There are several ways to propagate strawberries. The most common are seedlings and through rooting of tendrils. In the first case, seedling bushes are usually bought at the market, the second is available to those who already have berries growing on their plot. Growing strawberries from seeds at home is a much more time-consuming and labor-intensive method. But that’s what they resort to experienced gardeners, who got burned by buying seedlings from unscrupulous sellers who pass off one variety of strawberry after another for the sake of profit.
Features of the method
It is best to purchase varietal strawberry seeds from trustworthy producers or prepare them yourself from ripe berries. Only in this case can you be completely sure that the desired berry variety will grow from the seed.
Varietal strawberry seeds 
berries grown from seeds
Let's not get our hopes up that growing strawberries with seeds is easy. But this method has a number of significant advantages that are worth the effort:
- Strawberry seeds, unlike seedlings, are stored for a long time.
- The seeds have high stability against pests and diseases.
- You can grow any variety of strawberries from seeds, except hybrid ones.
- At home, you can plant several varieties at once with different growing seasons, which will allow you to harvest throughout the summer.
In addition, collecting seeds from ripe strawberries yourself is much more profitable than buying seed in a store or seedlings at the market.
The seeds obtained in this way have good germination, regardless of what kind of strawberry is to be planted.
Harvesting strawberry seeds
For propagation of certain varieties garden strawberries on own plot(dacha, garden) it is useful to know how to get strawberry seeds from berries with your own hands. This is the easiest part of the process seed growing culture.
It is best to take seeds located near the sepals and in the middle part of the berry. Such a seed has a well-developed embryo, which ensures high percent healthy germination strong seedlings. In addition, the strawberries from these seeds turn out to be the most beautiful, juicy, and delicious.
How to quickly prepare strawberry seeds - video
How to prepare seeds for planting
To increase the germination rate of the seed, before planting, strawberry seeds are soaked and stratified, that is, conditions similar to winter conditions are created for the seeds. The stratification procedure is necessary in order to make strawberry seeds stronger and more resilient.
For large-fruited varieties, this procedure should be carried out no later than three months before sowing. Preparing seeds for stratification is carried out as follows:
On the eve of the sowing date, the seeds are removed from the refrigerator, removed from plastic containers and slightly dried. Sowing is done at low wooden boxes, containers for seedlings, peat pots with a previously prepared earthen substrate.
Preparing soil for strawberry seedlings
To grow strawberry seedlings at home, it is recommended to take light, crumbly soil that is not oversaturated with minerals. The composition of the soil substrate can be as follows:
Attention! Before growing strawberries from seeds at home, any soil must be disinfected. This stage is extremely important, since the ground may contain weed seeds, pathogenic bacteria and microorganisms, larvae and/or eggs of insect pests, which pose a real threat to young seedlings.
Disinfection is carried out by steaming or calcining the soil substrate:
After disinfection, the soil becomes sterile. However, not only harmful, but also beneficial microorganisms die. To restore beneficial microflora, the soil is allowed to stand for 2-3 weeks in a moderately cool room.
If you plan to grow strawberries from seeds in boxes or special containers for your own garden (dacha), planting can be done immediately after stratification. Sowing time is late February or early March. If the seedlings grown by seed method, intended for sale, seeds can be sown at an earlier date, but with mandatory artificial illumination of the seedlings.
Sowing rules
The earthen substrate, prepared according to all the rules, is poured into seedling boxes and compacted a little. The earth is not watered, but lightly sprinkled upper layer from a spray bottle.
It is very important for normal germination of strawberry seeds. temperature regime. Optimal - +18 °C. As the temperature rises, seedlings will appear later, and weaker seeds will not germinate at all.
There is another method of planting strawberry seeds for seedlings. It differs from the first one in that stratification is carried out not in advance, in the refrigerator, but directly in the soil of the container.
