City Boy: I generally agree with the comments of Scott and Chills, and would add the following: Most growers of outdoor strawberry beds of significant size (significant being 10 x 10 feet or larger) order in dormant strawberry crowns from online or mailorder sources. These are sold in bundles of 25, the prices are low, and decline further with larger orders. A dormant crown planted in late March or April will be leafed out by June, and producing its own runners by July/August. You can produce strawberries the first season by removing the runners, or let them sprawl which is what most of us do to produce a larger crop the 2nd spring. Bundled, dormant crowns are much cheaper than strawberry plants from local nurseries or other sources, and will generally be more vigorous. The "why bother" post that Scott remembers may have been one of mine, since that's the way I feel about growing strawberry plants from seed, except for a few very special types. The time you will spend nursing along tiny strawberry plants, not to mention the pots, soil, watering, sunlight, humidity, and all the other issues that go with starting from seed seems to me to be wasted when you can plant crowns that will produce the first season. From seed, you will be lucky if the plants produce the 3rd season, if at all. The Sarian variety you have focused on is an everbearer, which may produce a trickle of berries over a longer period, but no everbearer can compete with a Junebearing strawberry for voume production. All strawberries, including everbearers, will practically cease production during the heat of summer, which in Oklahoma begins in about June if I recall correctly from my year at Norman. Strawberries that do form during the heat of summer will usually be small, often distorted, and lacking in flavor. Strawberries are a cool-weather fruit. If you really want to grow this strawberry from seed, I will not try to talk you out of it, but plant a couple bundles of dormant crowns of a good reliable variety like Honeoye at the same time, and I am pretty sure you will see the difference. I also agree with Scott that healthy runners from a healthy patch can easily be transplanted to make new beds, regardless of what the gardening books say. Don Yellman, Great Falls, VA

Depending on what it is, you may end up with something very similar to the F1. I'm no expert in this by any means, but I've saved a few seeds here and there from produce and from F1 plants. It doesn't hurt to grow them out and see what you get. I tried growing out F2 pepper seeds a few years ago and I kept getting 3 different types of peppers. Of the 3, the ones I really liked were seedless, so unless I took cuttings, I could never keep growing those. I've saved seed from white marigolds and they would never germinate. I've read that tomatoes grown from Campari F2 seeds are just like or very close to the F1. It is fun to try...I usually have some kind of experimental planting each season, but on a very small scale..

Hi riceke, thanks for the response. I have never grown tomatoes from seed (on purpose anyway). I was lurking in the greenhouse forum since my greenhouse is getting close to being put into use and saw this wonderful thread complete with photos on someone's success in growing Better Boys from seed and then training them as vines along a suspended cattle panel in their greenhouse which looks very similar to mine in approximate size, shape, etc...It looked like a real space-saving technique. I have always done well with Better Boys in the garden and just wanted to get some additional takes on growing them from seed, preferably from folks in my neck of the woods. I have also been conversing with that thread's original poster too and have alot of info to work with. I didn't even know hobby gardeners could grow named market hybrids from seed until I saw her post. Now I'm a little more knowledgeable about F1 and F2 seed generations. Still would love to hear about anyone else's experiences growing Better Boys from F1 (first generation) seed. Specifically tips on germination rates, success and care of young seedlings. I've grown melons, cukes and some flowers from seed so I'm not a total seed growing noob but I am when it comes to starting toms from seed. Danielle

Hybridizing This forum is for the discussion of the hybridizing, or cross-breeding, of plants. This is includes topics such as the selections of parents and the methodology involved. If you want to post an image, make sure you read the instructions on uploading as certain restrictions apply