What has happened to my strawberry seeds?

[SomeonTookMyAnonymousUserName]

DD and I harvested strawberry seeds to grow, following an instruction video on Instagram.

Two days later, there's some mould growing, pics attached.

Why? What has gone wrong?

I have another contained, trying to germinate, and it's absolutely fine.

Do I throw this out?

Thanks

Not dry enough before storing. Possibly best to store in a paper envelope rather than plastic. You could just take out the mouldy patch.

Or are those already on soil? In that case, take out the mouldy patch and keep your fingers crossed

That makes sense, thank you.

The first 'batch' had been dry for around a week before I sprinkled them on soil. The second lot were only taken off the strawberry the previous day.

I'll just remove the mouldy bit and hope for the best!

And yes, these are already in soil 😊

You probably know this but strawberries don't grow all that successfully from seed- people tend to take runners.

Tomatoes on the other hand are brilliant and I'm sure you can find a video for that- you sort of let them go mouldy for a few days to get the gel off then rinse in a sieve. Then sow next month- they'll get leggy if you start too early.

Don't assume I know anything about gardening 😂😂

No, I didn't know that. Insta makes it look easy. And I wanted something easy to do with DCs that they can see grow from seed to fruit.

Tomatoes are next on my list. I'll try them.

My mum was a wonderful gardener and I would've asked her but I lost her recently. This is just another way I miss her. She'd have kept me right so I appreciate you sharing your knowledge.

Oh I'm so sorry for your loss. This is a wonderful way to remember her with your daughter.

We did the tomato seed saving trick during lockdown when you couldn't get veg seeds anywhere as everyone was getting into gardening. It worked great and the kids loved it. Good luck!

What can also work well with tomato seeds is to just squeeze the seeds into some kitchen roll, then fold over and allow to dry.

Strawberries are really easy from runners - they're taking over the veg plot as we speak.

Courgettes are also easy from seed and very satisfying for small children. The seeds are large and germinate quickly, and the plant grows very, very fast.

I hold that fact solely responsible for the fact that my dc love courgettes. Once you've grown things, you tend to appreciate them!

Thank you very much! More ideas 👍🏻

It’s not so much that they don’t grow successfully from seed, more that it’s always going to be quicker from a plant than a seed. Also that a runner will be genetically identical to the parent whereas a seed may be the result of cross pollination and therefore not the same as the parent.

Try Broad beans, OP!

Massive seeds so easy for little hands to plant, and you can put them in soil, outside, now. There's not much else that you can plant direct now.

Tomatoes can be saved from an actual tomato (it probably won't grow exactly like the parent tomato but will still be... a tomato) and you can sow it soon inside but it can't go out until about May.

And if you know anyone with strawberry plants, ask if you can cut some runners off theirs.

Sorry for the loss of your Mum OP. These big losses can hit in a myriad of small ways.

For non-veg ideas of things to grow with kids, sunflowers and nasturtiums are brilliant. Big seeds easy for little hands and the results can be impressive! Technically you can eat nasturtiums too. Poached egg plants and nigella are also super easy to grow from seed though they will run rampant if you let them.

For veg, nothing easier to grow than potatoes, and the taste of home grown is sooooo much better.