Sowing with stratification is carried out as follows:
Every day the container is opened and the seeds are ventilated. If necessary, moisten the crops. As the snow melts, the seeds slowly fall to the soil, taking the desired position. There is no need to correct them. After the allotted time, the boxes are transferred to light in a warm place and wait for seedlings to emerge, as with the usual planting method.
If the seeds do not germinate simultaneously, but at intervals of 1–2 weeks, there is no need to worry. This time interval is not a deviation from the norm. To stabilize the process, after the first shoots appear, the box with seeds must be opened and transferred to a well-lit, cool room with a temperature no higher than 15 °C.
It is best to take seeds located near the sepals and in the middle part of the berry. Such a seed has a well-developed embryo, which ensures a high germination rate of healthy, strong seedlings. For this purpose, the sprouts are transplanted into separate containers.
Sowing strawberry seeds with stratification - video
Transplanting strawberry sprouts
Seedlings can be transplanted when 3 true leaves appear on the sprouts. Plastic cups or peat pots are suitable as containers. The optimal size for them is 5x5 cm.
Transplantation is a rather complex and very painstaking process that requires precision, accuracy, and patience. But it is necessary.
How to grow strawberries from berries in separate containers? Further care care for sprouts consists of timely moistening the soil, providing sufficient lighting, and feeding the seedlings with solutions to stimulate growth.
Planting strawberries in open ground
Before planting in the beds, the plants are hardened off:
- Starting in April, greenhouses with seedlings are taken out to glass balcony or loggia. Starting small, the duration of the hardening procedure is gradually increased to several hours.
- After a week or a week and a half, you can leave the strawberries on the balcony overnight. Lowering the air temperature at night to 5–7 °C is useful for hardening off seedlings.
Strawberry seedlings are planted in open ground when the weather is warm enough. Planting time is from late May to early June. By this time, the first flowers are already appearing on the sturdy strawberry bushes. For better adaptation of plants, active growth of green mass and achievement of high productivity, it is recommended to pinch off these flowers.
Not all gardeners know how to grow strawberries from seeds at home and obtain varietal seedlings for the garden or for the windowsill. Some varieties of garden strawberries bear fruit all season until autumn frosts.
By purchasing planting material at the market, we get rosettes of an unknown variety and all the diseases that she has. But in fact, you can get excellent strawberry seedlings from seeds at home. To do this, you just need to know which variety to choose.
“Moscow Delicacy” is a very early, unpretentious variety that produces consistently high yields, obtained as a result of domestic selection.
"Sarian" - also a remontant plant, is successfully grown in greenhouses, although strawberries are quite frost-resistant.
“Queen Elizabeth” is everyone’s favorite variety of garden strawberries, which is distinguished by large berries with high commercial qualities.
“Gigantella” - fruits reach 120 g. If the goal is to grow large-fruited garden strawberries, then you should give preference to this particular species.
“Geneva” appeared in our country in the 90s. The variety is very different high yield. Strawberries are large-fruited, disease-resistant, produce berries twice in one season, but at the same time have a dormant period.
"Zephyr" - excellent variety, suitable for both home grown, and for open ground. Large berries, ripen early. However, such strawberries are very capricious and cannot tolerate a lack of light at all. Fruits once a season.
“Sakhalin berry” produces a harvest until frost. We must not forget about such varieties of garden strawberries as “Festivalnaya” and “Bogota”, which have consistently high yields.
It is better to purchase seeds from trusted manufacturers to be sure of the quality of the products.
If you do this yourself, you should take into account that hybrids are not suitable for such purposes, since the resulting plants will not inherit varietal characteristics.
Strawberry seeds are well stored for 4 years and do not lose their viability. If you cannot sow them right away, this can be done the next season. But it is important to prepare for the upcoming work according to all the rules.
To do this, the seeds are disinfected for 20 minutes in a manganese solution, then the bottom of a transparent container is lined with cotton cloth, moistened, and the planting material is laid out. The container should be covered with a lid with holes. Strawberry seeds are very small, which allows you to spread them on fabric using toothpicks. The top of the planting material is covered with a second layer of damp cloth. It is advisable to use melt water.
