and tasty berry, the sweet aroma of which is loved by both adults and children. Thanks to many positive qualities, many people dare to grow them on their own at home. To do this, it is important to choose the right grade and properly conduct the preparatory work.

Many people ask themselves: is it possible to independently grow strawberries from seeds at home? Sure you may. However, first you need to dwell on a particular variety of this berry, which can be grown in a similar way. Fortunately, in modern stores you can find a great variety of different seeds. It can be large-fruited, small-fruited, curly, remontant and yellow.

Especially good at home grows small-fruited berry. The plant will bear fruit well even in the winter season. In addition, similar types of strawberries suitable placement in a variety of pots. It is worth highlighting the following popular varieties of small-fruited berries, which are chosen by many people for growing at home:

• "Gross Frezer";
• "Yellow Miracle";
• "Regina";
• "Alexandria";
• "Pineapple";
• "Renaissance".

Of course, you can choose another type or a hybrid. For growing at home, it is recommended to buy unpretentious seedlings of the hybrid type "Irishka F1" or "Sarian F1".

When you decide on a specific type of strawberries that you will grow at home, you can proceed to competent preparation of seeds for future planting. The seeds of this crop, like other known variants, cannot be left without a preparatory stage. Through this process, you can significantly increase the germination of plants.

To do this, you need to carry out a series of manipulations.

• First, the seeds should be soaked using a conventional plastic container with a lid. In addition, for this procedure will be useful cotton pads and rags.
• Further, in the lid of the plastic container prepared by you, it will be necessary to make small holes using needles. Such elements will be needed so that the plants can "breathe."
• Now you need to moisten cotton pads with water and put in one layer at the bottom of the container. When all the seeds are laid out neatly, on top of them you need to cover with another layer of wet cotton pads or wet matter.
• If you are going to plant different types of strawberries, then they are better to sign first, so that later there is no confusion.
• Next, the container with the laid seedlings should be covered with a lid with holes and put away in a warm prepared place. In these conditions, the seeds should be about 2 days.
• Capacity for stratification will need to be removed for 2 weeks in the refrigerator. From time to time, the seeds will need to be additionally wetted. Air tank daily.

But note that this seed preparation algorithm is not universal. There are several ways. For example, some experts recommend soaking the material for sowing for 3 days in snow or rainwater. Next, the seeds spread on a special filtered paper and gently moisten. After that, they are moved to a plastic bag. To make it more convenient, you can first put the seeds on a plate, and only then move it into the bag with it.

Then the planting material is removed in a warm corner. But it is not necessary to expose them under direct rays of ultraviolet. When you see the first shoots, the seeds can already be moved to the base with the ground.

Properly prepare not only the seeds, but also the container itself and the soil in which they will be.Fortunately, today in stores there is an opportunity to pick up almost any substrate with any cost. You can buy a universal mixture - it will be perfect for growing almost any plant. But you can give preference to specialized soil, which is permissible to use only for certain seeds.

Professionals often prepare the substrate themselves. The main thing is to make it as easy, free-flowing and simple as possible.

The most common are such compounds:

• sand mixture (coarse) and special biohumus in equal proportions, as well as 3 parts of non-sour peat;
• 2 parts of sand and 1 part of peat and sod land;
• 3 parts of sand, land taken from the site, and humus - 1 part each.

In the soil mixtures taken from the garden, various pests are often “hidden”, which is why it will not do without cleaning work. To do this, you can:

• warm the soil mixture in the microwave for about 5 minutes;
• Steam the mixture in a well-prepared water bath;
• put the soil in the oven for half an hour (the temperature should be 150 degrees);
• You can process the mixture with a strong solution of potassium permanganate.

After such actions, the soil will need to be removed in a warm separate place and left there for 10-15 days.

As a container for planting seeds is permissible to use:

• cups made of plastic, cardboard boxes of juices, glasses of sour cream - if you took a similar container, you need to make small holes in its lower part so that the water from watering does not stagnate in it;
• plastic boxes - with this container you will get a kind of mini-greenhouses;
• peat tablets - such containers are among the most popular and convenient to use;
• food containers - it is recommended to give preference to the container having the transparent top part.

Before proceeding with further manipulations, it will be necessary to pour manganese solution for 30 minutes into the selected container. So you protect the container and the ground from the fungus.

Terms of planting strawberry seeds mainly depend on the specific characteristics of the variety purchased for planting. Different species differ from each other during the growing season, which must be taken into account. As well as strawberries can vary in precocity, and the size of the fruit. For example, repair forms are available for such species as:

• wild strawberry;
• garden;
• nutmeg;
• earthworker.

For this reason, specific deadlines can significantly stretch from February to March. As for the large-fruited variants, they are advised to sow from the beginning of February, such as, for example, the hybrid species "Sarian F1".

