Allotment Gardening Advice Help Chat
Growing => Grow Your Own => Topic started by: amurdin on May 17, 2015, 12:16
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I am really keen to try strawberries from seed. I can't find much information about them so are they really that difficult and is it worth it? I want big fruits but the only seeds I can find seem to produce lots of small ones.
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I am really keen to try strawberries from seed. I can't find much information about them so are they really that difficult and is it worth it? I want big fruits but the only seeds I can find seem to produce lots of small ones.
that's your answer I'm afraid - plants from runners are basically clones of the original strain which has been bred for whatever qualities (early-late, big fruits, flavours etc) whereas seeds will be a genetic mix from the parent plants so more likely to be smaller.
Starting plants from seed can be a little more challenging but not necessary more difficult providing you follow the sowing instructions.
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The only strawberries I've ever grown successfully from seed is the small alpine ones! sorry cant offer more advice!
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Some years ago I grew a variety called Sarian from seed. It must have been relatively easy to grow, because I'm no expert, and it produced a good crop of medium sized strawberries over a few weeks. You probably won't better the varieties produced by the expert breeders in terms of taste and size, but it wasn't a bad strawberry. I think the seeds are still available.
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I've grown various Alpine and Everbearer strawberries from seed. They aren't as big as the plants that you buy from the garden centre. There's no real problem that I found except they can take a while to germinate and you won't get any fruit in the first year (at least I haven't ever).
I can't say that I've ever noticed any particular varieties available from seed that you can't buy as plants. In the past I've bought half a dozen plants of different varieties from the garden centre then propagated using runners.