It is very convenient to sow seeds in peat tablets, which promotes higher germination and greatly facilitates care. In this case, the gardener will be able to avoid a lot of problems associated with picking and transplanting seedlings.
Technology of planting into tablets:
- Such containers must first be soaked in a tray of water. The peat should be well saturated with moisture and increase in volume.
- Place one seed in the center of each tablet, for which it is more convenient to use tweezers.
- After sowing, cover the tray with film. You can also use a transparent cake lid.
- From time to time, the seedlings should be ventilated so that a lot of condensation does not collect on the lid.
- The soil must be moistened regularly.
Terms of seed sowing rules
In the southern regions, strawberry seeds are sown for seedlings already in February. In the northern regions, the work deadlines are shifted to March. The timing mainly depends on the variety and climatic conditions. If you are late with sowing, there is a risk that the seedlings simply will not take root due to the heat. To grow strawberries on a windowsill at home, it is advisable to do this in April.
There are certain rules for planting strawberries at home. It is necessary to fill the containers with soil and place one seed at a time on the surface of pre-moistened soil or make small grooves. Cover with earth Under no circumstances should planting be allowed, otherwise the seeds will not germinate. The box is covered with film or covered with glass. The room should be warm and bright. When condensation appears in such a mini-greenhouse, it needs to be checked.
What should the soil be like?
To grow strawberries at home and harvest, it is important to sow the berry plant in suitable soil. The soil mixture must be light and free-flowing. The soil for planting seeds is never fertilized, as there is a risk of burning the tender roots of the sprouts. For example, you can mix forest soil and river sand in equal volumes or take 3 parts of peat, the same amount of sand and vermicompost.
Before sowing, it is imperative to carry out work to destroy all pathogenic bacteria in the soil. To do this, the substrate is heated at 200 degrees in the oven for at least 20 minutes. Another trick is to freeze the soil mixture by placing the box outside.
Choosing the right container
It is very important to choose a good container in which the seedlings will grow freely. These can be special cassettes. One seed is placed in each of them. Many gardeners use wooden boxes or small pots for this purpose. Various packaging for cakes and pastries will also work.
How to care for seedlings
Strawberry seedlings from seeds sprout quite quickly, especially in hydroponics, and they definitely need to be properly cared for.
Optimal conditions of detention
The ideal temperature for proper growth is +20-22 degrees. Seedlings need a lot of light, so you will have to use additional options - phytolamps. Drafts should not be allowed in the room, otherwise the tender and still weak shoots will die.
As soon as the first leaves appear, the strawberries begin to be watered. At the same time, the lid or glass is gradually removed from the containers.
Watering and fertilizing
The seedlings should not be moistened too much, as they may rot. Most often, strawberry seedlings develop blackleg due to excessive humidity or mold appears on the walls of the container. The first few days, when the soil mixtures dry out, they are slightly moistened with lukewarm water from a spray bottle.
After picking, they begin to apply fertilizers. Strawberries are fed every 10 days with solutions in which great content phosphorus and potassium. Formulations containing a lot of nitrogen should be avoided. The best option– fertilizers soluble in water. You can feed the seedlings with Kemira or Mortar with the addition of a weak iron solution.
Picking strawberry seedlings
In the development phase of the fourth leaf, the seedlings are planted. Some gardeners do this twice - at the phase of three and 5 leaves. If the seedlings have grown and it’s standing outside too cold weather, then you will have to carry out the work twice. To plant in flowerpots for the purpose of growing on a windowsill, it is not necessary to organize similar events twice.
For picking, you need to make 10x10 cm squares in a box. The seedlings are watered first, and then transplanted with a picking peg, being careful not to damage the roots. A similar procedure is carried out together with an earthen lump. Under no circumstances should the stem be touched during work. The plant is placed in a hole, buried, and watered with a thin stream of water so that moisture does not reach the growing point.
