We find out when it is best to sow strawberries for seedlings. In open ground

Strawberry - delicious berry, which is the richest source of vitamins and minerals. There is no person in the world who has not tried these fragrant bright scarlet, dark red, yellow and even white berries at least once in his life. Each gardener lovingly grows strawberries on his plot, the taste of which has been known to everyone since childhood.

Juicy strawberries are a great spring/summer treat packed with loads of vitamin C. Yes, each 100g of strawberries packs more than it needs to. daily rate for a person and in its quantity are second only to blackcurrant.

Strawberries come from America, but for a long time it has been grown on a small and industrial scale not only in the USA, but throughout the world: Ukraine, Russia, Great Britain, Germany, France, Israel, etc. A huge number of companies are breeding new varieties, crossing it with other species and even other plants. Especially recently, strawberries have become the leader among all berry crops.

Strawberry - perennial, which is grown both in the fields and in greenhouses and even in houses on window sills. Many people create special greenhouse conditions for her, allowing her to get berries. all year round.

In this article, I will share with the readers of the House of Knowledge my own experience on how to get magnificent strawberry bushes from the acquired seeds, which will bring you many years good harvests this magnificent berry.

How to choose a strawberry variety for growing.

In horticulture, there are more than two and a half thousand species and hybrids of strawberries. Before buying any seeds, I recommend paying attention to the ripening time of the berries, their size, taste qualities, sizes of bushes and remontance (propagation method).

According to the ripening time, strawberries are divided into early, middle and late. To obtain berries for the purpose of eating them, it is customary to plant early varieties, and middle and late ones are often used for preparations for the winter in the form of jam, juices, compotes, etc.

Each strawberry variety is unique and requires certain growing conditions, so before purchasing seeds, you need to find out:

1. Is the variety you like suitable for growing in the soil on your site. Yes, most strawberry varieties feel great on any soil except acidic and marshy, but there are exceptions that require certain soils.
2. There are varieties that have a higher resistance to severe frosts, diseases, as well as high or low humidity.
3. Strawberry varieties have long been bred that can be grown not only horizontally, but also in a vertical position. They are often used as live decorative ornaments bringing a lot of delicious berries.
4. Each type of strawberry has its own unique taste of berries: sweet, tart, sour, or even pineapple or banana.

Here are several varieties of strawberries that have proven themselves well: Gigantella, Mashenka, Victoria, Desna, Anapolis, Kamarosa, Regina, Fragola, etc.

I will say a few words about where it is better to buy strawberries so as not to fall for the bait of intruders. I purchased two varieties flower shop close to home, and three more via the Internet.

I think you don’t need to explain how to buy seeds in the market or in the store. But when purchasing via the Internet, be careful and order them only in those online stores where customers leave their positive comments in real time. Also, trust is caused by sites that provide online consultations. You can immediately get Additional information one or another type of strawberry. And yet, I recommend buying seeds cash on delivery. In this case, you will pay for the order only upon receipt.

I also advise you to purchase and plant several varieties at once, since according to the results of germination and fruiting, you can choose and leave those that you like best.

For example, growing strawberries from seeds, I planted 4 varieties: Regina, Pink Miracle, Italian variety "Fragola" and white strawberries with an unsurpassed taste "White Soul".

Thus, after experimenting for a year, you will know exactly which strawberry variety to keep and which one to remove.

Planting strawberry seeds for seedlings.

Some sites recommend sowing strawberry seeds for seedlings in late February or early March, but I sowed mine in the second half of December, or to be more precise, on December 25th. If you do the same as I did, then by spring the seedlings will already be strong enough with a well-developed root system, which will make it easier to transfer the transplant to open ground on the permanent place.

If you ordered strawberry seeds via the Internet, then before they arrive, you have time to prepare everything for sowing:

1. Pots or boxes;
2. soil;

Pots or boxes for growing strawberry seedlings.
As containers for growing strawberries, you can use special pots for seedlings, ordinary flower pots, wooden or plastic crates.

For planting my seeds, I used ordinary plastic boxes designed for storing and transporting vegetables or fruits.

I put plastic wrap at the bottom of the boxes and made drainage holes in it to drain excess moisture, and I also placed small trays under each of them as a pallet.

Similarly, you can use wooden boxes or ordinary flower pots. The main thing is that there are holes for draining excess moisture, otherwise the seeds or seedlings may already rot.

Soil for planting strawberry seeds.
As a soil for sowing seeds of strawberries, you can use good black soil. It should be "fluffy", pass air and moisture well.

If you have the opportunity and desire, then you can make the soil mixture yourself. To do this, mix:

1. Sod land (1 part);
2. Peat (1 part);
3. Pure coarse river sand(1 part).

Strawberry seeds require a clean and decontaminated soil mixture. Therefore, in order to destroy pests and their eggs, as well as bacteria and fungi, the earth must be calcined in an oven for about 30 minutes at a temperature of 150 0 C. I once disinfected the soil with this method and therefore I recommend doing this only in a well-ventilated area.

Also, soil for growing strawberry seedlings can be purchased at a flower shop. For this, a fruit and berry soil mixture intended for seedlings is perfect. It is also great for strawberry seedlings.

Place for growing seedlings of strawberries.

To get good seedlings of strawberries from seeds, you need a warm and well-lit place, but in no case should direct sunlight fall on seeds or seedlings. In other words, the light should be bright, but diffused. Western and eastern window sills are well suited for this. It is better not to grow strawberries on the northern windowsills, because due to the lack of lighting, the seedlings will grow slowly, and the plants themselves will be weak and pale.

