With each strawberry you hold more than 100 seeds in your hand. If you can resist the tempting indulgence, the nuts are easy to harvest and sow. Here you can familiarize yourself with the procedure.
How do I harvest and sow strawberry seeds?
Strawberry seeds can be obtained from fully colored strawberries by cutting them in half, letting them dry on newspaper and then collecting the seeds. Ideally, sowing takes place from mid-February to early March in lean potting soil and at 16-18 degrees Celsius.
Harvesting strawberry seeds made easy
Strawberries are nuts, specifically collective nut fruits. This means that the seeds with their hard shell are located directly on the outer skin of the juicy, red flower base. This starting position makes seed harvesting easier, as the following process shows:
- halve a completely colored strawberry
- lay on newspaper to dry, cut side down
- collect the seeds from the dried strawberry
If there are still any nuts on the outer shell, scrape them off with the blunt side of the kitchen knife. Until the date of sowing, store the seeds in a dark, dry container.
How to sow strawberry seeds successfully
The ideal time window for sowing extends from mid-February to early March. At an earlier stage, the seedlings tend to turn yellow due to the lack of light. A later sowing results in a postponement of the first harvest time to the next year. Sow the seeds like this:
- Pre-soak seeds in water for 4-6 hours
- Fill the seed tray with lean potting soil
- scatter the seeds, press them down and sift over them to a maximum height of 3 mm
- spray with collected rainwater
- cover with a transparent film or place a pane of glass
Place the seed container in bright, but not full sun. The ideal germination temperature is 16-18 degrees Celsius. Under optimal conditions, germination occurs within 2-6 weeks, depending on the strawberry variety chosen. Prick the seedlings from a height of approx. 2 centimeters into lightly fertilized substrate. Once they reach a height of 4-5 centimeters, plant them in the bed or flower box.
Tips & Tricks
You can significantly improve your chances of success when growing strawberries from seeds with a sowing aid. Vermiculite has proven to be an excellent sowing aid. The natural silicate is germ-free, stores plenty of water and protects the seeds from sunburn. The germinating seeds are not affected by the small plates.