It is important to place drainage at the bottom of the container in which the strawberries are planted. A layer of special material will help protect young plants from stagnation of moisture near the roots and prevent the development of rot.
It is very convenient to dive into small plastic cups. If a window sill is chosen for seedlings, it is better to care for them in such a container. A drainage hole should be made in each glass.
Seedlings are prepared for planting in open ground. The first thing to do is to harden the seedlings, for which during the day the window in the room is opened for several hours, and with the onset of warm days the boxes are taken out into the air. Already in mid-May, when the threat of frost has passed, the plants are planted on the ridges.
You must be prepared for the fact that most varieties of garden strawberries grown from seeds begin to yield only the next season. The fact is that strawberries need to gain strength. It is advisable to cut off the emerging flowers so that they do not weaken the young plants.
Obtaining strong and high-quality strawberry bushes of an expensive variety at home from seeds is a completely feasible task that every gardener can cope with.
Any varieties are suitable for growing from seeds, but to get the maximum benefit, it is best to choose from proven, proven large-fruited remontant hybrids. These are those that produce two harvests per season: World Debut, Russian Size, Fresco, Elizabeth II, Amtestar. The weight of the berries is from 20 to 60 g, some specimens reach up to 100 g! Such berries are more often called “victory”, and they are usually grown with a mustache.
Only those seeds that have undergone stratification for 1-3 months are suitable for planting, that is, they were kept at a low temperature in the refrigerator or naturally cooled outside in winter.
To grow a seedling, you need to have good permeable, loose soil based on peat, sand and leaf humus. When planting in a box or box, the soil layer should be no more than 10 cm, and the container should have holes at the bottom. Perfect for these purposes plastic boxes from under a flip top cake. Essentially, this is a mini-greenhouse with suitable humidity for the development of seedlings.
We water the soil well, carefully lay out the seeds and lightly press them down (but do not bury them). We place the box in any place so that the temperature is within 25C. Watering during the germination period should only be from a sprayer. When watering with a stream, the location of the seeds changes, and they, as a rule, do not germinate. After about 10-30 days, very small shoots appear. After this, it is advisable to reduce the temperature to 16-19C. And light support is definitely needed. Energy-saving lamps are the best thing that won't break your pocket. Control the ventilation of the mini-greenhouse yourself, avoiding overheating, hypothermia, and excessive condensation.
When two true leaves appear on the plant, hill up: carefully cover the stem under the leaves with soil (preferably with a match). This will help the plant quickly develop adventitious roots.
When the threat of frost has passed, plant the seedlings in the ground according to a compacted pattern of 20x20 cm. In the fall, plant a strong bush on permanent place. And next summer you will receive the first harvest.
At good care, weeding, watering, fertilizing, autumn harvest will be much higher. When planting a plant in the ground, add a pinch of superphosphate. Good in small quantities bird droppings, manure Cover the row spaces with mowed grass, straw, sawdust or newspapers. Such protection is necessary to retain moisture and control weeds.
In a similar way, from my seeds, I grew remontant raspberries, tomatoes of all colors and sizes, potatoes, cucumbers, peppers... For questions, please contact:
Kostenko Igor Viktorovich,
Growing strawberries (large-fruited garden strawberries) from seeds is rarely found in the practice of amateur gardeners. Breeders use this method to obtain new varieties; it is unsuitable for amateur gardening, and only a few enthusiasts try to grow strawberries this way.
Advantages and disadvantages of seed propagation of strawberries
The advantages of the method are as follows:
- in 3 months you can get much more seedlings than when propagating with a mustache;
- strawberries grown from seeds do not contain viruses transmitted during vegetative propagation.
Disadvantages of seed growing.