It is also very important not to put pots or boxes with future strawberries in drafts, especially in winter, so as not to freeze the plants. During the period of germination and growth, they need a warm (18-20 0 C) place with high humidity.

Once you have prepared all of the above, start planting strawberry seeds.

Sowing strawberry seeds for seedlings.

There are two ways to sow strawberries: soaking or directly into the ground.

Soaking strawberry seeds and hardening them.
Many recommend soaking the seeds for swelling for a couple of days before planting, but do not completely cover them with water, otherwise they will literally suffocate. It is best to put strawberry seeds on a damp cloth or cotton wool, which must be constantly moistened and not allowed to dry out. Some even recommend placing a moistened cotton wool or cloth with seeds in the very warm place refrigerator 2-4 0 C. It is believed that in this way the seeds will harden a little and the plants will be easier to endure the winter. After two days, they are removed from the fleece or cloth, placed on top of moist soil and slightly pressed into the ground. And in no case do not cover the seeds with earth, as young sprouts will not be able to break through thick layer soil.

This method is not necessary, so I planted my strawberry seeds immediately in boxes.

Step-by-step instruction planting strawberry seeds directly into the ground.
I planted strawberry seeds immediately into the ground, as a result of which I received strong and strong strawberry seedlings. But let's go in order.

1. Line the bottom of the boxes with plastic wrap with holes for drainage.

2. Fill the boxes with soil about 10cm.

3. Substitute under the boxes any pallets that will drain excess moisture. As I said before, I used small trays for this.

4. Moisten the soil well with water.

5. There are very few strawberry seeds in bags, often about 5 pieces, so open them very carefully so as not to spill or lose a single piece.

6. Evenly throughout the pot, place the seeds on top of the soil and then lightly press them into the ground or sprinkle them with a very thin layer of earth (up to 5mm). This is necessary so that the seeds do not spread on the surface of the soil during irrigation. In general, strawberry seeds in nature are not buried in the ground, so they are very weak and if they are buried deep, they will simply die.

7. Now, in order not to forget where which strawberries are, attach tags with the name of the varieties, after which, to create greenhouse conditions, I covered the seed boxes plastic wrap. To prevent the top film from falling off, I pressed it with an ordinary rubber band tied into a ring.

8. Place the boxes in a warm (18-22 0 С) and well-lit place, for example, on a windowsill or a warm balcony.

Caring for seedlings of strawberries grown from seeds.

After planting strawberry seeds, the upper film (ukratia) can only be removed to moisten the soil, and when sprouts appear, it is necessary to do daily ventilation for 20-30 minutes.

Watering Strawberry seeds are necessary as the soil dries up, but they should not be heavily flooded either, as seeds and young sprouts can simply rot and die.

IN good conditions The first strawberry sprouts will start to appear in about 1-2 weeks. They will be very tender and with only two small round leaves.

Temperature, at which I grew my strawberry seedlings, was about 20-21 0 C.

Lighting - daylight diffused light. As I said above, direct sunlight is not allowed, so if they fall on the plants, then be sure to shade the strawberries during these periods. And if there is not enough light (especially in winter, when daylight hours are short), then make additional artificial lighting by setting, for example, table lamp or a special phyto lamp for plants.

The third, as they say, "real" leaf, will appear about a month after planting. I noticed leaves similar to strawberries on my sprouts on January 22.

In March, you will already have, albeit small, but already full-fledged bushes with several leaves.

During this period, I already had whole "thickets" of strawberries, consisting of miniature plants.

If desired, and so that the roots of young strawberry bushes do not have time to intertwine much, they can be transplanted into separate pots. This is done simply. Water the crates of strawberries generously first to make the soil soft and the plants easier to detach from each other. Then prepare the pots, lay the drainage of expanded clay or gravel on the bottom, and pour a few centimeters of soil on top of the same composition as when sowing the seeds. Then carefully separate 1-3 strawberry bushes and put them on the ground in a new pot, then sprinkle the roots with soil. In this case, the earth should not be higher than the outlet from which the leaves grow. Then water the bushes abundantly and place them in a well-lit, warm place, but not under the sun, even if it is spring, otherwise burns will appear on the leaves. Also, do not forget to attach a tag with the name of the variety to each pot.

I planted strawberries that don't grow mustaches and can be grown at home, so by the end of April, I planted a few bushes in separate pots made from 6-liter plastic eggplants.

Strawberry bushes grown from seeds in early May, when average daily temperature will be 15-20 0 С, it can be planted in open ground, after which in the same year you will already receive the first berries. How to do this, read my next article.

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Usually garden strawberries propagated by mustache or division of the bush. But there comes a time when these methods become ineffective, since all accumulated diseases are transmitted along with the vegetative planting material. the best way to update the varietal fund and get rid of diseases will be sowing strawberries for seedlings. In 2018, it is not too late to do this, and with the help of our detailed instructions you will get a harvest of large fragrant berries in a few months.

Where to get seeds

Seeds are best selected in a specialized store, preferring those with a shelf life of more than 1 year. Popular among gardeners remontant strawberry, fruiting until frost - Alpine, Ali Baba, Baron Solimakher. These varieties do not produce mustaches and are subsequently easily propagated by dividing the bush.

Of the large-fruited species, the following varieties will be advised to the buyer:

• Queen Elizabeth;
• Picnic;
• Moscow debut;
• Alexandria.

Large-fruited strawberries are propagated both by dividing the bush and by the mustache. Apart from routine care the gardener will have to regularly remove unnecessary layering.

You can grow strawberries from seeds at home in another way - take ripe berries from healthy bushes and cut off the top with a sharp knife. thin layer pulp. The cut pulp with seeds is laid out on napkins and left for several days in a dry, warm place. During this time, the seeds dry out, and they can be easily peeled off by rubbing between the fingers. Dried seeds are laid out in paper bags, the variety and collection dates are signed and stored in a cool, dry place.

