why i love growing strawberries from seed (pineberry/anablanca)

[swaine]

resulting seedling from a white pineberry type strawberry, there was more fruit but i ate it , i believe you should be your own guinea pig in these experiments
love the genetics in each individual strawberry seeds, always something different popping up, big plants, small plants, heavy croppers, shy croppers, all things weird and wonderful

[Newton]

I will join in the experiment later. I have not tried growing from seed though. I use runners to propagate new plants.

What are the advantages in growing from seed?

Is now a good time to sow?

[swaine]

i mostly sow seeds round now as berries ripen and over the next month or so, my experiance is that fresh strawberry seed germinates very quickly sometimes under a week, but have found fragaria chiloensis strawberries (some of the white types even with fresh seed can take over a month to germinate,

advantages from seed, i try and remain quite neutral on this as it divides opinion, i do it as a labour of love, so every plant has its own merits for me, a few years ago i grew out about 300 seedlings, and reduced them down to 20 really good ones over a few years, it was dissapointing/sad grubbing out live plants
now i try and keep them all lol, hundreds, thousands??? unless very weak/diseased,

pros, new plants to increase strawberry beds,(keep your experiments away from your prize strawberry bed) just in case of disease carrying, either way!!!!

create a new variety!!!!, i find all seedlings different so there could be something new there, not sure it would ever reach supermarket shelves but its nice to say this is my own,
name it after your wife/husband/girlfriend/boyfriend/son/daughter/auntie/uncle for brownie points

creates and breeds intrest, still motivates me when i take strawberries into work as a chef and even the most wag type girls are intrested how you get a red strawberry from a white strawberry parent,

another thing growing strawberry seedlings its tought me and has helped me in my work, is how to taste!!!, yep crazy i know, how many times due to having no time have you eaten something and not really appriciated it, rush rush rush lifestyles we lead, so when tasting a new seedling the anticipation is amazing, so when your tasting you take your time assesing every flavour, sweetness, texture,

with the seedlings i seen to give them more care and attention, you have to collect the seeds, sow them, germinate them, raise them, pot them on, watch them grow, flower and fruit, like raising a child almost,

iva attached picture of a nice seedling ive raised, love the shoulder and neck on this one very curvaceous, and the colour scarlet

I will join in the experiment later. I have not tried growing from seed though. I use runners to propagate new plants.

What are the advantages in growing from seed?

Is now a good time to sow?