Are these strawberry plants or nettle?

FuzzyBuzz · May 2020

Hello all,

New to gardening and needing some advice please. My girlfriend and I decided we would try and grow a few bits and pieces from seed (peppers, sunflowers, tomatoes and strawberries). All of the former have been growing fine and looking as they should but I'm not sure we the strawberries are what they puport to be. I appreciate that strawberry leaves can look very similar to nettles when young but any help identifying if we have been duped would be much appreciated. Also I may be going crazy but I'm sure it stung me this evening when I was handling the leaves.

Lyn · May 2020

Stinging nettles in the flower pots, did you buy the seeds from China via eBay by any chance.? Can’t tell yet what’s in the tiny modules.

Liriodendron · May 2020

Hmm. Those look very like stinging nettles, I'm afraid...

Silver surfer · May 2020

Strawberry leaves are very different..in 3's...see link.
Afraid you have been nurturing Urtica...stinging nettles.Try feeling it !

https://www.google.com/search?q=fragaria+vesca+leaves&tbm=isch&ved=2ahUKEwjCp4fhgqDpAhVU8IUKHekbD2IQ2-cCegQIABAA&oq=fragaria+vesca+leaves&gs_lcp=CgNpbWcQARgAMgIIADoGCAAQBRAeOgQIABAYUNACWPAPYIwZaABwAHgAgAGuBYgBiRqSAQU0LTIuNJgBAKABAaoBC2d3cy13aXotaW1n&sclient=img&ei=ohazXsLOIdTglwTpt7yQBg&bih=944&biw=1920&client=firefox-b-d

Dovefromabove · May 2020

Stinging nettles ... but all is not lost ... they’re great steamed and added to mashed potatoes for Champ, and there’s lots of other ways of cooking them. https://www.bbc.co.uk/food/nettles

High in iron and vitamins.

Not strawberries ... but still good to eat ... just a big ‘alternative’ 😉

Your nettles will quicker to harvest too .., you wouldn’t get any strawberries from seed until next year at the earliest.

And of course, stinging nettles are a great food resource for the caterpillars of the tortoiseshell butterfly.

I’m good at finding Silver Linings ... I was raised on Pollyanna 😊

FuzzyBuzz · May 2020

Thank you all for the speedy replies! I think the small ones will likely turn out to be nettles as well, I can see little spines growing on the stem/leaves. Oh well.. I will have to make nettle soup or rustle up some mashed potatoes 😂 Ironically I purchased the seeds from a large local garden centre.. unfortunately I threw away the empty pack so cannot take them back for a refund/explanation!!!

strelitzia32 · May 2020

The seedlings look like geums...

samvanes83 · May 2020

I think they are strawberries, hopefully you will get some tasty ones soon! Keep us posted!!

josusa47 · May 2020

Another use for nettles is to make a nitrogen-rich plant feed. Stuff a bucket full of nettles, fill it with water, put on a lid, because it will pong, and leave it for two or three weeks. Dilute it in your watering can. Promotes foliage growth.

Silver surfer · May 2020

Seedlings...found this for you...

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Urtica_dioica_2018-04-28_9748.jpg

FuzzyBuzz · May 2020

samvanes83 said:

I think they are strawberries, hopefully you will get some tasty ones soon! Keep us posted!!

Thanks for the response, I appreciate the positive/hopeful vibe but I think all I'm going to be getting from these are nettle babies not strawberries 😂

Are these strawberry plants or nettle?

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