How to Grow Strawberry Plants From the Berry

When you look at a strawberry, those little yellow dots that you see evenly coating the outer flesh are actually seeds. Each one of these seeds is capable of germinating into a whole new plant that can provide at least 1 qt. berries. Because strawberry plants are perennials, they will continue to produce bountiful harvests year after year. With a little preparation, you can grow your own strawberry plants indoors from the seeds of the fresh berry.

Paper plate

Envelope

Seed starter tray

Organic potting soil

Spray bottle

Place one or two fresh strawberries on a paper plate. Set the paper plate in an undisturbed area such as a high shelf or windowsill to dry out.

Rub the skin of the strawberry with your hands. As you rub, the strawberry seeds will fall onto the paper plate.

Collect the seeds and store them in an envelope inside the refrigerator for 30 days. Cold storage or "stratification" is essential prior to germination.

Fill a seed starter tray with organic potting soil. Remove the strawberry seeds from the envelope and press two seeds, ? inch into the soil of each cell.

Spray the soil with warm water from a spray bottle. Place the clear plastic cover on the seed starter tray and set the tray in an area with bright, indirect sunlight.

Remove the plastic cover when the strawberry seedlings poke their way through the soil. Germination is usually between four and seven days. Continue to provide the young strawberry plants with bright, indirect sunlight and moist soil as they grow.

The strawberry plants will be ready for transplanting outdoors in approximately eight weeks.

Do not oversoak the soil in the starter tray. Strawberry seeds saturated with sopping wet soil are more likely to rot than germinate. A spritz of the spray bottle is all that is necessary.