Most of the time, you’ll see strawberry starts for sale at your local nursery as young plants. But did you know you can actually grow your own strawberries from scratch using seeds? Whether you buy a packet of seeds or save them from last year’s harvest, growing from seed is super rewarding. To make sure you end up with a bumper crop of juicy berries, there are a few tips you should keep in mind when it comes to sowing and “pricking out” (thinning) your seedlings.
Growing Your Own Strawberries from Seed
You can find strawberry seeds at any garden center, but if you’re looking for something unique, try reaching out to private breeders or heirloom seed exchanges. This is the best way to get your hands on those amazing heirloom varieties that you just can’t find in stores. Of course, you can also harvest seeds directly from your own berries this summer to plant next year. Those tiny little “dots” on the outside of the red fruit are actually botanical nuts, and that’s where the new plants come from!
To harvest the seeds, grab a few very ripe (but not mushy!) strawberries. Place them in a fine-mesh sieve and gently press the fruit through with a spoon. The seeds will stay behind in the mesh. To get rid of the leftover pulp, just run a little water through the sieve as you go.
Once you’re done, give the seeds one last thorough rinse to make sure they’re completely clean. Then, spread them out on something absorbent—like a paper towel or a kitchen rag—to dry out. If that sounds like too much work, you *could* try picking them off the berry one by one with tweezers, but trust me, the sieve method is way faster!
The Art of Pricking Out Your Seedlings
Once you’ve sown your seeds and they’ve started to sprout, it’s time for a little “plant surgery” called pricking out. I always recommend sowing more seeds than you think you’ll need, since you never know exactly how many will actually germinate. However, once they start growing, strawberries hate being crowded. You’ll know it’s time to give them their own space when the seedlings have about four or five true leaves.
Here’s how to transplant them without the stress:
- Step One: Fill small starter pots with a high-quality seed-starting mix.
- Step Two: Use a small stick or a dibber to poke a hole right in the center of the soil.
- Step Three: Gently loosen the soil around your seedling. Try to keep a little bit of the original soil attached to the roots rather than stripping them bare.
- Step Four: Carefully tuck the tiny plant into its new home. If you’re feeling nervous, you can use tweezers to help guide the delicate stem.
- Step Five: Fill in any gaps with a bit more soil, press down very lightly to secure it, and give your new little plant a good drink of water.