- The most important disadvantage of this method is the very large split in varietal characteristics in plants grown from seeds. This applies to both regular and remontant strawberries. Varietal qualities change greatly, usually in the direction of deterioration; completely varietal characteristics are not transmitted to the offspring. This is due to the fact that strawberries are not self-fertile enough and for better pollination, several varieties are grown on the plot at the same time. Cross-pollination does not affect the varietal characteristics of berries and runners in any way, and the seeds contain genes of the varieties that participated in pollination, hence the leapfrog in the resulting offspring.
- Seedlings are very sensitive to microclimate, so growing them at home is more difficult than other crops (tomatoes, eggplants, peppers).
For these reasons, strawberry seeds are not often sold in garden centers. Another thing remontant strawberry(small-fruited). When obtained from seeds, it completely transmits all varietal characteristics, so its seed propagation is both practical and profitable.
Strawberry seeds: characteristics
From one berry you can get a large amount seed material, which is enough for more than one bed. The seeds have a very high germination rate: 96-98%. It is believed that they are stored for up to 4 years, but unlike vegetables, germination capacity by the end of the storage period decreases to almost zero, only a few sprout.
Fresh seeds germinate within 7-10 days; store-bought seeds may not germinate. This is due either to improper storage or to the expiration date. To be on the safe side, it is better to buy several bags from different companies and in different stores, then something will probably come up. When purchasing strawberry seeds in winter, along with peppers and eggplant seeds, they are sown immediately.
How to collect strawberry seeds
To grow strawberries at home, it is better to get your own seeds. They are taken from the most large berries first wave.
Select completely reddened strawberries (they should not be overripe and soft, but just red), pick and trim the top and tip of the berry, since the seeds there are small and, often, unripe.
The middle part is placed in a bowl of water and kneaded. The seeds drown, and the pulp remains in the water column; it is drained. To completely remove the pulp, the seed material is washed 3-4 times.
In specialized literature, there is often a recommendation to ferment berries in a bowl of water for 2 days to better separate the seeds from the pulp. This must be done very carefully. For fermentation, take a small container, when the mass turns sour, wash it immediately. If you miss this moment, the seeds may suffocate and die (since the fermentation microbes have consumed all the oxygen). Moreover, we must not allow mold to appear on the surface of the water and cover everything. thin film, and air does not enter the water column. In this case, the seeds lose their viability. At home, it is better and easier to simply rinse the pulp.
The seeds are laid out in a thin layer and dried for 2 weeks under diffuse conditions. sunlight or in the shade, avoiding direct sun.
Dried seeds are packaged in paper bags and stored at home until January.
Preparing seeds for sowing
Before sowing, strawberry seeds are stratified for 14 days, placing them on the bottom shelf of the refrigerator. Stratification can be done in two ways:
- placing paper bags in the refrigerator;
- seeds already sown in the ground are covered with a cloth and stratified directly in the seedling box.
Seed stratification before sowing.
With any method of stratification, it is necessary to ensure a sufficient supply of oxygen to the seeds, otherwise they will suffocate and die. That is why the seedling box is covered with breathable material, and not with film, although it can be done after making several holes in it.
Soil preparation
When growing strawberries at home, soil is taken from your own plot from a clean, weed-free bed. If it is very dense, add sand in a ratio of 1:3. If the soil is taken from a bed where pumpkins grew, then add a little herbal fertilizer.
Store-bought soils are not suitable for strawberry seedlings. They are highly saturated with fertilizers, and an excessive concentration of salts is harmful to plants. In such soil, strawberries may not sprout at all, or the seedlings will quickly die.
Sowing
Before sowing, the soil is moistened; it should be soaked by 3-4 cm. At home, sowing is carried out in February, along with eggplants and peppers; if there is a heated greenhouse, then sow in March. The seeds are evenly distributed over the surface of the soil with a match or toothpick, lightly pressed, but not sprinkled. The sown pots or boxes are covered with glass or cloth. You can cover it with film, but you need to make sure that there is always enough oxygen in the container.