Strawberries are actually a strongly overgrown receptacle, and the seeds are nuts.

Landing dates in 2018

To get strong seedlings, gardeners go to different tricks. Many of them believe that planting strawberries with seeds must be done according to lunar calendar. In 2018 better days are considered:

• January 27, 28 and 29;
• from 21 to 28 February;
• from 21 to 26 March.

On these days, the growing moon passes through the constellations of Gemini, Cancer, Taurus, Leo. This time is considered the most favorable for sowing seeds for seedlings.

Diving seedlings of strawberries, which are grown from seeds, in 2018 should be dealt with:

• from 10 to 12 and from 20 to 26 March;
• from 17 to 22 and from 25 to 28 April.

Ready seedlings are planted on the beds in the following numbers:

• from 18 to 22 and from 25 to 28 April;
• from 17 to 19, 22, from 25 to 27 May;
• 15, from 20 to 24 June;
• from 18 to 22 and from 25 to 26 July.

The timing of planting strawberries for seedlings depends on your region. In the south of Russia, seedlings are planted in open ground in the second and third decade of May, in the northern regions in early June. Seedlings by this time should have a developed root system and several leaves. Strawberry bushes usually reach this size in 3 months.

On the days of the full moon, new moon, as well as 2 days before them and after sowing seeds, it is not recommended to do so. It is better to devote this time to choosing seeds, preparing the land, watering or loosening the sprouted seedlings.

What kind of soil do strawberries need

The preparation of the soil mixture for sowing strawberries with seeds for seedlings should be taken carefully, since the seeds of this crop are small and take a long time to germinate. Experts offer several options for soil mixture:

• high-moor peat, biohumus and sand in a ratio of 3:1:1;
• turf or leaf land, peat and sand - 2: 1: 1;
• mature compost and sand - 5:3.

Some gardeners replace compound soil with peat tablets or use specially designed for growing berry seedlings. There are no uniform requirements for its composition, but when choosing, it should be remembered that the soil should be light, breathable, but nutritious.

Before planting strawberries with seeds for seedlings, the ground must be disinfected. Do this in one of the following ways:

• scatter on a baking sheet and heat in the oven at a temperature of 40-45 ° C for 1-2 hours;
• shed the earth with 1% (bright pink) solution of potassium permanganate;
• freeze in bags or buckets all winter on the street.

The last option is for residents northern regions with long cold winters.

After disinfection, the soil needs to be revived - filled with useful microflora. To do this, it is shed to a wet state with one of the biological products - "", "Shine", "Fitosporin". Then the soil is left in a warm place for several days so that the microorganisms begin to develop. At the same time, the earth mixture will dry to a free-flowing state and will be ready for sowing strawberries for seedlings in 2018.

Preparing seeds for sowing

Before planting, strawberry seeds must be kept for several hours in a pink solution of potassium permanganate, then they are thoroughly washed and treated with a growth stimulator - Epin, Kornevin, Energen. Next, the seeds need to be hardened. To do this, they are placed in several layers of gauze soaked in a stimulant and placed on the bottom shelf of the refrigerator overnight, covered with a lid or film. During the day, the container with seeds is rearranged on a windowsill with a temperature of 18–20 ° C. Hardening is carried out for 3 days, no longer, as they may begin to germinate.

Hardening can be replaced by stratification. After it, the seeds germinate twice as fast. It is most convenient to carry out the stratification of strawberries after sowing. Boxes with sown strawberries are placed on the bottom shelf of the refrigerator for the entire period. Periodically, containers are opened for ventilation. Soil moisture needs to be monitored. In cold regions, containers are left outside under the snow.

For large-fruited strawberries, the stratification period should be at least 2–2.5 months.

At the end of the stratification, the boxes are brought into a warm room.

How to sow strawberries and care for them

At the bottom of the seedling containers, a layer of drainage is poured, prepared soil is poured and slightly crushed with his hands. Then snow is placed on the surface of the earth and seeds are laid on top. When the snow melts, it pulls them to the right depth. The container is covered with glass or film with holes for ventilation and placed on the windowsill, keeping the temperature at 18–20 ° C.

The first shoots of stratified seeds appear on the 5-6th day, mass shoots begin in two weeks. After the sprouts appear, the air temperature is reduced to 15–17 ° C so that they do not stretch. Shelter from the boxes is removed after the appearance of two or three leaves. The soil is kept moist but not wet.

In order not to flood weak sprouts, water it very carefully - into the grooves between the sprouts with a pipette or a syringe without a needle. Shoots are kept in a well-lit place, but not in direct sunlight.

The grown seedlings dive in the phase of 3–4 leaves. If the seedlings are strongly drawn out, this procedure can be carried out twice. Picking strengthens the root system, while the growth of the aerial part slows down somewhat. Dive is carried out as follows:

• the ground is pre-watered;
• the seedling is carefully removed and the central root is pinched;
• a new glass is filled with earth and a recess is made in the middle;
• carefully lower the seedling, straightening the roots and compressing it with earth from all sides.
• after diving, the seedlings are watered.

When planting strawberries, it is necessary to ensure that the growth point is above ground level.

After picking, strawberry bushes are fed complex fertilizers containing a lot of phosphorus, potassium and very little nitrogen. Top dressing is carried out 1 time in two weeks. Most convenient to use special formulations for seedlings that contain the necessary trace elements.

