Every amateur horticulturist knows that strawberriespropagated by antennae. And have you ever thought that strawberries from seeds - this is quite real? Venerable experts note that growing strawberries from seeds is more suitable for romantics of strawberry direction, and not for its pragmatists. The famous American breeder Luther Burbank, who has been cultivating a dugout for forty years, is skeptical about this method of breeding strawberries, despite the fact that his successful experience in this direction is very solid. He argues that when growing strawberries from the seeds of "babes" do not repeat the signs of parents. But the words of an American professor to a Russian person are not a decree. Moreover, the tasks of breeders are different: they breed new varieties, and we are quite happy with growing already existing good varieties for our own pleasure. Especially since the antennae of strawberries, sold in autumn and spring, are in great demand, and the seedlings of the desired variety are difficult to find. In our time, the number of nurseries that grow good strawberry varieties has fallen sharply. But there were a lot of charlatans trading unfit for planting seedlings. Not every gardener will be able to distinguish such seedlings from varietal strawberries. Therefore, on the one hand, if you do not have the desire to run into unclean traders, and on the other hand, you are ready to solve an interesting and difficult task, then try to do quite a feasible job - growing garden strawberries from seeds. Seeds of this culture can be purchased at almost any time. Of course, buying pure, high quality seeds increases the chance to grow high-yielding strawberries. On the other hand, mainly seeds of repairing varieties and hybrids are sold. Ordinary strawberries are not for sale. Most of your strawberry "plantation" will continue to form the mustache of the usual varieties, but a couple of beds depending on the needs of the family can be identified for repairing varieties and hybrids. On these beds you can do home selection, having pleased and surprising your relatives. The fact is that many remontant varieties possess both high yield and good aroma and taste. The question of purchasing sprouts of repairing varieties can be solved in the usual way - to buy it in a specialized fruit nursery or in a garden center. However, during the planting season, it is quite difficult to purchase good seedlings of large-fruited strawberries. The fact is that its distribution is strongly restrained by the high price of seeds. To grow them to most farms is simply not profitable, so this seedling is a deficit even in the largest garden centers. But the seed departments often offer up to ten or twelve names of such hybrids. Therefore, experts offer all lovers of interesting experiments and novelties to grow strawberries from seeds themselves.
Well-considered choice
In order not to be disappointed in the future in this matter, take seriously the choice of seeds. There are a few simple rules for this:
What else is needed?
Preparing to plant strawberries, prepare allnecessary for sowing. First get a primer. For these purposes, the usual, so-called universal primer, recommended for the cultivation of seedlings of flowers and vegetables, is suitable. do not forget to purchase together with the soil and the means for its treatment from causative agents of seedling diseases, such as "black leg". Since seedling shoots are tender enough, they at least for the first time need protection from the dry air of the apartment. Therefore, it would be nice to buy or make an indoor mini-greenhouse, which is a sowing tank with a transparent lid. For watering the seedlings in the first month, get a spray gun, and for the subsequent picking - cups with a diameter of 5-8 cm. Do not forget to stock up and water-soluble complex mineral fertilizer, because quality seedlings without fertilizing in time do not grow. 
Cleanliness is the guarantee of health
The first thing you should do before sowingseeds, is to protect seedlings, saving the soil from pathogens of fungal diseases. Strawberry shoots are very tender, so in the first weeks of life they can die from a "black leg" - a very common plant disease. To save them from this at home, you need to pour abundantly the soil with a hot saturated solution of potassium permanganate. You can also use special drugs for this. This watering is recommended for a couple of days before sowing. For such a time the soil will dry out slightly. If you sow immediately after moistening, there is a great risk that seeds and seedlings can rot. When the soil dries, transfer it to prepared seed tanks.
We are going to land
Since strawberry seeds are very small, theirdo not pre-soak. To plant them, compact the soil slightly with your fingers, and then spread the seeds over the surface. On top, sprinkle them with a thin, not more than two millimeters thick layer of pure sand or peat. To make the seeds better in contact with the ground, sprinkle the top layer of soil lightly from the spray gun, trying not to displace the seeds and wash the mulching layer. After that, immediately close the seed box with a lid and put it near the battery or any other heat source. For an amicable and rapid appearance of shoots, the optimum temperature is 25-27 ° C. No light is needed for seeds to germinate.
First days
The first shoots in such conditions can besee in a week. As soon as you notice the first shoots, move the container with crops, without removing the lid, to the brightest place. Mass strawberries sprout, as a rule, in two to three weeks, although there are such hybrid seeds that sprout only after 28-35 days. The first shoots of strawberries appear when the window is relatively "dark" season. Strawberries are a very light-loving plant, so when growing seedlings, its lightening - extending the light day to 12-13 hours - gives a remarkable result. Refreshing will even help to make up for lost time, if for some reason you are a little late with sowing. The light should be turned on in the evening. Optimum options are fluorescent lamps. Even better - special lamps for plants, because they have in their spectrum of radiation ultraviolet, so necessary for plants. But if you do not have such lamps, then the usual incandescent bulb will replace it. There is another crucial and subtle point in growing any sprouts at home. Seedlings should be ventilated and tempered. If the protective cover is removed immediately after emergence, the tender shoots can quickly dry under dry room air. Especially if you keep them under the lamps. This is not saved by spraying or frequent watering. If the container is not opened, the risk of rotting plants or the appearance of mold increases. Therefore, it is recommended to partially open the lid of the box or make several ventilation openings in it. Usually, finally, the lid is removed a couple of weeks after the mass emergence of the seeds. The first time strawberries are watered only by spraying from the spray.
Nutrition and upbringing
A month and a half after the emergence of sproutsstop seedling seedling. By this time, plants are already building up two or three leaves, which are not very similar to the triple strawberry leaves. At this time it was time to dive the plants into prepared cups. For these purposes, too, take a universal primer for seedlings. And decontaminate a few days before the transplant, you need it. Digging and diving seedlings should be done with a thin peg. Do this carefully, so as not to damage the long thin roots. When transplanting plants, lightly fill them up with cotyledons. After finishing the pick, sprinkle the seedlings from the spray gun. In the first two, or even three days, you may notice some leaf wilting. Two to three weeks after the picking, to accelerate the growth of seedlings, make a root dressing, for which use a complex liquid mineral fertilizer. It is desirable to make a solution for top dressing twice as weak as recommended.
At will
Strawberry seedlings are planted in containers oron the beds at regular intervals - May 10-20, depending on the weather conditions. Your seedlings by that time will tie off the first peduncles, which, it is a pity, it is necessary to pluck. We told you how to grow strawberries from seeds. Now it's up to you! We advise you to read:
