Uhhh Translation please? Growing strawberries.

[Angie n Maine]

Directions on my strawberry seeds:
Sow seeds thinly in a fine soilless mix. Cover lightly and keep moist. Cold treat seeds prior to sowing.

So can some one translate this into terms that I would understand. Soilless mix?? What else would I use? Sorry to sound like a ding dong...but when it comes to gardening I pretty much am one... :/

 

[digitS']

Angie, they are talking about seed stratification. That's kind of a strange word that just means putting the seeds in refrigeration in order to help break their dormancy. Seeds can get so "locked up" that they can't get around to growing. The cold temperatures and moisture help change the seed coat and get 'em started.

A "soilless mix" may have vermiculite, perlite, pumice, peat, fertilizer, etc. etc. It just can't have soil and still be called that. Soilless mixes usually don't have the organisms that cause damping-off which is death-by-fungi for seedlings.

Steve
:tools

 

[Angie n Maine]

Okay... so what you're saying is to refrigerate the seeds (for how long?) Do I place them in moist paper towels or just stick them in there in the package? After I cold treat them, then find a soilless mix at the garden supply store and place the seeds in that. The I cover them...but cover them with what? More soilless mix or soil?

<----this is me right now...lol.

 

[digitS']

Angie, I would just put them in an open container and leave them back in a corner of the fridge where they won't get turned over for 3 or 4 weeks. Stratification can get a little complicated for tree seeds but these are strawberries. I've grow alpine strawberries before and don't remember doing anything more special than ripping the packet open and letting it sit out of the way.

When you sow the seed (and since they are such tiny things), you may want to

>fill your container with soilless mix and
>set it in water. After the mix has soaked up the water,
>take it out & allow it to drip,
>sprinkle the seed on the surface, then
>sprinkle more of your soilless mix over the seeds.

Steve

 

[silkiechicken]

Seeds never worked for me... Bought 12 starts.... have a hundred or so plants now... They are very easily grown from little crowns. I just relocate the whole patch every 3-4 years. Good luck with the seeds!

 

[patandchickens]

Hi Angie,

Personally I stratify in-situ and it has always worked well for me, although stratifying in the package has also been ok the couple of times I did it. Only limitation is that doing it after planting does take up a bit more fridge space

So, I would suggest:

1) buy 'potting mix' or 'seed starting mix' at store, NOT one with fertilizer already in it (read the bag).

2) sterilize w/bleach whatever container(s) you're using, rinse well, let dry.

3) fill w/ the potting mix you bought, tamped snugly but not packed hard.

4) sit filled containers in a dish of water (warm or hot, if the mix was quite dry coming out of the bag) for a few minutes or hours, whatever it takes, til water wicks up to top and top of soil feels damp / looks dark.

5) remove from dish of water, and prop up so the container can drip dry for a while (how long depends on how soaked it got), til it no longer drips much.

6) sow the seeds.

7) cover thinly with either a sprinkling of fine grade vermiculite if you have it or are feeling fancy, or a fine sprinkling of fresh potting mix (out of the bag, NOT presoaked) otherwise. Thin sprinkling means you can just barely, or better 'not quite', see the surface of the potting mix (and seeds) under tha layer you put on.

8) put carefully into clear plastic bag. close bag about 95%. Put in back of fridge.

9) put a note on the fridge or calender saying when to take 'em out... if no mention is made on packet I would stratify for 3 weeks. Is wise to peek once a week to see whether any seeds are sprouting - if more than 1 or 2 are, you should definitely end the cold treatment.

10) when time is up, or you see sproutage, remove and grow on as you normally would.

Who starts strawberries from *seed* though ??? ;P Is this pink panda or some other ornamental one?

Pat

 

[Angie n Maine]

Thanks all!
What the heck did I get myself into? Oh well, these are the only seeds I have that need "special treatment", it'll be worth it if I can get them to grow.
Pat, they are just plain Alpine Strawberries, nothing fancy. I didn't realize it would be such a pain to start them...lol.

 

[digitS']

Angie, it shouldn't be a pain. I started Alexandria alpine strawberries using the very simplest approach. They came up like crazy !

Had fun with the all the little plants - they produced quite a few berries the very first year! But, when DW discovered how tiny the berries are, she lost interest . . . The very next year, she crowded her special mint plants into the same bed with the strawberries . They are in a shady corner of the yard. Both were reasonable happy but, of course, the taller mints pushed hard on the berries.

Not to be over-run, the berries began to migrate into the lawn! They are hardly noticeable out there. It's been a couple years since I've harvested a tablespoon of berries for my vanilla ice cream (wonderful use but the tree squirrel likes 'em.

Steve

 

[patandchickens]

Enh, it's no big deal, I ws just trying to be detailed because you were asking questions...

...but if you prefer, the Reader's Digest version would be:

"sow the seeds normally. pop in fridge, covered, for a few weeks, peeking occasionally. then remove and grow on as normal"




Pat