Landing rules in open ground

Two weeks before planting in open ground, seedlings are hardened. To do this, it is taken out to cool rooms, first for 1-2 hours, then the time is increased. Before planting, seedlings are left on a balcony or veranda at temperatures up to 10 ° C around the clock.

Seedlings are planted in the ground warmed up to 12 ° C, making sure that the growth point remains above the soil level. If during planting there is clear sunny weather, at first the seedlings are shaded. Further care consists of, loosening and top dressing.

Strawberries sown in this way for seedlings in 2018 are propagated in the next few years by mustache or by dividing the bush. Then, in order to improve the planting material, it is advisable to sow strawberries again with seeds.

Planting strawberries on video

If you still have any questions about growing strawberries from seeds, watch the video, which describes and shows in detail the entire process from choosing seeds to planting seedlings in the ground.

Even experienced gardeners it is difficult to plant strawberries with seeds for seedlings. The berry does not rise for a long time, it is very capricious, and with an excess or even a short-term lack of moisture, it immediately dies. But her breeding seed way sometimes necessary. What are the benefits of growing strawberries from seed, and what challenges will you have to overcome?

What are the benefits?

Obtaining strawberry seedlings from seeds is a business full of trouble. But unlike the reproduction of berries vegetatively it has other advantages:

You cannot get strawberry seedlings from seeds from hybrid varieties. Hybrids can only be propagated vegetatively. But then it will no longer be possible to get non-infected plants. If you like the hybrid, but the berry needs improvement, it is better to repurchase the seed material in the store.

Choose a variety

Before planting strawberry seeds for seedlings, you need to choose a variety. The berry can be cultivated in unprotected soil or all year round in a greenhouse. But pay attention: if you planted a hybrid strawberry variety, then do not harvest seeds from the resulting crop, but propagate only with a mustache. Otherwise varietal qualities plants will be lost.

Greenhouse varieties

Remontants are suitable for year-round fruiting. Their peculiarity is as follows: a bush from which a crop has already been obtained (up to 1000 berries) must be immediately replaced with a new one. Seedlings for this are grown from seeds or daughter rosettes. Below we have summarized the most common greenhouse varieties strawberries.

Popular strawberry varieties for greenhouse cultivation
Variety	Ripening period	Variety Description
Alba	Early	Regular-sized berry bushes with few leaves produce large-sized fruits. Each strawberry has the correct shape of a cone and is colored in the color of venous blood. Fruits differ in excellent transportability. The variety is excellent disease resistant.
Octave	Early	A high yield consists only of large fruits, distinguished by juiciness and bright aroma. Octave is a transportable variety.
Sonata	Early	Sonata is not subject to infection powdery mildew, she is not afraid of earthen mites and rot. Bright red fruits have a sweet taste, the pulp is juicy - real delicacy. Berries are transportable.
Joseph Mohammed	Early	The bushes are very developed root system. Fruits are oval, dark red. Joseph Mohammed is distinguished by a guaranteed harvest and one-time ripening of berries.
Honey	mid-early	The ground part of the plant is highly developed. bushes give large fruits conical shape with a large base. The berries have a pronounced strawberry aroma, the taste is sweet and sour. The weak point is the root system, which is prone to many diseases.
Darenka	Early	Tall, upright bushes bear fruit profusely. Sweet berries have a strawberry flavor.
Baron Solemacher	Early	Each sprawling bush produces about 500 g of berries per season. The fruits are small, smell like strawberries. Suitable for jam.

Pollination in the greenhouse is done artificially, so cross-pollination is almost impossible. This means that you can safely sow strawberry seeds for seedlings. You will definitely get the same result as on the package with the seed. This is especially true for large-fruited strawberry varieties.

Varieties for open ground

Choosing a strawberry variety for growing outdoors mainly depends on the time when you want to harvest, and on what you need it for in general. To enjoy fresh berries, take early varieties that bear fruit in May. Medium varieties (ripening in June) and late varieties (harvested in the second half of summer) are suitable for harvesting.

The best varieties of strawberries for growing outdoors
Variety	Ripening period	Variety Description
Dawn	Early	Berry bushes are tall. They produce medium sized ovoid fruits. The color is bright red. Productivity - up to 2 kg / m 2.
Rusapovka	Early	Large bushes provide a yield of 1.7 kg / m 2 per season. The berries are juicy and fragrant, the taste is sweet and sour. They have a spherical shape, the color is red. The surface is just strewn with seeds.
Gum	Early	Ribbed berries of bright red color are very large. The flesh is pink, and its taste is sweet and sour. Productivity - over 2 kg / m 2. Poorly transportable.
Pocahontas	Middle	Productivity is about 2 kg/m 2 . The berries are painted in red-orange color, the pulp is sweet and sour, orange. Good for transportation. The disadvantage is that the berries are not correct form at the beginning of fruiting and too small - at the end.
festival	Middle	The fruits are very large, but the last fruits weigh less than 10 g. They are oval and flattened. The pulp is very juicy and tender. Productivity - about 1.8 kg / m 2.
Mascot	Middle	Berries of the correct form of the small sizes. The top is lighter than the bottom of the fruit. The sepal does not come off the base badly. Productivity - 2 kg / m 2.
Zengana	Middle Late	The berries are wedge-shaped and dark red in color. The flesh is cherry-colored, very aromatic and has a sweet and sour taste. Productivity - from 2 kg / m 2.

When to sow?

At year-round cultivation berries, it doesn’t matter when planting strawberry seeds for seedlings: plants are constantly being replaced. Therefore, it is worth considering options for cultivating strawberry crops in the open field:

• Landing in late February or early March;
• Late spring or early summer.

