Sowing Seed

Raising plants from seed has got to be one of the most satisfying
aspects of gardening and is probably the easiest way of growing a lot
of the same plant within a tight budget. If you want a lot of one
particular plant or are propagating plants for sale at a plant fair,
for example, many flowers can be raised successfully from seed
collected from your own garden. Bear in mind, however, that seed from
a names variety may not grow into a plant that is exactly the same as
its parent.To save your own seed, simply cut the seed head just before
it is fully ripe and place it in a paper bag in a dry, airy room where
it will finish ripening. For plants that eject their seed, you will
need to cover the seed head with the paper bag before you remove it
from the plant. On this plant a succession of stages can be seen, from
flowers to ripe fruit. Strawberries eaten immediately after picking
taste best. Place a layer of straw under the leaves of the strawberry
plants in order to prevent the developing fruit from getting muddy or
covered with dirt.Strawberries can be grown through polythene plastic
mulch. This not only protects the fruit from mud splashes but also
reduces the need for weeding and watering. Strawberries produce their
best crops in the second or third year after planting, then yields
tend to fall and the health of the plants deteriorates as pests and
diseases take a hold. Therefore, it is a good idea to replace the
whole strawberry bed every few years with new, vigorous plants set in
fresh soil. The cheapest way to do this is to raise your own plants by
rooting runners from healthy, heavy cropping plants.Strawberries can
be protected against frost with cloches. A tunnel of wire netting can
be used to protect the fruit from birds. The netting can be in short
sections for easy removal and storage. After summer fruiting
strawberries have produced their fruit, cut off all the leaves and
burn or compost them, along with the straw mulch, to help prevent the
spread of diseases. After fruiting, the strawberry plant sends out a
series of runners that root along their length to produce new plants.
This method of propagation is called layering. The layered plants can
be dug up once they have rooted and used to start a new bed.