The seedling box is placed in a bright, warm place, but not in direct sunlight or in the dark, otherwise the strawberries will not sprout. Shoots appear in 7-10 days.
Seedling care
Growing crops in apartment conditions is not an easy task.
Air humidity
The air in the room is very dry for her, but the lighting makes things worse: the lamps not only dry the air, but also heat the plants themselves. Seedlings in the cotyledon stage need high humidity environment, and if the air is dry, then the seedlings that have begun to grow dry up.
The most severe damage to strawberries at home occurs when they are grown on purchased nutrient soils and at low air humidity.
Shoots for proper development Humidity 90-95% is required. To avoid attacks, seedlings are grown under a transparent cap (glass, cut plastic bottles, film). Holes are first made in the material so that the seedlings do not suffocate. When growing in an apartment, the main thing at first is not to dry out the seedlings. The box with seedlings is ventilated once every 2-3 days for 15 minutes.
Light and temperature
At home, seedlings in February-March may not have enough light on the windowsill, so whenever possible, the box is placed in a glassed-in loggia or greenhouse, placing it behind pots of peppers and eggplants (so that the seedlings are not in direct sunlight). Strawberries, even in the cotyledon stage, are not afraid of frost down to -3°C, and if they are already hardened, they can withstand temperatures down to -5°C without being damaged.
When growing cabbage and onions seedling method Strawberry seedlings are placed next to them. They all need the same conditions to grow: cool, high humidity and enough light. As soon as the temperature rises above 0°C, the box is taken out to the loggia or greenhouse and left there until the evening, and if at night it is not lower than -3°C, then overnight. To know exactly when to harvest the seedlings, place a bottle of water nearby; when it starts to freeze, the seedlings are brought indoors. It is better for seedlings to stand in a greenhouse at a temperature of 1-2°C than in a dark room at 20°C.
Watering
It is better to water strawberries with snow melt water. Too hard or chlorinated water is not suitable for it; such watering may kill the seedlings. If at home it is not possible to water with melt water, then before the procedure tap water stand for 2-3 hours. When using unsettled water, a yellowish-white bacterial-limescale deposit forms on the soil. In such areas, the concentration of salts is increased and the seedlings that fall into the plaque zone dry out. As soon as yellowish-white spots appear on the ground, they are carefully removed with a match, then the threat of death of the seedlings is temporarily removed.
Water the strawberries with a syringe, otherwise under a large stream of water the seedlings will swim with soil.
Caring for grown seedlings
When grown in an apartment, seedlings grow rather slowly, only after 10-15 days do they develop their first leaves. When trifoliate leaves begin to appear, the protective cap can be removed from the seedlings: the plants are strong enough, they no longer require such high humidity (although it is desirable), they can tolerate dry air. You can also water normally at this stage. tap water. Plant picking is not carried out, since seedlings when grown at home do not grow too large, and unnecessary damage to the roots makes it difficult for strawberries to survive in a permanent place in the future.
Planting strawberries in a permanent place
By mid-May, the seedlings will be about 3 months old, they will have grown, and it will be convenient to replant them.
The box with seedlings is filled to the brim with water to make it easier to untangle the roots; carefully, without allowing the stems to bend, remove the plants and plant them in a permanent place.
Strawberries grown from seeds are planted compactly 20x40 cm, plant survival rate is 90-95%. They begin to bear fruit the next year.
The method of growing a crop from seeds at home is completely unsuitable for obtaining varietal strawberries. It is suitable for those who have a lot of free time and want to experiment. The results of such experiments are almost 100% unsuccessful: strawberries lose their varietal qualities, although there are exceptions. In any case, we can try, what if we manage to develop a new variety?!