If the cultivation of strawberry seedlings from seeds in an apartment began in the spring, then you will receive a harvest this year. But it is important to transplant seedlings into open ground before the onset of drought, otherwise the bushes will not take root well. Summer seedlings are planted in autumn, and the harvest will be obtained on next year. If the seedlings did not have time to grow before winter, then they are left to winter in pots.

Preparation of seed material for sowing

Before planting strawberry seeds for seedlings, you need to stratify them in one of the following ways:

• Place the seed material in the refrigerator 14 days before sowing. Then remove and leave by the battery for 12 hours;
• Moisten a dense natural cloth with water, put the seeds between two layers. Send to refrigerator compartment for 14 days. Try to moisturize as needed;
• This method of stratification is combined with landing. It is enough to plant the seeds in a layer of snow 2 cm thick, which lies on top of the soil in a pot.

Gardeners believe that strawberry seeds are too small to germinate before planting. But if you missed the moment when it is best to sow strawberry seeds for seedlings, then soak them. To do this, put the seeds on toilet paper, moisten them with melted water. Put in a warm and bright place until pecking. Moisturize daily.

Substrate preparation

Before sowing strawberry seeds for seedlings, prepare the soil mixture:

• Wood ash, compost or humus, earth from the garden (1:6:6);
• Sand, peat, vermiculite (3:3:4);
• Biohumus (humus) with coconut fiber in half;
• Humus, garden soil and sand (1:1:3);
• Humus and sand (5:3);
• Peat, fine sand, soddy ground (1:1:2).

Sift the mixture and roast it in a pan or hold it over steam for 30 minutes. Then water the soil with a solution of potassium permanganate: seedlings of strawberries with seeds require complete disinfection. Otherwise, the plants will die or be very weak. Treatment with antiseptics and fungicides is desirable.

Sowing

To plant strawberry seeds for seedlings, you will need a wet sharpened match or a toothpick:

• Pour a container of soil with warm water;
• Make small indentations with a match in increments of 10-15 mm;
• Place 2-3 seeds in each hole so that at least one plant sprouts;
• Powder lightly with earth.

Good seedlings from strawberry seeds at home are obtained if, after sowing, the container is closed with plastic wrap. It is placed in a bright and warm place. It is necessary to ensure that the soil is constantly moistened (although water hardly leaves it under the film). Germination time (always uneven) depends on the variety and lasts for a period of 2-4 weeks after planting.

How to care?

Now about how to grow seedlings of strawberries from seeds healthy and strong. In pursuing this goal, it must be remembered that various plants need different conditions content. For strawberries, at first, you need to observe the thermal regime. The air temperature should be in the range of +20 ... +25 degrees Celsius.

Watering

It is impossible to water seedlings of strawberries from seeds, since their root is very weak. To moisten the soil, you need a sprayer. You need to do this as needed: observe that upper layer The ground was constantly wet, but not flooded. If it dries, then the seedlings quickly die, if it is too watery, the risk of developing a fungus increases.

You will not go wrong if you plant strawberry seeds for seedlings in plastic containers with a lid with holes made in it. Watch for condensation on it. If it is missing, urgently moisten the soil. If there is so much that it drips from the lid, ventilate the container. If it is present, but not dripping, there is enough moisture.

Lighting

When growing seedlings from strawberry seeds at home, it is necessary to artificially regulate daylight hours. Natural light in spring is not enough, and strong seedlings simply need it for 12 hours. Illuminate plants with fluorescent or LED lamps. In low light, the seedlings lengthen and turn pale.

picking

Picking seedlings of strawberries from seeds is carried out when a pair of true leaves form in the seedlings:

• Moisten the soil with seedlings;
• Loosen the ground around the roots so that the plants can be easily removed;
• Pull the seedling by the cotyledon leaves without touching the stem. It is easily damaged, and the plant is doomed to death;
• Pin the center spine.

Transplant strawberry seedlings obtained from seeds into separate boxes in 10 cm increments or into individual cups, after making indentations. Use the same soil mixture that was prepared for seed germination. Pour the earthen ball with a spoon. Make sure that the growing point is not clogged with soil.

top dressing

If you dream of growing strawberry seedlings from seeds High Quality, after picking seedlings, start feeding them with a frequency of once every 10 days. To do this, water the plants with fertilizers with a small amount of nitrogen (no more than 10%) and a high content of iron (about 2%). Water-soluble dressings "Mortar" and iron chelate are ideal.

Preparing for planting in unprotected soil or greenhouse

With a sharp change in conditions, seedlings of strawberries grown by seeds will experience stress. But it can be minimized by preparing the plants. To do this, harden the seedlings a week before transplanting to a permanent place. If minimum temperature does not fall beyond 10 degrees, then you can leave the strawberries on the balcony.

No need to think that strawberry seedlings intended for a greenhouse do not need hardening. Plants need to get used to the sunlight. To do this, take the seedlings outside on hot days.

Strawberries are a delicious berry that grows everywhere in gardens. Even in the tiniest plots there is almost always a place for a bed of this berry crop.

About the love of the plant says many varieties with the most different characteristics, size, taste of berries, terms of fruiting.

Strawberries are propagated with the help of a mustache, more precisely, with root rosettes that form on them. However, given the characteristics of some varieties, the berry is often propagated by seeds.

We will try to figure out when to sow strawberries for seedlings and how to care for them later in order to get a good harvest.

Dates of sowing strawberries for seedlings

Most often, amateurs plant strawberries with rosettes, which are located on the mustache of the plant. They take them either from their plants, or purchase them in nurseries, in stores, in markets.

Seedlings of popular or new varieties of strawberries are sometimes unreasonably expensive, much more expensive than the number of berries that one bush will give.

The seed method of reproduction is much cheaper, but it seems to many laborious and inaccessible.

