alpine strawberry

Last January I found some seeds dated Spring 2011 but decided to plant them anyway with my preschool class. Being elderly seeds I didn't expect a haul, but thought the kids would have fun watching for them. The teacher in the school above me is always planting seeds, having rainforest bake sales and making bird feeders from biodegradable materials that whistle show tunes in the breeze--ok, I'm lying about that part but she's very clever. My class prepared 12 3" pots, set up a grow light and sowed the seeds. I felt we got some in the pots because we were filthy and sopping (that doesn't happen upstairs either) and we were psyched and ready to wait. Which we did. We put x's on the calendar. We sang to our pots a song about sunshine. We danced around making growing sounds. The kids grew 2 inches, lost teeth, gained siblings and Pre Kindergarten skills. Finally at the end of February one seed put up a tiny green dot just level with the earth. Slowly, very slowly, it grew one set of cotyledon leaves about 1/4" high. One of those leaves withered as legions of eeny flies swooped and crawled about the soil. The stem began to twist and fall over but still it held on. The months went by, I was personally invested now. The kids had lost interest long ago as 1 seed in 12 pots was hardly a showy display. One day there was a minute strawberry leaf! I was thrilled! Sad, I know, but I was encouraged nonetheless. From then on it began to modestly flourish. Mid June, when school ended for the summer holiday, I took it home and planted it in my garden next to my new Bramley apple tree and this week it produced tiny strawberries! And here it is! I'm exhausted!