How to Grow Strawberries from a Strawberry Fruit
It's that time of year again - the garden is growing and I am so excited about some of the new additions to the garden this year. While I have grown strawberries in the past, I've always either bought the plant or I've started them from seed. But this year, I wanted to explore growing strawberries from the strawberries in my refrigerator. I love strawberries, but there are always a few that start to mold. This past winter, I've been harvesting the seeds from a whole bunch of strawberry varieties and I am excited to enjoy the fruits of my labor (see what I just did right there)?
So when you think about growing a strawberry from a strawberry, you probably think about growing it from the green part of the strawberry. But this is not the way to do it. Let me show you why using your own strawberries is a good idea to create a beautiful fruit production. I'll show you the best way to extract the seeds, germinate them and then grow them right in your backyard!
Growing your own strawberry plants in early spring or late summer is a great way to explore organic gardening for a lower cost and to add some delicious fruits to your harvest season. However, because strawberries are typically June-bearing strawberries, you can actually start the seed process in late winter when there is still cold weather. You will not be planting outdoors until after the last spring frost.
Understanding Strawberry Seeds
With lots of fruit, you get either one seed or a bunch, but strawberries are jam packed (couldn't help but use this pun. Sorry not sorry) with seeds. And each of these seeds has the potential to become new plants. Every single little brown/black dot on the outside of a strawberry is a seed. And they're very easy to harvest.
What you'll need to get started:
1 ripe strawberry
Knife or toothpick
Paper towel
shallow containers
Plastic wrap or humidity dome
Spray bottle
Sunny windowsill or grow light
Step 1: Extracting the Seeds
There are a few ways to remove seeds from a strawberry:
Method 1: Scrape With a Toothpick
Remove a ripe strawberry from its packaging and let it dry out (there should be no visable moisture).
Use a toothpick to pluck each individual seed.
Place the extracted seeds onto a paper towel.
Leave to dry for a week or two
Method 2: Blender Hack
Take a ripe strawberry and place in a cup of room temperature water.
Place in the blender.
Leave the blended mixture in the cup and wait a bit for the solution to separate. The most viable seeds will sink to the bottom.
Use a strainer to separate the pulp and non-usable parts of the ripe fruit.
Method 3: Use a knife (the best option in my opinion)
Take a strawberry and use a knife to "skin" the berry.
Cut in thin slivers.
Place on a paper towel for a week or two.
Peel the dried strawberry peels off of the paper towel.
Rub between two fingers to release the seeds. Do this over a cup or a bowl.
Step 2: Place the extracted seeds into the refrigerator
To speed up the germination process, it is best to place the seeds into the refrigerator for a few weeks.
Take the fully dried seeds and put them inside a damp paper towel
Seal tightly in a ziplock bag - this will act as a humidity dome and keep the seeds moist.
Refrigerate for a few weeks.
When you see a seedling form, remove from the bag.
Going through this process helps to activate the dormant seeds.
🌱 This step helps break the seeds' natural dormancy.
Step 3: Plant the seeds inside
Remove your seeds from the bag after they start to sprout. With my test, the seeds in the refrigerator did not do as well as the ones that were on my counter next to the window. It took about 20 days for my seeds to germinate. Once they are germinated, you can plant them. If it is early spring, plant inside. if it is later, direct sow. For planting inside, here are the instructions:
Using a seed starting mix or well-drained soil, place the soil into a cardboard planter. Moisten the soil before starting to plant.
Take the seeds and sprinkle them onto the soil surface. It is best not to bury them into the soil because they will not experience plant growth if you do it that way.
Mist lightly with a water mister.
Place under a clear plastic container or a humidity dome.
Keep the planted seeds near a window or grow light.
Mist daily with a spray bottle and only water from the bottom.
Step 4: Seedling Care
Sometimes it can take several weeks for a strawberry seed to sprout. Once they sprout and turn into seedlings, you will want to do the following:
Provide at least 6 hours of light. If you are starting your seedlings inside, you will want to use grow lights or keep them next to a window.
