20 Organic Wild Strawberry Seeds [approx]

Name: Wild Strawberry: Queen Of The Valleys

Latin Name: Fragaria vesca L.

Description: Much smaller than a garden strawberry that you find in the supermarket, the fruit is more the size of a raspberry. Also known by the names of Woodland Strawberry, or Wood Strawberry. A rare plant to find now, where it once would have grown in hedgerows, grasslands and woodland edges.

Wild/Woodland strawberry is also commonly classed as Alpine strawberry, but there is a difference between the two, according to taxonomist Vilmorin-Andrieux. He says of Wild/Woodland strawberry “It has seldom been seen in gardens since the introduction of the Red Alpine Strawberry. Wood Strawberry possesses a quite particular perfume and delicacy of flavour.”

For Alpine strawberry, Vilmorin says:

“A very different plant to the Wood Strawberry, and distinguished by the greater size of all its parts. The fruit in particular, and especially by the property (which is particular to it) of producing flowers and fruit continuously all through the summer. ... The fruit has nearly the same appearance and flavour as that of the Wood Strawberry, but is generally larger, longer, and more pointed in shape. The seed is also perceptibly larger and longer.”

Seed Origin: France

Sowing: February to March, September to October

Harvesting: June to October

How To Grow Wild Strawberry From Seed: These seeds are very small. We suggest tipping them out onto a white piece of paper when sowing them to make them easier to see.

Start the seeds in a seedling module or small pots. Fill the module/pots with compost and dampen it. Place two seeds in each cell/pot and press them gently into the compost. Strawberry seeds need light to germinate, so do not cover them with soil. They will take 3 to 4 weeks to germinate. Make sure they are kept moist throughout. When the seedlings establish, thin to leave only the strongest one in each cell/pot.

When the seedlings are roughly 10cm tall, plant them out in a sunny place in the garden, or into a large pot. The plant should produce a small amount of fruit in its first year. Pick the fruit when it is ripe, like you would any wild berry.

Seed count is approximate.