As soon as the birds resume their chirping and the daffodils begin to push their colorful heads up out of the soil, our thoughts turn to strawberries. Summer just wouldn’t be complete without these sweet, juicy little gems. It’s easy to grow your own at home – even with limited space – and they’re guaranteed to be tastier and more tender than any strawberries you’ll find in the grocery store. Follow these easy steps to learn how to grow summer’s sweetest berries.
Can I grow strawberries from seed?
Absolutely! Strawberries have a reputation for being difficult to grow from seed. While they do take a little more work to begin from seeds than from established nursery seedlings, growing strawberry plants from seeds means that you have a virtually unlimited supply of future plants. Just collect seeds from this year’s crop to plant next year!
How long does it take to start strawberries from seed?
If you’re growing a June-bearing cultivar (which is the most common type in the US), you can expect to have fruit around 104 days after you begin germinating the seeds. That reduces down to about 15 weeks of cultivation from seed to harvest.
When should I start germinating strawberry seeds?
If you want to take advantage of the full growing season and have ripe strawberries in mid-June, start the seeds about eight weeks prior to the final frost of the year. Even if you start them a little later, the outdoor conditions should still be favorable enough through September.
What do I need to start strawberries from seed?
It’s possible to sow strawberry seeds outdoors directly in their beds or containers. You’ll just need a growing space with a suitable growing medium, access to sunlight, and a garden net to protect the tender seedlings.
However, with delicate seeds like strawberry seeds, we recommend starting them indoors. This method lets you protect the seeds and young plants from pests and heavy rains. For germinating indoors, you’ll need:
- A shallow container filled with seed-starting mix
- A spraying/misting bottle
- Access to a full-spectrum light
- Room in your fridge for stratification
- A warm place.
Q: Why do I need to use a seed starting medium? Can’t I just use regular potting soil?
A: Potting soil is too dense for delicate little roots. It tends to compress when wet, which makes it difficult for the seeds to access the nutrients in the soil.*
How do I stratify strawberry seeds?
Before the indoor seeds sprout, they need to be moist and stratified. This is the process of imitating nature’s own seasonal hot/cold cycles to tell the seeds it’s time to break out of their dormancy period and germinate. You can use the same container to stratify the seeds that you’ll use to germinate them.
Since your brand-new little strawberry plants will have shallow roots, the container you use doesn’t need to be very deep; about an inch of seed-starting medium is plenty. A Tupperware container works perfectly because it will help the growing medium stay moist.
Sprinkle your seeds on top of the growing medium. They must be kept in a dark environment at no more than 60 degrees Fahrenheit. The back corner of your fridge will work well – just don’t forget about them back there! (And if you’re thinking you can speed things along by using the freezer instead of the fridge, stop right there. Temperatures that are too cold will slow down the germination process.)
It’s crucial to keep the growing medium moist, but not soggy, at all times. If it dries out, the seeds may not germinate. Avoid using a watering can; just mist the seeds every few days with a spray bottle to keep them moist.
Keep the seeds in their cool, dark environment for two weeks.
How to germinate strawberry seeds
After your future strawberries have been moist-stratified for at least two weeks, you’ll need to simulate springtime conditions so they know it’s time to start growing. Remove the container from the refrigerator and find a warm place where it can receive full-spectrum light, either from a grow light or in a room with a south-facing window (just avoid full, direct sunlight). Strawberry seeds require light to germinate, so don’t push them down into the growing medium. Instead, sprinkle a shallow layer on top of the seeds.
The ideal temperature for germinating strawberry seeds is 77 degrees F, but they’ll be happy as long as they stay between 65 and 85 degrees. You can use a seedling warming mat under the container to guarantee the seeds stay in the ideal temperature range.
Hardening off strawberry seedlings
You’ve watched and waited and maybe even squealed in excitement when you saw the first little bits of green peeking out from the seeds. Once the baby plants (or seedlings) are around a half-inch long and have one set of leaves, you can start hardening them off. This is the process of acclimating the seedlings to outdoor conditions like direct sunlight and strong winds.
Start by taking the container with the seedlings outdoors for an hour. The next day, set it outside for two hours. Increase the seedlings’ outdoor time by an hour a day over the course of a week.
Your seedlings will then be ready to be transplanted into the beds or containers where they’ll continue to mature over the growing season. Be gentle when removing the seedlings from their germination container; use a gardening spade or even a spoon to carefully get under the roots and lift the seedlings, being extra careful not to disturb the delicate root hairs.
Make shallow holes in the soil where the seedlings will be planted. Place the seedlings in the soil just deep enough to cover the roots and softly pat the soil down just a little. Seedlings should be planted around 18 inches apart. If possible, protect the beds or containers with gardening nets to keep away birds and other strawberry-loving creatures.
If you started your seeds eight weeks before the last frost, they should start to flower and then produce fruit in mid-June. Most varieties will only produce one crop yearly, so make the most of it and enjoy the (literal) fruits of your labor. And don’t forget to save some of your seeds for next year’s crop!
