It’s certainly much easier to get fruit and flowers from strawberry plants, but many people are also interested in learning about growing strawberries from seeds. It’s not that more difficult, though it will take some patience and a few special tricks to get little plants you can then place in your garden or favorite containers.


First, you’ll want to consider which types of seeds you want to use and buy. There are all kinds of strawberry seeds to consider, and where you plan on growing them will help you pick the right one.

For indoors and in cooler climates, it’s usually best to stick with the Alpine Mignonette Heirloom varieties, since they do not require as much sun, though they will still need sunshine. They are an ever bearing strawberry, which means they will have typically two batches of fruit each year.

For those of you planting outdoors or in a sunny place, you can also choose between June bearing and other everbearing varieties, with June berries only producing fruit in the June, and the other types usually producing a crop in both spring and fall.

Now, many people will get frustrated that their seeds will not germinate, and it happens quite often to those who simply stick the seeds in some dirt and hope for the best. This is because in order to trick the seeds into growing you need to mimic their natural habitat, especially when growing Alpine berries.

When you get your first package of seeds, you’ll have to wait a few weeks, but the wait will be well worth it when you get a better conversion rate of seeds into plants!

Wrap your seed packet in a paper towel and place it into a freezer bag. Place in your freezer for anywhere from two weeks to four weeks, with four weeks being the optimal recommended time. After four weeks, you’ll want to take your seeds out of the freezer and then place them to defrost slowly and naturally. Some people will place them in the refrigerator overnight to do this before letting them warm up at room temperature.

After your seeds are room temperature, you’re ready to start planting! It’s recommended that all seeds start indoors to help improve your chances, since when outside you will not have much control over the temperature or whether some hungry birds will try to eat it.

You can use just about anything for starting seeds, whether you choose to use small cups or a tray – some people will reuse biodegradable egg cartons as seed trays, which is certainly as easy and affordable option. You can also use seed starter trays like these that can work just as well also.

If you will be using your own blend of dirt, it’s recommended to use a mixture of potting soil and sand or peat moss, since strawberries like sandy soil best. You’ll want to place them near the top, not too deeply in the cup with only a thin layer of soil over them.

Then, you’re ready to place them in a place where they will get plenty of natural sunlight or what we typically do is start them in our basement where it’s okay if they make a mess and we have more space. We use a Sunlight Floor Lamp which works great for providing “natural” light and leave it on for about 8-10 hours a day over our seedlings.

Once your seeds are producing plants, you’re ready to transfer them to their respective pots or place in the garden. It’s very important that you do not plant them too close together or else they will compete with each other for the nutrients in the soil and likely not grow as well as you’d like. About 12 inches apart is a good rule of thumb. Now that you know how to grow strawberries from seed, you’re ready to do some more reading on how to help them grow their best depending on how and where you want to plant them!

Here’s some additional resources on our site to help you: