How to Start Strawberry Seeds Indoors With an ESS Carton

Alpine strawberries, unlike their commercial cousins, can be grown from seeds.

If you are hoping to grow the same species of strawberry available at the grocery store from seeds, I'm afraid you are out of luck. But that shouldn't keep you from trying to grow a different species, the alpine strawberry. Commercial strawberries can't be grown from seeds, but the alpine strawberry, a much tastier species, is easily grown. If you are hoping to do so on a budget, you can recycle ESS cartons, otherwise known as egg cartons, to get these succulent berries started before transplanting them to larger pots.

Things You'll Need

• Egg cartons
• Potting soil
• Water
• Toothpick
• Plastic wrap
• Liquid fertilizer
• 4-inch planting pots

Instructions

1. Cut the tops of the egg cartons off and set them aside. Use a toothpick to poke two or three holes in the bottom of each egg cup and fill them with potting soil. Fill a sink or tray with 1/2 inch of water and set the egg cartons inside of it. Let them soak until the top of the soil feels moist. Remove the cartons and let them drain for about two hours.

2. Pour some seeds onto a clean work surface. They are quite small so you will have to work very carefully. Dip the tip of a toothpick into some water and gently press the moistened tip against a seed to pick it up. Brush the seed against the soil until it falls off of the toothpick. Repeat this to plant one seed per egg cup.

3. Sprinkle each seed with enough soil to create a 1/8 inch layer over it. Spritz the seeds with a spray bottle filled with water to moisten the soil. Wrap the egg cartons in plastic wrap and place the bottom halves onto the top halves to capture excess water.

4. Place the egg cartons in a warm part of your house that gets lots of indirect sunlight. Check the seeds daily to see if they need to be watered; don't let the soil dry out. Use the spray bottle to keep the surface soil just moist. You should see sprouts in about one month--at this point, you can remove the plastic wrap permanently.

5. Fertilize your strawberry seedlings every two weeks with a liquid fertilizer diluted to half strength in water. Once the plants have several clusters of leaves, you can transplant them into 4-inch pots filled with potting soil. Cut each cup from the carton and transplant a single plant into each pot. Don't bother trying to remove the cardboard cup--it will rot and break apart as the rootball grows. Keep the plants in a warm place with indirect sunlight until they are 3 inches tall, then place them outside after all danger of frost has passed.

References

• Rainy River Record: Money saving tips for starting seeds in doors
• Renee's Garden: Petite and Sweet Alpine Strawberries
• Vegetable Gardener: Alpine Strawberries
• The Far North Garden: Growing Alpine Strawberries