However, certain varieties, for example, "Alexandria", manufacturers advise to sow closer to the third decade of March. For the lion's share of hybrids and varieties, the universal sowing period is the second decade of March.

If you have prepared and seedlings, and the substrate, and the container, you can plant strawberries at home. Consider several ways to carry out such work, taking into account the different situation.

In order to grow a fragrant berry in the conditions of a balcony block, it is necessary to fill the container prepared for the work with soil, then it will need to be leveled, slightly compacted, moistened and made small furrows. Using a pre-ground match or tweezers will be able to quickly and easily transfer seeds. At the same time, they should be kept between 2 cm between them. Press the seeds to the substrate, but do not need to fall asleep.

When you have transferred all the seeds to the ground, you will need to moisten it again using a spray bottle, and then cover it with plastic wrap or cover it with a container. Above the tank you will definitely need to make several holes. Store the container in a warm and well-lit place. But it is not recommended to put it on the window sill itself, because in such conditions the seeds can dry without starting to germinate.

Fragrant garden strawberries permissible to grow not only from seeds, but also rooted antennae. The simplest way is rooting a mustache. However, it is not always possible to access this method. In such situations, strawberries should try to germinate from seeds, resulting in high-quality seedlings.

It is recommended to start planting strawberry seeds on seedlings from the 20th of January until the beginning of March. Be sure to stratify the seeds before direct sowing, that is, moisten them with water for a day, and then put them in the refrigerator for 2-3 days (it is better to remove them from the bottom). When preparing seeds, it is most convenient to use wet cotton pads.

Do not forget to moisten and gently crush the soil in a pot. Then the seeds should be laid out on the surface of the harvested soil, slightly crushing them to it. Sowing strawberries in seedlings should be dealt with as carefully and carefully as possible. Seeds are usually very small, so working with them can be extremely difficult. In addition, they germinate in most cases for a long time, so it makes no sense to wait for the first seedlings earlier than 40 days.

Consider the fact that crops are rather capricious to the microclimate in which they are located. The seedling should stand in a place where warm temperatures and high humidity are maintained. It is advisable to cover the pot with plastic or glass.

You can grow seeds for seedlings not only in ordinary pots, but also in special peat tablets. If they are soaked, they become larger and reincarnate into peat cups.

If you decide to plant strawberry seeds at home, then you need to remember that they will need special care. For example, seedlings of these berries, which are located in special peat cups, should be watered only through pallets. No need to "fill" landing. The fact that watering is produced in sufficient volume, will say a dark area that appeared on a column of peat. Overflows can lead to various diseases, so watering seedlings should only be previously touched the ground from the outside, as well as slightly digging into it with your finger.

The shoots of sweet berries will be a small thin stem, branching out above the ground into several modest leaves. To allow the seedlings to develop further, you need to fill a little more ground under the seed. After that, other roots will grow. It is better to do this if the seeds have been sown in small grooves, then you only need to slightly press them into the soil to the germ.

When the first shoots seem to be planted in balcony conditions, you need to remember to air and water them every day. Moisturizing is recommended using a spray bottle. Remove cover from seedlings in a month. When the first 3 leaves appear, the saplings will need to dive.Seeds planted in a balcony should be properly watered in sufficient volume. When about 6-7 leaves appear on the seedlings, it will be possible to move on to transplanting them into open ground.

If you have planted garden strawberries, then before the arrival of the winter cold, she should cut off all dried and damaged leaves, as well as freshly formed antennae. Leave only healthy leaves. The same varieties of berries that continue to bear fruit in the summer should be protected from the detrimental effects of the hot sun. For this purpose, various tall plants are planted next to the fruit, or they stretch a special mesh from above.

Of course, you need to care for planted strawberries in accordance with its variety and type. The main thing is to keep any planting in optimal conditions - to protect from unnecessarily obtrusive influence of the sun, not to allow them to gasp and "gasp" in their containers, keep them in warm places, and also water regularly, but within reasonable limits.

If you use a plastic container for planting seeds, it is recommended to cover it with a transparent lid, since the illumination through it will be much easier to get into the inner part of the container. In addition, such a lid will allow the gardener to control all the processes that take place inside the container.

Gathering seeds from the berries will turn out independently. Usually this is done in the course of growth of crops in the open field.

In order to plant seeds of various varieties in one container as conveniently as possible, it is worthwhile to attach a small plate with the name of a particular variety near each furrow. So you can avoid unwanted confusion.

Be sure to ensure that condensate does not accumulate in the packaging with seedlings. Otherwise, plants are at risk of serious damage due to the formation of fungus and mold.

On the cultivation of strawberries from seeds at home, see the following video.