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In most cases, strawberries on country sites appear by purchasing ready-made seedlings in nurseries or in the market. However, there is not always a choice, and often gardeners have to be content with those varieties that are on sale. But if you can grow seedlings of tomatoes at home, then why not do it with the summer berry? Thus, it is possible not only to choose a variety corresponding to local climatic conditions, but also to take into account your taste preferences.
Preparation of seeds for sowing
For, weeks before sowing, you need to prepare the seed. Seeds of strawberries must be treated with potassium permanganate, soaking them in a pink solution for 30 minutes. Then rinse with clean water and lay on a damp cloth, covering it with a second wet patch. Roll the fabric into a tube, put in a tray with a lid and leave in a warm place for 2 days. Then place the tray in the refrigerator, where it should stay for about 2 weeks, until the seeds are swollen. Periodically, moisten the tissue and ventilate the tray.
Directly before sowing, dry the seeds a little.
Which soil is better to use?
The ground for sowing should be light and nutritious, it is easy to prepare yourself, using one of the following options:
- sand, land from the garden and humus in proportion 1;
- compost, garden soil and wood ash in proportion
- peat, sand and vermiculite in proportion 4.
The prepared soil mixture must be disinfected. To do this, shed the earth with a solution of potassium permanganate, or else burn in the oven. Disinfect the substrate in a warm room for 2 weeks.
That the strawberry managed to harvest already in the planting year, the seeds must be sown in February. Seedlings from the April sowing will be fruitable only in the next season.
How to sow strawberry seeds?
The container for seedlings also needs to be disinfected by wiping it with a sponge soaked in a solution of potassium permanganate. Pour soil into the container, compact it with hands and sprinkle abundantly from the spray gun. Put the seeds directly on the ground, leaving a distance of at least 3 cm between them. Cover the container with a lid or a film and place it on a light, eastern or western window sill.
Since the small seeds of strawberries sprout in the light, they do not need to be sprinkled with dirt from above.
Care for strawberry seedlings
Daily nursery should be ventilated. The emergence of seedlings can not be sprayed, otherwise they may darken. It is better to water them directly under the root, using a regular syringe. In 7-10 days after all the seeds ascend, it is desirable to reduce the temperature to 15 degrees Celsius so that the seedlings do not stretch. For the same purpose, additional lighting is installed. You can remove the shelter when two real leaves are formed on the seedlings.
For the prevention of diseases once a month to water the shoots with a solution with the addition of Trichodermine.
Dive the seedlings after the formation of 4 leaves, taking out seedlings for cotyledons. Simultaneously with the transplant to pinch the rootlet to stimulate the active build-up of branches. 2-3 days after the transplant, feed the strawberries with potassium phosphate preparations. Repeat the application of fertilizers every 10 days until landing in the ground, which is produced no earlier than in mid-May.