Varietal seeds can be selected at an affordable price in trading network or assemble by yourself.

In addition, it should be borne in mind that beardless varieties are now popular, so the skills of growing strawberry seedlings from seeds will be useful to lovers of this berry.

From an economic point of view, self-harvesting of seeds is beneficial. To do this, choose bushes in the garden of the desired variety, or simply strawberries that you like in taste and size.

A well-ripened berry is removed from the bush and allowed to lie still. After that, the top layer with seeds is peeled off with a knife, smeared on paper and dried. Store dry seeds in paper bags until sowing them for seedlings.

The timing of sowing strawberry seeds depends on whether seedlings are intended for spring or autumn planting in the ground.

The main difference in these terms is that from seedlings planted before autumn, next summer there will be a full-fledged harvest of berries.

From spring plantings there will either be no berries at all, or the harvest will ripen completely meager. Only remontant varieties can please with a sufficient number of berries at the end of summer.

In order for the seedling to grow stronger by the time of planting in the ground and have a developed root system, real leaves and give the first berries in the current season, it is better to sow strawberry seeds at the end of January or in the first decade of February. The difficulty with this sowing is the need for additional lighting.

For planting in the ground before autumn, strawberry seeds are sown for seedlings in April - May. Such seedlings will be ready for transplanting into the garden by the beginning of August.

Thus, two main periods can be distinguished when strawberry seeds are sown for seedlings - these are January, February and April, May. Although depending on climatic conditions there may be deviations from these dates.

Video on how to care for strawberry seedlings:

To successfully obtain planting material, you need to know some of the features of growing strawberries from seeds.
Important points for growing strawberry seedlings, varieties

Soil pretreatment

Land for sowing seeds must be well disinfected by any accessible way. You can hold it for half an hour quartz lamp or steam at a temperature of + 150 degrees in the oven for at least half an hour.

In this case, you can start sowing after the soil has cooled.

Seed stratification

To accelerate the germination of strawberry seeds, they can be placed for five to six days in a room where the temperature is not higher than + 5 degrees.

For this, the bottom drawer of the refrigerator or a glazed unheated loggia, a greenhouse is also suitable. If possible, the seeds can be sprinkled with snow.

In addition to stratification, the seeds can be soaked for a day in a solution of potassium permanganate or any growth stimulant.

Sowing seeds

It is necessary to sow seeds in the ground at a distance of 2 - 5 cm. They are laid out from above, without embedding to a depth.

This can be done with a toothpick, sharpened match or small tweezers.
Before the emergence of shoots, the soil must be sprayed from a spray gun, preventing drying out.

There is a practice of keeping the seeds in a transparent bag for sunlight in a humid environment, and when a seedling appears, planted in the ground. Sowing on peat tablets has proven itself well.

Emergence of shoots, care

The first shoots may appear on the 14-15th day, but very often strawberry seeds begin to germinate only after three to four weeks. Cases of emergence of shoots in 35 - 40 days are known.

In the first weeks, the seedlings need regular watering, but they are so thin that it is better to do this with a small syringe, dripping a few drops next to the seedling.

To maintain the humidity regime, the container must be covered with a perforated transparent film. Holes in it are needed to prevent the accumulation of condensate.

The film can be removed when the first pair of true leaves appears.
It is optimal to transplant seedlings to a permanent place in the stage of three to four true leaves.

Choice of strawberry variety

• Desna, early
• Kokinskaya early
• Corrado, mid-early
• Festival, medium
• Lord, middle
• Cardinal, middle late
• Bogotá, late
• Queen Elizabeth, remontant
• Yellow miracle, remontant
• Snow White, decorative

If the experience in growing strawberries from seeds was successful, then in a year the number of bushes of beardless strawberries can be doubled by dividing them after fruiting, and with varieties that give a mustache, planting material it is better to take from the bushes of the third year of life.

• January: from 7 to 20, and the most auspicious days- 15 and 17;
• February: 6 to 18, and the most favorable days are 6 and 7;
• March: from 7 to 20, and the most favorable days are 8, 14 and 15;
• April: 6 to 18, and the most favorable days are 10 and 11;
• May: 6 to 18, and the most favorable days are 10 and 16.

Never sow, plant, or transplant plants during new and full moons- in these lunar phases all juices flow either to the top or to the rhizome, so the normal development of any culture in the future will be very difficult.

Soil for strawberry seedlings

The soil for strawberry seedlings should be loose and crumbly, but not oversaturated with fertilizers.

We offer you several soil options for strawberry seedlings:

• three parts of compost or humus, three parts of garden soil and half a part of wood ash;
• two parts of sod land and one part of peat and sand;
• three parts of sand and five parts of humus;
• one part of coconut fiber and one part of biohumus or humus;
• three parts of peat and sand and four parts of vermiculite;
• three parts of sand and one part of garden soil and humus.

After you thoroughly mix the ingredients, the soil should be disinfected - calcined for 30 minutes in the oven at a temperature of 150 ºC, freeze or spill with a strong solution of potassium permanganate. After disinfection, the soil is placed for 2-3 weeks in a warm place so that bacteria useful for seeds appear and multiply in it.

Growing seedlings of strawberries from seeds

Sowing material can be bought, or you can grow strawberries from your own collected seeds. The only exception is hybrid varieties- their seeds do not transmit varietal characteristics from generation to generation, so you have to buy new seeds every time.

