Homemade strawberries - grown from seeds or indoor strawberries
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Growing strawberries from seeds is a rather laborious process, but very interesting. It is much easier and faster to purchase seedlings. But the emotions that a gardener receives when harvesting from his own grown bushes surpass all labor costs. Before you start growing a seed, you need to figure out what a strawberry is.
Strawberries are shrubs or grass.
You can even grow strawberries on the balcony.
Strawberries, aka garden strawberries, is it a shrub or a herb? This question is asked by many novice gardeners and it is quite reasonable. When a person buys seedlings, it always sounds like “strawberry bush” or “three strawberry bushes”.
In fact, strawberries are herbaceous plants with a small fibrous root system. So the answer to the question "is a strawberry a bush or a herbaceous plant" now the answer is obvious.
It overwinters in the southern regions quietly in the open field, while the leaves remain green. The plant's requirements for watering and the nutritional value of the upper soil layer are due precisely to the characteristics of the root system.
There are over 2,500 varieties of strawberries, each with its own characteristics, pros and cons. It makes no sense to consider all varieties - there are already ready-made selections of the best of them, suitable for both home and street cultivation. Below we will talk about growing a house.
For growing strawberries at home from seeds, varieties without a mustache are perfect: Alexandrina, Ali Baba, Baron Salemacher, Weiss Salemacher. Hybrids such as Tristar, Geneva, Ducat, Diamant are also good.
Homemade strawberries are remontant and, with proper care, can bear fruit all year round.
Planting strawberry seeds
Germinating seeds will not be difficult
In order for the cultivation of strawberries from seeds at home to be effective, one should carefully approach the choice of planting material.
You can buy seeds from a store or market, or you can prepare it yourself. In the first option, you need to pay attention to the following:
- Manufacturer. The more famous the brand, the less the likelihood of deception - the variety will be exactly the one that is declared.
- Growing conditions. Planting time, climate and required watering frequency / intensity are indicated on the reverse. There is also a detailed description of the variety.
- Shelf life. The packaging indicates the terms of production and the expiration date of the seeds. For expired material, the germination rate is much lower. Some stores even run spoiled seed sales at bargain prices.
It is very simple to check any seeds for germination. It is enough to pour them into the water before planting and leave for 24 hours.
The material that floats can be immediately sent to the trash can - such seeds will not sprout. By the way, you can add fertilizer or growth stimulant to the water. For example, Kornevin is well suited for these purposes.
The second way is to harvest seeds yourself. There is nothing complicated in this process. We bought berries on the table - peeled off the seeds from the surface. Next, they need to be laid out on a napkin and dried. After that, you can stratify and plant the material in a pot.
There is another option for self-harvesting - cut off the top layer of the berry along with the seeds. The cut is simply placed in the pot and watered as usual. The layer left under the seeds serves as a natural fertilizer.
The so-called stratification improves seed germination well. This is a temporary cooling of seeds with snow or in the freezer.
In the first case, the seeds, laid on wet ground, are covered with snow, and on top with film or glass. After the snow melts, replanting is no longer required - the seeds simply begin to grow in the ground.
In the second, the seeds are placed in a freezer for 2-3 weeks, after which they are planted in the ground. A greenhouse effect is created, regular watering is needed. When the seeds are ready, you need to start planting.
Soil preparation
You can buy ready-made soil for planting, but there is a danger here - it may contain parasite larvae, which in the future will cause significant damage to plantings.
It is safer to prepare the mixture yourself. There are two suitable formulations:
- sand + vermicompost + non-acidic peat in a ratio of 1: 1: 3;
- peat + sand + sod land in a ratio of 1: 1: 2.
You can choose any of the above mixtures for the substrate. Add wood ash and a little humus there. Now the mixture must be steamed over boiling water for several minutes - this is how fungal spores and parasite larvae are destroyed. Then the soil must be sifted and poured into the pot.
Sowing
If the seeds were stratified with snow, no further replanting is needed. You can germinate seedlings in two ways: in prepared soil or in peat tablets.
The easiest way: gently place the seeds in the previously prepared and moistened soil. The most convenient way to do this is with tweezers. This method requires the addition of additional fertilizers.
The second option: put peat tablets in a container and soak in water. They will pick up the required amount of moisture and "grow" about 3 times their initial size. Now place one seed in each tablet - there is already a small depression in the center. Now put the container in a warm place and cover with foil, creating a greenhouse effect.
When the first leaves began to hatch, it is necessary to create all conditions for tender sprouts:
- Adequate lighting. A phytolamp is best, but a light window will do.
- Humidity. You need to spray the sprouts regularly. At the slightest drought, they will die.
- Greenhouse. At this stage, both drafts and musty air are equally dangerous for plants.
With proper care, the first three true leaves will soon appear and it will be possible to dive the seedlings to a permanent place.
Strawberry seedlings
Picking
This is a neat transplant of young shoots. After the sprouts are placed in a permanent place, they need to be fed with fertilizer.
Growing strawberries at home all year round
If you want to collect your own strawberries all year round, you need to equip a suitable place for plants in the house. It can be an insulated balcony or a large bright window.
It is best to use remontant varieties - they can bear fruit almost continuously under appropriate conditions.
Strawberry variety Pineapple
A pineapple
I would like to tell you a little more about such an interesting variety. Strawberry Pineapple has an interesting color - outside the berry is pink with red seeds, and inside it is almost white. The variety is considered dessert, has a sweet and sour taste.
The main advantage of gardeners is high yield - from 1 sq. m. you can get 1 kg of berries. Strawberries Pineapple is great for home breeding.
Features of growing remontant strawberries at home
Strawberry harvest
The difference between remontant and ordinary strawberries in the time of maturation of the ovaries. Repaired strawberries need long daylight hours to set buds, while ordinary strawberries are short enough.
Without additional lighting, remontant strawberries bear fruit twice, and then “fall asleep”. If you create good conditions and plant varieties with different fruiting times, you can get a strawberry harvest at home all year round.
In addition to good and long-lasting lighting, it is also important to provide a suitable ground. For remontant varieties, loam or sandy loam soil is more suitable. In peat, the culture feels worse.
You don't have to be limited to a window sill with strawberries. It grows well on shelves too. The main thing is that there is enough lighting. So indoor strawberries can also bear fruit in winter. Strawberries at home from seeds will help provide your family with fresh berries all year round. You just need to be patient.
