Our wild strawberries’ journey began on September 1, 2015.

This was our second alpine variety in 2015.

Please follow the germination tips in this link.

 

Germinated wild woodlands strawberries
Sept 7 2015 – tiny sprouts

 

My variety was “Fragaria Vesca” or Woodlands Strawberries.

This pack (local supermarkets’ brand) of seeds did not have a good germination rate.

Out of 30 seeds, only 5 germinated.

 

Growing wild woodlands strawberries from seeds
Only 5 seedlings

 

This was our first comparison between red (Fragaria Vesca) and white Alpine (White Soul) varieties.

The latter was very small seedlings that grew slower than red Alpines.

 

Growing Wild Woodlands strawberries in Singapore
Oct 20 2015 – 50 days old , Red vs White

 

Strawberries with runners’ tendencies seem to be faster-growing plants.

They grew taller from the second month, have thicker stems and crown than the other varieties.

 

 

Fragaria Vesca from seeds
Nov 2015 – 3 months old

 

Wild Strawberry would be the most challenging variety for us because they have runners and we have limited space.

When they were 4 months old, we decided to plant them in outdoor pots.

 

Grow Wild Woodlands strawberries outdoors Singapore
Dec 2015 – Test growing Wild Woodlands strawberries in outdoors garden

 

We mulched the topsoil with dried leaves to prevent heat from penetrating to roots level.

In the beginning, we froze bottles and lay them on top to cool the plants in the afternoon.

As our rainy season approached, this extra care was reduced.

 

Growing wild woodlands strawberries
Strawberry care for outdoor pots: Mulched to cover top soil from overheating and iced often

 

 

To nourish the soil, we add ground coffee grinds and crushed eggshells around our plants.

Little did we know, being new gardeners, that the scent of rotting egg membrane would attract snails and other pests.

 

SNAIL/SLUGS AFRAID OF EGGSHELLS – A MYTH BUSTED

 

It was a myth finally witnessed, that snails were not only not afraid of sharp eggs shells.

They loved to eat and have no problem crossing over them and ate up all the shells and finally, our precious strawberry plants.

Snails, not the tropical heat were the biggest threat for outdoor strawberries!

They ate even the crown so the strawberries could not revive and breed in the pots.

We were lucky to be able to spot them in time and saved half of our plants.

 

 

Why my wild woodlands strawberries disappeared without a trace
2016 January 5 – Snails “Village”

 

Wild Woodlands strawberry eaten by snail
2016 Jan 7 – Not even a crown left

 

We began another journey in late 2016.

This journal continued in another post about outdoor plants till 2018.

 

Grow strawberries from seeds in Singapore
Outdoor plants

 

 

NOTES ON Wild Woodlands Strawberries : –

The matured plants are 6 to 12 inches tall

Reproduce by stolons (above ground runners) and it needs space to run

Better in big pots

 

 

 

 

 

 

One thought on “Wild Woodlands Strawberries”

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.