Trying to grow Strawberries and just keep failing???

Trying to grow Strawberries and just keep failing???

Well, haven’t we all been here at some point. I have tried growing strawberries from seed for several years in a row. I failed dismally every single time until 2 years ago.

There are so many YouTube videos out there. They show us to do it this way and that way. Yet, none of it actually amounts to successfully growing my own strawberries. I tried germinating them on paper towel. I tried keeping them in cups on windowsill with a piece of “glad wrap” over it. I tried just putting it straight onto soil in the garden.

I even tried sprinkling some seeds around existing strawberry plants (although this worked, it also caused issues). Firstly, only a very small amount of these seeds sprouted. Secondly, when they do get to grow bigger, their roots tangle with the existing plant. Transplanting it does disturb the roots of your main plant and it turn open it up for problems. So it is better to just follow one or both of the 2 methods I have below.

Today I share with you what has worked for me OVER AND OVER again. Every summer, I grow approximately 200 strawberries this way. I use only the strawberries that bugs reached before I could pick them. I also use those that went old before we got around to eating them.

I have also tried this with store bought strawberry seeds and it works just as well.

Firstly I fill a tub about a third of the way with potting soil & acidic bark mixed well together. I use the ones you usually buy peaches and plums in, as on the image below:

Method 1 is quite tedious. If you have lots of time to pass, you “pick” the seeds off one by one. Then, you drop them onto the soil. When I eventually get bored of picking off the seeds, I sprinkle a super thin layer of soil over them. It’s hardly enough to cover the seeds. Then, I close the tub and stick it in the greenhouse. You can also keep this in a windowsill or in your warmest room. It can get natural light there, but not too much direct sunlight. I don’t water with a hose. I specifically use only a spray bottle. I water these every afternoon if it seems to be getting a little dry.

Method number 2 is easier, but takes a little longer.

You thinly “peel” the strawberries and put the skins onto a paper towel / serviette. It will look like this:

Let this dry for a day or 2 in a dry place at room temperature. Once it is dry, simply rub the seeds off into a dry container. Then you take some of those seeds. Sprinkle over the already prepared soil in the little container as mentioned in method 1.

Keep soil moist but not soggy. Make sure the container has sufficient drainage. The ones I always get my fruits in already has 4 holes in the bottom and 4 at the top. This works perfectly for me.

PLEASE NOTE: You may see some moss around the strawberry seeds. This is normal when growing in a container that retains humidity.

Now, my biggest problem is my impatience when waiting for the seedlings to grow. This impatience may be why all the other methods always fail on me. This method I can see how they grow and open it to look and water it often. I have also made the mistake a few times before by potting them individually when they are still too small. I lost many this way.

Even if they seem a little crowded, try and refrain from transplanting too soon.

When mine get to nearly touch the lid, its ready to transplant into their own pots. I also often have a container on my “workstation” with some that is growing at different stages. As you can see on the image below, some of them are still very small, whilst others are already fine to transfer. I just gently and slowly pull out the bigger ones and pot them out and sprinkle a tiny bit of soil where I disturbed the soil around the others.

This is not the best idea but unfortunately I don’t have much patience in waiting.

I usually keep some of the seeds for springtime to plant then for a new batch of baby strawberry plants.

Happy Planting !

Let me know if you found any other ways that work well, so we can try it out.