When and how to plant strawberries for seedlings to pick berries this year
Miscellaneous / / April 03, 2023
Follow the detailed instructions - and you will succeed.
When to plant strawberries for seedlings
Strawberries can be sown from late January to early April. If you manage to do this in January-February, then it will be possible to harvest berries in the summer. True, due to the short daylight hours in these months, the seedlings will have to organize additional illumination with the help of fitolamps.
If you start sowing in March, the plants will have enough light on the windowsill. True, berries from later seedlings, most likely, will be harvested only next year.
How to choose strawberry seeds
Depending on the size of the berries, strawberries are large-fruited, medium-fruited and small-fruited. It is believed that the latter option is the most unpretentious, since large strawberries require frequent watering - this helps it to pour and become juicy. The shape of the fruit can also be different - from the classic pointed or spherical to flatter and paw-like.
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Strawberry pointed shape. Frame: Diary of a summer resident / YouTube
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Strawberries are spherical. Frame: Diary of a summer resident / YouTube
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Strawberries in the form of "paws". Frame: Diary of a summer resident / YouTube
In addition to the usual red strawberries, there are berries of yellow, white or pink color.
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Frame: Diary of a summer resident / YouTube
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Frame: Tatyana Grechishnikova / YouTube
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Frame: Svetlana Tatur / YouTube
Also pay attention to the features of fruiting strawberries. Ordinary species yield only once per season, while remontant species will delight with berries several times during the summer. By the way, among remontant varieties there is a so-called beardless strawberry. Its bushes do not put out a mustache, like most species, and instead direct their forces to fruiting, which increases productivity.
On packs of seeds, you can often find information about how many berries you can collect from one bush or per square meter. This is not about the number of pieces, but about the total weight. And along with the varieties, you can also find strawberry hybrids, which are labeled F1. As a rule, they are more resistant to diseases, pests and weather vagaries.
How to plant strawberries for seedlings
If everything is done correctly, friendly shoots will not keep you waiting.
Prepare the seeds
Pay attention to the bag of seeds: if it says that they do not need stratification (hardening at low temperatures), you can immediately start sowing. Otherwise, put the seed packet in the refrigerator and leave it there for about two weeks.
Immediately before sowing, lay a piece of cotton cloth on a plate, pour seeds on it and wrap it with an envelope. Moisten it abundantly with a growth stimulant solution - for example, Epinom, which is diluted according to the instructions on the package. This will help the seeds germinate better and faster. Leave them to soak for 20 minutes.
Prepare containers for seedlings
Light, loose soil with a neutral level of acidity (pH 5.5–6.5) is suitable for sowing strawberries. Take a universal soil for growing vegetable and flower seedlings - as a rule, it has the desired characteristics.
Since strawberry seedlings have a small root system, there is no need to take deep containers. Wide containers about 5 cm high are excellent for sowing.
Fill the container to the top with prepared soil, lightly tamping it with your palm. Lightly moisten the soil with water from a syringe or syringe so as not to wash out its surface.
Sow strawberries
Strawberry seeds are very small, so grab them one at a time with a toothpick to ensure even seeding. Spread the seeds over the surface of the soil at a distance of 3-4 cm from each other. At the same time, they do not need to be buried too much, it is enough to slightly press them into the ground.
Cover the containers with a transparent lid or cling film. Make a few small holes in the shelter so that the sprouts do not rot.
Place the containers in a warm place with a temperature of about 25 degrees. Seeds need good light for 10-12 hours to germinate. Therefore, use special phytolamps or ordinary fluorescent lamps with a power of at least 36 W per 1 m² for illumination.
Wait for shoots
The process of germination of strawberries takes an average of one to three weeks. Remove the lid from the container daily and wipe off any condensation that has accumulated on it. The cling film can be replaced with a new one or stretched with the dry side down. Also, do not forget to ventilate the crops for 30-40 minutes a day.
When sprouts appear, remove the shelter and continue to illuminate the plants with a phytolamp for 10-12 hours daily. If you sowed strawberries in March and the daylight hours in your area are already long enough, you can put the containers on a bright, warm windowsill. The temperature for seedlings should be lower - about 18-20 degrees.
Water young sprouts as the soil dries. Do this with a syringe or syringe and pour water between the rows so as not to damage the seedlings.
How to care for strawberry seedlings
Grow strawberries at a temperature of 18-20 degrees and try to provide them with light for 10-12 hours a day under phytolamps or on a southern windowsill.
Pick up the strawberries
When the sprouts have at least one pair of true leaves, you need to transplant them from a common bowl in separate pots. Usually the time comes in 2-3 weeks from the moment of germination.
Prepare pots or disposable cups with a volume of about 200 ml (cups from sour cream or yogurt are also suitable). Make several holes in the bottom with an awl so that excess moisture does not stagnate in the containers in the future. Fill the pots to the top with soil. Can be taken soil, which you used for sowing seedlings, or a special substrate for strawberries, strawberries, begonias or violets. If the soil is dry, you can lightly moisten it with water.
Make a small hole in the ground in the center of the cup.
Plentifully spill the container with seedlings with plain water, let it soak. Take a fork or tweezers and carefully remove the strawberry seedling with an earthy clod, being careful not to damage the roots.
Place the seedling in the hole in the pot up to the cotyledon leaves (the lowest pair of first leaves) and sprinkle it with earth, lightly compacting it with your fingers.
Pick all the strawberry seedlings in this way. Then pour a small amount of water from a syringe or syringe under each root. Just a few drops are enough.
Water the strawberries
Be guided by the surface of the soil: it should always be slightly damp. Water strawberries with water at room temperature so that the soil in the cup is moistened to the very bottom. The frequency of watering depends on the dryness of the air in the room and on the development of sprouts. The more leaves will form, the faster the moisture will evaporate, which means that the soil will have to be moistened more often. Try to pour water under the root of the plant so that the leaves do not get burned by sunlight or phytolamps.
Feed your strawberries
If you planted strawberries in high-quality nutrient soil, you can do without top dressing at all - the seedlings will take all the necessary elements from it. But in order for the seedlings to turn out to be guaranteed strong and well developed, it is still better to use special tools.
When strawberries 3-4 true leaves will appear, feed it with nitroammophos, azophos or other mineral fertilizer with a high content of potassium and phosphorus. The method of preparing the solution and the consumption rate differ depending on the manufacturer and are indicated on the packaging. You can carry out two more top dressings with any of the fertilizers with an interval of 10-14 days.
Pour fertilizer under the root so that the solution does not fall on the leaves, otherwise the plants may get burned. It is better to do this in the evening and turn off the phytolamps at night.
Harden off strawberries
About a week before planting in open ground, take pots of seedlings to the balcony. If the night temperature does not drop below 10 degrees, you can leave the strawberries there until the transplant itself. If not, then bring the seedlings to spend the night in the house.
When to transplant strawberries outdoors
It all depends on the climatic conditions in your area. Usually strawberries imprisoned on the beds, when the threat of return frosts has passed, the air temperature will not fall below 12–14 degrees, and the soil will warm up to 10 degrees. In most regions of the middle lane, such conditions develop around the second half of May.
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