Other useful articles on growing strawberries:
Cannot be grown from seeds. Actually this is not true. You just need to know that planting strawberries with seeds has been successfully used for beardless varieties. High-quality small-fruited seeds are available for sale alpine strawberries: "Baron Solemacher", "Weiss Solemacher", "Alexandria", "Yellow Miracle", "Ruyana". By choosing any of the listed varieties of remontant alpine strawberries and knowing the specifics of how to plant strawberries with seeds, you can easily grow seedlings of this popular fragrant berry. ON THE PICTURE: White-fruited strawberry variety "Weiss Solemacher". It is believed that berries without bright coloring pigments are the least allergenic.
How to sow strawberry seeds correctly?
Determining the sowing time
To get the first berry harvest at the end of summer current year, it is necessary to sow from the beginning of February to the end of March. Strawberries sprout at good lighting, therefore, when sowing early we need to provide it.
Planting strawberries with seeds: preparing the soil and choosing a container for sowing
To grow strawberry seedlings, low (5–6 cm) but wide containers are used. It is convenient to use a ready-made plastic container with a lid. For care excess water and for better air circulation, punctures are made in the bottom and lid.
Neat holes in a plastic container are obtained by using a hot awl or needle.
The container is filled with soil. Can be used soil mixture self-made from sand, vermiculite and leaf humus (1:1:1). Ready-made soil for seedlings is also suitable (as we wrote earlier, GreenWorld brand seedling soil is ideal for these purposes). Before filling the container, the soil is sifted. Strawberries prefer loose neutral soil, without excess nutrients.
It is useful to treat the soil with the preparation. This will help avoid damage to young shoots. The drug solution strengthens the immune system, stimulates plant growth, and also suppresses diseases.
When sowing, strawberry seeds (photo) are distributed on the surface of compacted soil without being buried. To ensure uniform sowing, use a mixture of seeds with sand or ready-made seeds in granules. 
ON THE PICTURE: The easiest way is to plant strawberry seeds in separate peat tablets.
You can increase seed germination by using soaking before sowing. To do this, place the seeds on a napkin moistened with snow or rainwater (water from a reverse osmosis filter will also work). The water is changed twice a day. After 2–3 days of soaking, germination inhibitors are destroyed in the seed shell.
Successful planting of strawberries with seeds for seedlings is possible using snow sowing techniques. To do this, pour a layer of snow into a container with prepared soil. It is compacted to a thickness of 1 cm and the seeds are laid on top. The container is closed with a lid or polyethylene and placed on the bottom shelf in the refrigerator, where it is kept for 3 days. The advantage of this method is that, as the snow melts, the seeds are evenly distributed over the surface and are slightly drawn into the soil by the melt water. At the same time, they are stratified. 
ON THE PICTURE: This method of sowing allows you to evenly distribute the planting material, since the seeds are more visible against the background of snow.
After the stratification stage is completed, the containers are placed in a warm place with a temperature of +20 to +25°C. On the windowsill may be required additional insulation from below (for example, a layer of foam). Planting strawberries with seeds will not be successful if there is insufficient light. Containers are placed in the brightest place or under fluorescent lamps. Daily care of crops consists of ventilation and removing condensation on the lid of the container.
It is necessary to moisten the crops using a spray bottle, and only if condensation has stopped forming.
Strawberry seeds usually germinate 1–2 weeks after sowing.
How to properly care for seedlings?
You need to take care of the sprouts very carefully the first time the strawberry seeds (garden strawberries) sprout. The sprouts are very tender and weak, so thin grown roots are sprinkled with soil gradually, in 3 stages. To do this, take sifted soil and sprinkle it with a thin layer so that the seedlings do not lean to the side, but can reach towards the light. This procedure repeat 3 days in a row. Water the seedlings with a pipette using water room temperature(from +22 to +24°C).
Mistakes made when caring for strawberry seedlings
- waterlogging;
- low temperature;
- insufficient hydration;
- too tight fit.
Under these conditions, strawberries may develop blackleg disease. As a preventative measure, you can spray the crops with the prepared solution.