Growing strawberry seedlings begins with the disinfection of seed. The seeds are placed for half an hour in a half-percentage solution of potassium permanganate, then rinsed thoroughly in clean water and proceed to stratification: spread on a moistened linen napkin, covered with the same wet napkin, then rolled up from this “sandwich” roll, placed in a plastic container, covered with a perforated lid and kept warm for two days, after which they put the container for two weeks in a vegetable refrigerator box. Don't let wipes dry out.- ventilate the seeds and sprinkle them regularly with water, and dry them a little before sowing.

The seeds will be ready for sowing when they swell, but try not to peck them, because when sowing, small sprouts break off easily, and you will wait in vain for germination.

Lay the disinfected soil for seedlings in a container washed with a solution of potassium permanganate, compact and moisten it, spread the seeds on the surface in rows at 3-4 cm intervals with a wet toothpick and do not close them - strawberry seeds germinate in the light. Cover the container with a transparent plastic lid with small holes for air exchange and place it in a bright and warm place where direct sunlight does not fall - window sills of western or eastern windows are most suitable for such purposes.

There is another way to sow seeds, which allows you to combine direct sowing with the stratification of strawberry seeds. Decontaminated seeds that have not been stratified are laid out in the manner just described on the surface of dry soil, which does not reach the edge of the container by 2 cm, and a layer of snow is placed on top of the seeds to the edge of the container, after which the container is covered with a lid and placed in a refrigerator for two weeks. IN vegetable box the snow will gradually melt and draw the seeds into the soil with it, as it usually happens in the garden in the spring. After two weeks, the container is moved to the windowsill under bright but diffused light, but the lid is not removed until the first shoots appear.

How to grow strawberry seedlings in tablets

Seedlings of strawberries from seeds develop well in peat tablets. They are convenient because you do not need to bother with the preparation and disinfection of the soil, and you can skip the picking of seedlings.

Peat tablets are put into a container and filled with water so that they increase in size, after which the seeds that have undergone the disinfection and stratification procedure are laid out in tablets with a wet toothpick. To prevent moisture from evaporating quickly, the container is covered with a transparent lid, after which it is placed in a warm, bright place.

It will be necessary to ventilate the crops daily and remove condensate from the cover, so that mold does not appear on the substrate, but if you suddenly find it, remove the mold and pour the fungicide solution on this place. Remove the cover as soon as the seedlings begin to develop the first true leaves.

Frigo strawberry seedlings

IN last years a new practice has appeared to dig up developed annual rosettes of strawberries of the first and second order for the winter, store dormant bushes with an open root system in sealed packages at a certain temperature and air humidity, and plant these rosettes in the garden in spring. Freego's advantage is that such seedlings of strawberries in the spring quickly take root and grow, because during the winter proper storage normal biorhythms of plants are not disturbed.

Choosing at your discretion the timing of planting frigo, you can get a crop by the scheduled date. In addition, frigo strawberry seedlings take up little space during storage.

Specialists from the UK and the Netherlands, who developed this method of growing strawberries, have already completely switched to frigo seedlings, which are divided into three classes:

• class A- seedlings with a rosette diameter of 12 to 15 cm, usually forming no more than two peduncles;
• class A+- seedlings with a shortened shoot with a diameter of more than 15 cm, forming 2-3 peduncles;
• class A+ extra- the diameter of this seedling is more than 20 cm, it has lateral horns and at least 5 peduncles.

Seedlings have frigo and cons- it is difficult to determine the time of digging out sockets and maintain at home the temperature necessary for storage (from 0 to 1 ºC) and air humidity (90%). The disadvantages include the high cost of frigo, although gardeners claim that the price of seedlings is fully paid off due to its productivity.

Strawberry seedlings in a greenhouse

Usually, seedlings of remontant strawberries are grown from seeds, as well as those varieties that do not form a mustache. You can get strawberry seedlings at home, and continue growing in the open field. Or you can plant mature seedlings in a greenhouse and grow strawberries in it all year round. We will talk about how to grow strawberries in a greenhouse in a separate article.

Buy strawberry seedlings - is it worth it

If you have a lot of experience in strawberry cultivation, you will surely be able to grow seedlings yourself. But for novice gardeners, this can be a difficult task, so for the first time it is better to purchase seedlings from well-established manufacturers. Accept from us A few tips to help you choose healthy seedlings:

• it is best to buy strawberry seedlings directly from nurseries or fairs. Avoid buying seedlings on the market from private traders, because they cannot give you any guarantees, while nurseries will not risk their reputation for momentary gain;
• carefully consider the seedlings before buying: her heart should be strong and resilient, seedlings should have a well-developed root system, there should be no damage on the stems, leaves and roots. color y healthy seedling light or bright green;
• the root neck must be at least 5 mm in diameter;
• leaves on rosettes should be no more than three, and there should be no stains on them. Inspect the underside of the leaves for the presence of harmful insects.

Caring for strawberry seedlings at home

Conditions for growing seedlings of strawberries

Contain strawberry crops in light warmth place under the transparent cover. If there is no condensation on the inside of the coating, then the soil needs to be moistened, if there is too much condensation, it must be removed. Air the crops once or twice a day. Stratified seeds can germinate as early as 4-5 days, and mass seedlings will appear in 2-3 weeks. Seedlings will need maintenance at a temperature of 23-25 ​​ºC. A week later, so that the sprouts do not stretch, the air temperature is lowered to 15-18 ºC.

The cover is removed when the first pair of true leaves develop on the seedlings, but this is done gradually, allowing the seedlings to adapt to the environment. At this time, the crops are not watered, and the temperature in the room is maintained at 18-20 ºC.

Seedlings will need even more light after you remove the cover, so be prepared to arrange additional lighting for them, and the air temperature at this stage of development should be between 10-15 ºC. Do not forget to air the seedlings regularly, but make sure that they do not fall into a draft.

