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Growing Remontant And Hybrid Garden Strawberries From Seeds
Growing Remontant And Hybrid Garden Strawberries From Seeds

Video: Growing Remontant And Hybrid Garden Strawberries From Seeds

Video: Growing Remontant And Hybrid Garden Strawberries From Seeds
Video: How To Grow Strawberries From Seed | SEED TO HARVEST 2024, March
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Strawberries from seeds are not difficult

The first strawberries
The first strawberries

The first strawberries

Strawberries are one of the best medicinal berries, but you can use not only the fruits in fresh and dried form, but also the flowers of this plant, and the leaves, which are brewed like tea. Strawberries have a high hematopoietic ability, stimulate digestion, treat diseases of the kidneys, respiratory organs, gout, prevent hypertension and atherosclerosis.

Strawberries are a powerful remedy for the prevention of anemia (anemia), since the iron they contain is easily absorbed by the body. An infusion of strawberry leaves is used for jaundice, edema, urolithiasis. A decoction of the root is used for colitis, dysentery and in the treatment of hemorrhoids. In cosmetics, masks from berries are used, which have a beneficial effect on the skin of the face.

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Try growing strawberries from seeds in your area. Of course, it is not worth growing ordinary strawberries, but remontant ones, they will delight you with their harvest until frost. Believe me, this is not as difficult as it might seem. I was convinced of this from my own experience.

Strawberry seeds are usually sown for seedlings between February and April. However, if you do not have artificial supplementary lighting, then it is better not to rush to sow strawberry seeds, and do it in April, when there is enough light - otherwise the seedlings will be very stretched and develop poorly. You can sow strawberry seeds in open ground in the summer - then these bushes will begin to bear fruit next year.

The first shoots of strawberries
The first shoots of strawberries

The first shoots of strawberries

Before sowing, the harvested strawberry seeds are soaked for two to three days in snow or rain water. The seeds swollen after soaking are laid out on the surface of a moist substrate, without sprinkling with soil, since light is needed for the germination of strawberries. Cover a dish with crops with glass or foil and refrigerate for 2-3 days at a temperature (0 ° C … + 5 ° C). At the same time, germination inhibitors are destroyed in strawberry seeds, which slow down the growth of the embryo. This process is called stratification.

From my own experience, I know that long-term stratification is not required to grow strawberries from seeds, as I have already noted, several days are enough, although some authors argue that it is necessary for the germination of large-fruited varieties of garden strawberries. I grew both small-fruited remontant strawberries and large-fruited hybrid garden strawberries, and once I even sowed seeds isolated from imported large-fruited strawberries, which are sold in the market in early spring - and all the seeds germinated well. Seed germination depends to a large extent on the quality and freshness of the seeds. It is known that they remain viable for no more than two years.

After stratification, the seed dish is exposed to light, covered with glass or foil. Regularly wipe or shake off the resulting condensate and ventilate the crops, spray the drying soil from the spray bottle. Strawberry seeds sprout very unevenly. The first shoots appear in two weeks, and mass shoots usually appear in 3-4 weeks. Then the film is removed from the bowl and the seedlings are placed in a very bright (but not in the sun), cool (18 ° C … 20 ° C) place. The most important thing is to carefully moisten the soil between the delicate shoots of strawberries, so as not to allow it to dry out or excessive moisture, otherwise the seedlings will die. I use a pipette to water these seedlings.

Strawberry after picking
Strawberry after picking

Strawberries after picking

When they have 3-4 true leaves, strawberry seedlings gently dive into the light nutritious soil. When diving, it is important to plant the seedlings at the same depth at which they grew earlier (without deepening or raising the "heart" of the bush above the soil surface). It must be remembered that it is during the pick that some of the plants die.

When the strawberry seedlings, after the pick, take root and noticeably start to grow, they begin to harden - gradually accustom them to fresh air and the sun. Strong plants are transplanted into the ground after hardening at the end of the spring frost; usually by this time, the bushes have already formed six or more true leaves. The place for planting strawberries in the garden is chosen sunny. It is necessary to regularly water the strawberry bushes, especially during the period of their rooting after transplantation. The first harvest of juicy and fragrant strawberries will delight you within 4-5 months after sowing seeds for seedlings.

A novice gardener can try to plant not very expensive remontant strawberries of the Alexandria variety. This variety bears fruit continuously from early summer to autumn frosts. It quickly forms a large bush without a mustache. The berries of this strawberry are fragrant, with an original taste, they can be dried. A more experienced gardener can already try to start growing hybrid large-fruited varieties of garden strawberries from seeds. The principle of sowing and growing seedlings is the same as when growing small-fruited remontant strawberries, but since bags with these seeds are quite expensive, and the plants are more capricious, they should be immediately sown one seed at a time in peat tablets or pots.

First strawberry flowers
First strawberry flowers

First strawberry flowers

If for some reason you are unable to grow strawberry seedlings at home, try another, less troublesome option. In my experience it is even more reliable. I grow such seedlings in late March or early April, depending on weather conditions. I pour expanded clay or coarse sand for drainage into bowls or flower pots at the bottom. Then I pour the sifted, slightly moistened soil mixture on top, compact and spread strawberry seeds on its surface. I pour a small layer of snow on the top of the seed pot, cover it with glass or plastic wrap.

I choose the most shaded place in the garden (where the snow does not melt for the longest time) and leave a pot of strawberry seeds there for one to two weeks. Then they can be placed in a cold greenhouse or heated greenhouse and wait for seedlings. With this method of cultivation, the seeds germinate better, and the plants get sick less, and when the seedlings are picked, most of the seedlings remain viable.

Photo by the author

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