It is necessary to provide additional lighting to the seedlings. Until mid-March duration artificial lighting- up to 12 hours a day, then 6–8 hours a day with cloudy weather. Despite additional lighting and careful care, at first strawberry seedlings develop slowly.
Feeding can begin after the true leaves appear. Apply special fertilizers for seedlings or fertilizers for garden strawberries at half dose.
You can get a more complete idea of how to plant strawberry seeds by looking at the process of planting strawberries with seeds on video.
Picking strawberry seedlings
Picking is carried out when the seedlings have 2-3 true leaves. The sprouts are transplanted into separate small containers (50–100 ml each). For the successful development of the strawberry root system, it must be protected from light. Therefore, containers are taken opaque (dark plastic). You can use regular transparent water cups, but they should be placed in a dark, tall tray. Drainage holes are made in the bottom of the containers. They should be large enough for the sprouts to absorb water from the pan. By watering seedlings through a tray, the development of a powerful root system is accelerated.
How to pick strawberry seedlings
In the soil where the plant is transplanted, make a depression with a stick or pencil. It should be deep enough so that the spine does not bend. A solution of “Kornevin” or another stimulant for root formation is dripped into the hole. The sprout is taken by the leaf and lowered into the prepared hole. The rosette from which the leaves grow should not be buried in the soil, but should not stick out from it either. On the first day after picking, it is advisable to cover the seedlings with film. 
ON THE PICTURE: The main condition when choosing containers for picking is opaque walls that protect root system strawberries from the light.
Before planting in the ground, caring for seedlings consists of periodic watering, spraying the leaves every 2-3 days, for which melt water is used. Fertilizing is carried out once with liquid complex fertilizer in half the dose 2 weeks before transplanting into the ground.
Planting strawberry seedlings in the ground
Young plants are transplanted into the ground when they have at least 6 true leaves. In early - mid-May, when planting is carried out, day and night frosts are still possible. Therefore, plantings are covered to protect against the cold non-woven material(spunbond).
When transplanting, it is more correct to maintain the integrity of the earthen ball around the roots of the seedlings. The planting depth should be such that the rosette is not buried in the soil. The best option is to place it flush with the soil surface. 
ON THE PICTURE: If you allow the soil in the container to dry out slightly before planting seedlings in the garden, it will be easier to maintain the integrity of the earthen ball, and therefore the root system of the seedlings.
Caring for strawberries involves periodically loosening the soil, watering and weeding.
Features of growing large-fruited varieties of garden strawberries (strawberries)
Gardeners have successfully planted strawberries with seeds for seedlings in the case of remontant, beardless varieties. For large-fruited varieties, growing from seeds is undesirable. Despite the similar technology of growing from seeds, the resulting plants do not inherit valuable maternal characteristics. In the first year of cultivation, the berries are similar to the described variety, but in subsequent seasons the fruits become tasteless, small and dry. On average, only 1 in 1000 seeds bears the characteristics of the variety. That's why large-fruited varieties Garden strawberries are propagated vegetatively. Young seedlings or mustaches are purchased from a trusted seller, and then propagation is carried out on your own plot by mustaches or dividing the bush.
New: Decorative strawberries
Hybrids of ampelous strawberries from Holland, grown for decorative purposes, are presented on Russian market varieties: "Gasana", "Tuscany", "Laurent", "Milan", "Tristan". These are potted and container plants. Technological techniques for planting ornamental strawberry seeds are similar to the methods for growing alpine varieties of strawberries. Ornamental strawberry seedlings quickly turn into a compact bush with early flowering. Main advantage decorative varieties - raspberry, pink or scarlet flowers
. The berries have no distinct taste; instead of dense pulp, they have a watery structure. It is the decorative properties that are fully reproduced when growing plants from professional seeds. 
ON THE PICTURE: The flowers of decorative hybrid strawberries are impressive with their shades of pink, which are sometimes as “screaming” as in the photo (variety “Lipstick”).