I really like supporting my local schools, but I wish their fundraisers had stuff I actually wanted to buy. Coupon books for restaurants I never go to and heavily processed baked goods are not things I want to buy. So I have an idea that would both help students learn more about both gardening and entrepreneurship while earning money for their school.

Grow strawberry plants from seeds, and sell the plant starts at a nursery sale at the school during the Spring.

Just about everyone likes eating strawberries. They are easy to grow and you can make several plants from one single berry.

The first step is to pick a strawberry and use a knife to cut the thin layer off the outside containing the little yellow seeds. Once you have removed the outside layer you can eat the rest of the strawberry 🙂

Lay the shavings from the strawberry onto a paper towel, and set it in a window sill that gets some sun. This will dry out the berry making it much easier to remove the seeds.

Once the berry shavings have dried, hold them over a container and scrape over the top of the berry with your nail or a knife. The seeds will come loose.

You can plant the seeds immediately in the soil, or store for next season. I opted to plant mine right away.

It took 2 weeks for my seeds to turn into small plants. After 2 more weeks they matured enough where I put them into bigger pots.

I let the plants grow in the pots for several months. About 5 months later I planted it in the garden.

Once planted I always add some mulch around the plants as a protective layer for the soil.

This method takes a while, but turned out great. Keep in mind not all the seeds will grow into plants, so be generous with the amount of seeds you plant.

 

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