Planting Strawberry Seeds in Pots
My kids could eat their weight in strawberries! So much so, that we tried planting strawberry seeds in pots for the first time this year. Usually we just buy the starter strawberry plants from Lowes. Our berries this year did better than all the other years combined!
Planting strawberries from fruit we enjoyed eating worked out great as we hope the resulting plants will produce similar berries. Time will tell!
Growing strawberries from fruit you bought at the grocery store is easier than you might expect! I’m going to share my precise method that resulted in real, actual, adorable baby strawberry plants that grew very well in a container on my deck this summer.
These baby strawberry plants should be mature and fruiting next growing season!
(By the way, we also have white strawberry plants – aka pineberries – that should also be mature and fruiting! Find out about them in case you’d like to grow them, too.
Harvesting Strawberry Seeds
First, get yourself some seeds! Your favorite grocery store strawberries will do just fine. My best tips for harvesting strawberry seeds should provide similar germination for you!
- Cut fresh strawberries to enjoy with your family. Remove the tops and a few of the seeds at the top of the berry.
-OR- - Remove seeds from old berries that you wouldn’t eat. At least it won’t be a total loss if you are successful in growing strawberries from strawberries!
- Use a toothpick to help loosen strawberry seeds. The seeds should come away from the fruit after a few tries.
- Set the seeds aside until your pots are ready. You can do it all at once if you’re organized and ready.
How to Germinate Strawberry Seeds in Pots
I’ll advise you that you’ll need a little patience as you attempt to germinate strawberry seeds in pots. I found that my gardening experiment took a good three weeks before I saw the first peek of green. But, oh! What a beautiful sight the day that first tiny green dot appeared. (And I mean TINY!)
Follow these steps when planting strawberry seeds in pots at home:
- First, harvest strawberry seeds as outlined above.
- Fill a Dixie cup with a light and airy potting mix like Miracle Grow.
- Drop and scatter the tiny strawberry seeds on top of the soil.
- Keep the soil moist but not saturated. Mist with a spray bottle, sometimes more often than other seedlings.
- Be patient! It literally took 21 days or more for the first strawberry seed to germinate.
TIP: Good light is essential to germinate strawberry seeds successfully. Keep the seed cups in a sunny window and do not bury the seeds beneath the soil.
First Year Strawberries: What to Expect
When growing strawberries from fruit, our seedlings surfaced very tiny and modest. Just two pretty little cotyledons at first. Then, behold! The first true leaves truly resembled a real strawberry plant! No mistaking these first year strawberries now!
Planting strawberry seeds in pots resulted in adorable baby strawberry plants for us within about a month or just over. My daughters and I were so dazzled by the intricate resemblance to the mature plants we’d already been growing outside.
Once the danger of frost faded, we began hardening off our seedlings. After a week or so, we finally set our potted strawberry seedlings out on the deck. They soaked up the sun, growing and growing until they were just about the same size as a standard strawberry plant.
No fruit from them this year, but we look forward to seeing how well they produce next spring and summer!
Truth be told, these baby strawberry plants were my pride and joy for all the seedlings we started inside late last winter. Planting strawberry seeds in pots proved so rewarding for us and I believe we will do it again next season.
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If you’re excited about planting, you may also enjoy our post – Need Seeds – 7 Places to Get Quality, Cheap Seeds.
Once you start your seeds indoors, soon it will be time for Hardening Off Plants – Don’t Make These 7 Beginner Mistakes!
And if you try growing strawberries from fruit you bought, please be sure to share a picture or let us know how it goes in our comments below!