If you want to bring them outside, wait until you have at least two sets of leaves and then begin to harden them off. This means, bring them outside on an overcast day for short periods of time. You can increase this each day until they are used to the strength of the direct sunlight.
If the seedlings are clumped or clustered together, separate them into their own space. You can also up-pot them into bigger containers and bury them a bit deeper so that they grow stronger roots.
Water carefully—keep the soil moist, not soggy. Water from below and mist from the top. You do not want to have root-rot or one of the many other fungal diseases strawberry plants can carry.
Step 5: Transplanting
When your seedlings are about 2–3 inches tall and have a few sets of leaves, it is time to bring your strawberry seedlings into their strawberry beds. For best results, you will want to make sure you have fertile soil. It is a good ideas to do a soil test to check on both the soil type and the soil ph.
For Garden Beds:
Wait until after the last frost before transplanting into the ground. Strawberry plants love colder weather, but they do not love frost or ice. When planting strawberries into the ground, check on your growing zone.
Plant your strawberries around 12" apart because they send out shooters and expand. They are also perennial plants, so tend to come back year to year if they are healthy and establish good roots after the last late spring frost.
Keep the crown (where stem meets roots) at soil level. Everything else can be buried beneath the soil. You can use mulch or dried, dead leaves, but do not use plastic mulch since you'll be eating these! You can also sprinkle gravel or grit on top to keep insect pests away and to ensure that there is good drainage.
For Containers:
Strawberries like containers, but you will have to water them more often since pots tend to not have poor drainage when there are holes a the bottom.
Add natural fertilizer like coffee grounds, kitchen compost that has already been composted or a natural organic fertilizer like this one.
Tips and tricks for growing the best strawberries
Water several times per week but do not over water.
Always mulch to create healthy plants. You can use anything from hay to gravel to dried leaves or tree bark.
Fertilize every two weeks. Mix the fertilizer with some of this compost. It is garden gold for your strawberry plantings!
Once you see runners coming out of the young plants, remove them to help give all of the energy directly to the strawberries. This will help the plant and strengthen the roots.
Pollination & Fruiting
Strawberries actually self-polinate, but bees help to create larger crops of strawberries. Also, sometimes new strawberry plants do not fruit that first year. Do not fret! Sometimes they can skip the first year and produce the following year. Patience is a virtue when it comes to gardening! Baby plants take time to establish little fruts. But it will happen!
Harvesting Your Strawberries
The best part of taking all of this time to grow a strawberry variety is the harvest time! It makes everyone happy. You will likely harvest in early summer and early fall when the weather is cooler. Your first harvest will likey be little fruits in june-bearing plants (especially in the mid-atlantic and midwest).
Always pick your fruit crop in the morning before there is full sun. It is less disruptive to the strawberry roots.
Twist or snip gently to avoid damage. You can also use a pair of clean nippers if that is easier.
Place any un-eaten strawberries into the refrigerator. depending on the strawberry type, they can last a week in the refrigerator as long as they are not too wet.
Since I do not use any pest control on my plants, I often eat them right from the plant. I do recommend washing them (which I do with my garden hose). Those sweet fruit are just delicious straight from the ground. Always beats the varieties of strawberries that you will find as store-bought strawberries.
Bonus: Save Seeds for Next Year
Once your strawberries produce fruit, you can repeat the seed-saving process. Over time, your plants will become better suited to your garden’s conditions!
Final Thoughts
Strawberries take time, but it is worth it! Here are some tips and tricks:
Save the seeds from the plants you just produced, too. Now you know how to make new plants from them! This is especially important if you love the strawberry flavor in the berries grown from your plant.
The first season is often slow, but do not give up!
Make jam if you have enough - I like to make strawberry rhubarb jam!
Send this to a strawberry lover! They’re going to love this DIY.
