Many have heard that strawberries can be grown from seeds at home, without a summer cottage.
This is a rather fascinating activity, which will certainly bear fruit and delight you with a delicious berry throughout the season.
Growing strawberries at home you need to follow all the tips and advice, the only way to succeed in this difficult matter.
Grow strawberries: seed selection
Experienced gardeners believe that almost 50% of success depends on the right variety and strawberry seeds. And so it is! First you need to decide what we will plant.
The market offers many varieties of strawberries for growing from seeds. It’s sometimes difficult to understand them. Proven secrets will come to the rescue:
• First you need to decide which berry you would like to grow: large, small, sweet or sour. It is also worth deciding why strawberries will be grown: for processing or fresh consumption.
• Strawberry varieties are divided into remodeling varieties that produce several times a season, and those that produce only once.
It is important to note that the repairing varieties of strawberries are inferior to the usual ones in taste.
• When buying seeds, you need to pay attention to the expiration date. The fact is that fresh seeds have good germination. You do not need to purchase a package with seeds that are about to expire.
• The price of seeds is different. At first, it is better to buy medium-priced seeds.
The choice of seeds is an important matter, it is impossible to rush here. The crop also depends on the right choice.
We select a capacity for sowing
When the seeds have already been purchased, you need to decide where to plant them. Capacities for seedlings can be selected absolutely diverse.
1. Cardboard boxes for seedlings. Such a container is very easy to get in any store, but it quickly deteriorates. Cardboard soaks from moisture and watering.
2. Tetra packs. You can use containers of milk and juice. The advantage of their use is higher than that of cardboard boxes. They do not soak during watering, do not lose shape, do not injure the roots during transplantation. However, such packaging is short-lived. You can use it only for one season.
3. Plastic containers. It can be jars of yogurt, cheeses, oils and disposable cups. The undoubted advantage of such a container is its durability. You can use containers for several seasons, it is enough to wash and disinfect them. But a lot of jars will be needed.
4. Wooden boxes from the boards. Such a container will last longer, it is more reliable and stronger. But with each landing, thorough disinfection must be carried out.
Having picked up a container for growing, you need to take care of the drain of excess fluid. For this, drainage holes are made in each container.
Preparing the soil for planting
The substrate for growing strawberries from seeds can be purchased in a specialized store, but it is better to cook it yourself. There are several options for soil mixtures for planting strawberries.
• For the first mixture, biohumus, peat, river sand are mixed. And for 1 part of sand and vermicompost take 3 parts of peat.
• To prepare the second nutrient mixture, take sand, peat, turf soil and add a little humus and ash. One part of sand and peat will need two parts of the earth.
The prepared mixture must be processed to avoid the occurrence of fungal diseases of strawberries.
The substrate is steamed or calcined on fire. When the earth cools down, it is sifted. This will help make the soil loose and light. It is this kind of soil that is needed for planting seeds.
Sowing seeds for seedlings
Sowing seeds is best done in early spring, but it is worth considering that strawberries love a lot of light. The optimal daylight hours should be up to 14 hours a day. If necessary, on cloudy days they carry out an additional screening of containers with landings.
1. Prepared containers are filled with soil mixture and moisturized well.
2. Strawberry seeds are very small, they are evenly distributed over the soil surface with tweezers. Sprinkle with earth is not necessary.
3. To stratify the seeds, you need to cover them with snow, the layer of which does not exceed 3 cm.
4. In this form, the containers are stored in the refrigerator for several weeks.
5. When the snow melts, the seeds will be drawn into the soil. The process will occur as naturally as possible.
6. Remove the seed containers from the refrigerator and place them in the greenhouse, which must be ventilated before germination. A few days after the appearance of the sprouts, the lid can be removed.
Watering tiny seedlings is very difficult, but you can use a medical syringe without a needle for these purposes. It is impossible to fill in seedlings, they are susceptible to diseases. Excess moisture is detrimental to plants. They are struck by a black leg
The temperature for the growth and development of seedlings should be at least 20 degrees. Young plants do not tolerate drafts.
Picking seedlings
Strawberry picking is a must. Do this when 4 true leaves appear on the plant. For transplantation, small but spacious containers are used. In such containers, the root system develops well and allows the plant to grow stronger faster.
When transplanting, you need to pinch the central root of the plant. The pick is completed by planting in new pots. The root neck should be at ground level. Do not allow the deepening of the root neck.
Pick-up must be carried out very carefully. Seedlings are fragile, easily injured. When the seedlings get stronger, it can be slightly spud.
Transplanting
Planting seedlings in permanent containers or in the garden is carried out two months after sowing, when the plants get stronger and grow.
First you need to harden the bushes. For this, the seedlings are briefly taken out to the street, but at night it needs to be brought back to the room.
Plants are planted on the garden at the end of May. Young seedlings need shading and shelter from night frosts. If the cultivation of strawberries will be carried out in balcony containers, then they need to be carried out into the air.
Strawberries grown from seeds will delight the harvest in the first year after planting.
Strawberry Care
To grow strawberries on the windowsill, you need to create suitable conditions for growth and development.
Strawberries love moisture and need regular watering and spraying. But waterlogging of the soil leads to fungal diseases. The soil between the irrigations should dry.
Growing strawberries from seeds, you need to systematically fertilize the bushes. Potato strawberry responds well to top dressing. To do this, use special fertilizers for berries. Feeding should be done at least twice a month. Using nitrogen fertilizers too often is not recommended. Bushes build up too much green mass to the detriment of fruiting.
To form a year, strawberries need iron. Therefore, feeding is carried out with special preparations containing iron. Many gardeners advise sticking an old nail into a plant pot.
Difficulties in growing strawberries from seeds
Strawberries are susceptible to disease. Often they are affected by a spider mite. To combat the pest, they are sprayed with garlic infusion.
During active growth, strawberries build up leaf outlets that need to be raised on a special trellis or net. This will help to get planting material and more berries.
