How to Start Strawberry Seeds Indoors

Strawberries are one of the most popular fruits grown in the home vegetable garden. Most often, strawberries are purchased as small plants--and at considerable cost. You can start strawberries indoors from seed for a fraction of what the small plants would cost. Start seeds for strawberries about 2 months before the expected last frost in your location. It's safe to transplant them outside about the same time you plant bean seeds. Expect to harvest a few berries the first year; you'll get a full crop the second year.

Things You'll Need

• 6-Paks of peat pots or other small containers
• Peat moss
• Strawberry seeds
• Large shallow container
• Fluorescent shop light
• Scissors

Instructions

1. Select containers. Use six-packs of peat pots or other small containers. Make sure the bottom of the containers have holes for drainage.

2. Prepare containers. Add peat moss to the containers so it is level with the tops. Tap bottom of pot on table to settle peat moss.

3. Plant seeds. Plant 4 to 6 seeds per pot. Place seeds on surface of peat moss and cover the seeds by sprinkling more peat moss on top of them.

4. Water the pots. Set pots in a large shallow container of water. The water should be about an inch deep. Leave the pots in the container until the surface of the peat moss looks wet.

5. Remove pots from standing water. Once the surface soil is wet, the pots have taken in as much water as they need; discard remaining water.

6. Provide heat for germination. Put container of pots in a warm place until the seeds germinate. The top of the refrigerator is an ideal place.

7. Put seedlings under artificial light. Once the strawberry seeds germinate, move the container so the plants are under artificial light. Fluorescent shop lights work very well for starting seeds indoors. Position the strawberries so the tops of the plants are only a few inches from the lights; provide a way to raise the light as the plants grow.

8. Thin the plants. When the seedlings are about 1 ½ inches high, thin to the strongest one in each pot. Snip off the unwanted seedlings with a small, sharp scissors.

9. Harden off before planting outdoors. When the weather warms into the 50's, put the plants outside in the shade for a few hours each day, and bring indoors at night. Leave them outdoors a little longer each day, then overnight as temperatures allow. Finally, move them into the sun a little at a time. This "hardens off" the plants and makes them robust enough to grow and thrive outdoors.

Tips & Warnings

• Cover strawberry plants over the winter with hay, straw, or dried leaves.