Watering strawberry seedlings

It is best to use a pipette or medical syringe for watering, from which you can “drink” each seedling under the root once a week. Water for moistening crops should be settled for at least a day or filtered, the same temperature as the air in the room, or two degrees warmer. Make sure that water did not fall on the leaves of the seedlings, otherwise, spots may appear on them.

It is impossible to overmoisten strawberry seedlings, as this is fraught with the appearance of a black leg - fungal disease that affects plants during the seedling period. But it is also impossible to allow the drying of the soil with crops.

Watering seedlings is carried out either early in the morning or in the evening, after sunset. As fungal disease prevention it is necessary to carry out 1-2 watering of seedlings with a fungicide solution (Planriz, Trichodermin or Trichopol) with an interval of 2-3 weeks.

Illumination of strawberry seedlings

Since they begin growing strawberry seedlings in winter or in early spring when the daylight hours are still short, you will have to install an artificial light source over the seedlings - a phytolamp, an LED or gas discharge lamp, or fluorescent lamp, which should work daily for 13-14 hours. After all, even at 12 noon daylight February is not as bright as May.

Set the lamp above the seedlings at a distance of 20 cm, and for convenience, you can purchase a timer-socket that will automatically turn on artificial lighting, for example, at 6 a.m. and turn it off at 11 p.m. - your seedlings will have enough daylight hours.

Picking strawberry seedlings

Strawberries are dived in the development stage; they have 3-4 true (toothed) leaves, but this only applies to seedlings growing in a common container. They are well watered before picking, removed from the soil by the cotyledon leaves (in no case by the stem!), pinch their central root and transplant the seedlings into separate cups, where they will grow until planting in open ground. After transplanting, the seedlings are carefully watered.

If you sowed the seeds in tablets, then as soon as the roots of the seedlings begin to sprout through the mesh, plant them directly in the tablets in separate cups.

Sometimes gardeners spend not one, but two picks - the first at the stage of development of 2-3 leaves and the second, when the seedlings already have 4-5 leaves. They do this mainly because the seedlings develop too quickly, and weather will not allow seedlings to be planted in the ground on time. In this case, picking can save strawberry seedlings, preventing it from overgrowing and even slowing down its development somewhat.

After picking, seedling care consists of watering, loosening the soil and top dressing.

Feeding strawberry seedlings

Strawberry seedlings do not need to be fed at home until the pick itself, but after this procedure, fertilizers containing mainly potassium, phosphorus and only a small amount of nitrogen are applied to the soil every 10-12 days. Strawberries prefer water-soluble fertilizers- Kemiru or Mortar with the addition of a two percent solution of trace elements and iron chelate.

Diseases of strawberry seedlings and their treatment

At good care strawberry seedlings do not suffer from diseases, but with chronic waterlogging it can be affected by a black leg - rot of the root neck of seedlings, which manifests itself from the beginning of seed germination to the stage of development of 2-3 leaves. On the background high humidity in 4-6 days, the base of the stem turns black, softens, breaks, and the seedling lies down.

If the disease is widespread, dive healthy seedlings into separate sterile containers in disinfected soil, place them in a warm place and protect from direct sunlight. As soon as they take root, the temperature of the content can be lowered, and a fungicide (Fitosporin, Bactofit or Maxim) must be added to the water for the first irrigation.

It is inspiring that seedlings growing in peat tablets practically do not get sick with a black leg, since the tablets are disinfected and impregnated with a fungicide.

Sometimes at home, seedlings can get powdery mildew, and then a whitish coating appears on its leaves and stems, which gradually darkens and becomes dense and brown. Affected plants stop growing and die. The cause of the infection can be:

• excessive fertilization with nitrogen fertilizers,
• sharp fluctuations in temperature,
• air humidity.

In the fight against powdery mildew on strawberry seedlings, solutions of biofungicidal preparations prepared in accordance with the instructions are used - Alirin-B, Fitosporin, Gamair or Planriz.

In conditions of low humidity, strawberry seedlings can be occupied by spider mites, making small punctures in the leaves of seedlings and sucking through them cell sap. In addition, ticks carry incurable viral diseases like a mosaic. Destroy pests with acaricide solution- Aktary, Aktellika, Karbofos, Fitoverma.

Planting seedlings of strawberries in open ground

Two weeks before planting seedlings in open ground, they begin to harden it - gradually accustom it to the conditions in which strawberries are to grow in the garden. During the day, seedlings are taken out to an unheated room, first for half an hour, daily increasing the duration of such sessions.

A day or two before planting strawberry seedlings in the garden, transfer the seedlings to a balcony or veranda where the air temperature will be about 10 ºC.

Planting strawberry seedlings in open ground is carried out after the return frosts have passed and when the soil warms up to 12 ºC - from mid-May to mid-June. Strawberries are undemanding to the composition of the soil, but grow better on fertilized black soil. wood ash. Peat soils are not suitable for cultivation. It’s good if onions, garlic, legumes, root crops or green manure grew on the plot before strawberries.

Before planting strawberries, the soil should be prepared - dug up, freed from wireworms, May beetle larvae and cereal weeds.

For planting seedlings choose a cloudy day or time after sunset. Deep and wide holes are placed in a row at a distance of 30-50 cm from each other with row spacing 40 cm wide. The soil taken out of the holes is mixed with fertilizers in the following proportion: 2 cups of ash per bucket of soil, a bucket of compost (humus) and a bucket of manure. In each hole, a hill is made from the prepared soil mixture, a seedling is placed on it, its roots are straightened and the soil mixture is poured into the hole, while adding water so that there is no air left in the roots. After planting, the heart of the bush should be at the level of the surface of the site.