How to Grow Berries From Seed

Clean up the seeds so that none of the fruit pulp is left. Strawberries can be dried and the seeds rubbed off into a container. Wineberries, chokecherries and elderberries are examples of berries that can be pulsed lightly in the blender filled with water. Pour off the water and pulp and dry the seeds.

Make sure the seeds that need cold stratification like blackberries, raspberries and blueberries get the cold time they need. If you live in a cold area, this is as easy as leaving the seeds outside in a closed container until spring. If you are in a more temperate area, place them in your freezer for a couple of months and then in your refrigerator for a month wrapped in a paper towel, in a plastic bag.

Plant the seeds in a mixture of potting soil and sand and peat moss. Dampen the soil and bury the seeds in about 1/4 inch of soil. The tinier seeds like strawberries can just be scratched into the surface of the soil. Basically you cover them with just a little more soil than the diameter of the seed.

Cover the planted seeds with a layer of clear plastic to hold the moisture in the soil. The seeds need a steady source of moisture to germinate and even then, you will find most of the seeds won't germinate. Make sure that you plant plenty of seeds in hopes that a few will sprout.

Label each of the containers. You will need to write down the name of the seeds and the date you planted them on a sticky label that you can affix to the containers. This way, a few weeks down the road, you won't be wondering which seeds are which.

Open the plastic covering once the seeds have sprouted. They will still need to be handled very carefully. Water them from the bottom of the container so that they don't get moldy and die. The soil should be moist but not soggy.

Give the seedlings about eight hours of sunlight per day. If you don't have a sunny window, place a grow lamp about 12 inches over them. Increase the amount of light to 12 hours once they get their secondary leaves.

Transplant the seeds into a prepared bed once the weather has warmed enough, being careful not to disturb the roots.Water them frequently if there is not enough rainfall until they get established.