Growing juicy, sweet strawberries in your own greenhouse is a rewarding experience. With the right conditions varieties and care you can harvest ripe, red berries months before your outdoor garden wakes up from winter dormancy.
An Overview of Growing Strawberries in a Greenhouse
To get strawberries earlier, you can grow them in a greenhouse, cold frame, or under cloches. “Cambridge Favourite,” “Honeoye,” “Rosie,” “Royal Sovereign,” and “Tamella” are all good choices.
You can precisely control things like sunlight, temperature, airflow, water, and food in a greenhouse. When compared to growing strawberries outside, this lets you extend the growing season by a lot.
With strategic planting you can produce strawberries nearly year-round! Timing your greenhouse strawberry crop correctly takes some planning though. Here’s a complete guide to get your greenhouse berry patch thriving.
Choosing the Best Strawberry Varieties for Greenhouses
If you want to grow strawberries in a greenhouse, you need to pick the right kind. Here are the main types to consider:
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Those that bear fruit in June are the most common and produce the most. They produce a large crop over two to three weeks in early summer, which is good for a concentrated harvest.
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Everbearing – Produce two harvests per year typically. Some varieties can fruit three times under optimal greenhouse conditions. Lower runners than June-bearers.
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Day-neutral – Flower and fruit constantly in greenhouse conditions. Produce smaller berries but harvests can continue for months with care.
Day-neutral cultivars are best for true year-round greenhouse strawberry production. Combining June-bearing and everbearing varieties can extend seasonal harvests significantly too.
Popular day-neutral greenhouse choices include ‘Tristar’ and ‘Tribute’. For June-bearers, ‘Honeoye’, ‘Allstar’ and ‘Earliglow’ are recommended. ‘Ozark Beauty’ and ‘Fort Laramie’ are top everbearing varieties.
Getting the Greenhouse Ready for Strawberries
Preparing your greenhouse properly ensures healthy, vigorous strawberry plants. Here are some key steps:
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Test and amend the soil pH – Strawberries prefer slightly acidic soil around 5.5-6.5 pH. Add lime if too acidic or sulfur if too alkaline.
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Improve drainage – Install raised beds or containers with drainage holes. Strawberries hate wet feet! Add compost to improve moisture retention.
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Clean up thoroughly – Disinfect the greenhouse with a dilute bleach solution to destroy disease spores and pests from past seasons.
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Install irrigation – Drip irrigation or a mist system keeps plants consistently hydrated. Hand watering works for small crops too.
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Add shelving – Multi-tier shelves double your productive space for container growing. Enhance airflow and light penetration too.
Take the time to create optimal growing conditions before planting your greenhouse strawberries. It will pay off all season long!
How to Plant and Care for Greenhouse Strawberries
Once your greenhouse is prepped, it’s time to plant! Follow these tips for healthy, robust strawberry plants:
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Give them space – Allow at least 10-12 inches between plants to prevent crowding. Wider for vigorous June-bearing varieties.
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Plant at the right depth – Ensure the crown is just above the soil surface. Burying crowns causes rot.
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Water wisely – Maintain even moisture, watering at soil level. Avoid overhead watering which fosters disease.
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Use runner plants – Allow some runners to root into pots for new daughter plants. Snip excess runners to conserve energy.
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Fertilize regularly – Feed with a balanced organic fertilizer every 2-4 weeks during the growing season.
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Control pests – Monitor for common pests like spider mites, aphids, slugs. Remove by hand or use organic sprays.
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Prevent disease – Improve airflow and promptly remove old leaves and rotten berries to stop disease spread.
With attentive care and favorable conditions, your greenhouse strawberries will flourish and reward you with bountiful harvests.
Pollinating Greenhouse Strawberries for Optimal Fruit Set
Strawberry flowers are self-fertile but still benefit from pollination for maximum fruit production. Here are organic ways to pollinate your greenhouse berries:
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Manual pollination – Use a soft brush or cotton swab to transfer pollen within flowers daily. Tedious but effective!
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Natural ventilation – Open vents, windows and doors to allow pollinators like bees to enter the greenhouse.
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Fans – Gentle circulation from small fans mimics wind pollination by spreading pollen between plants.
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Bee hives – Place beehives inside or just outside the greenhouse for efficient pollination by your resident bees.
Don’t forget this key step! Put a pollination method in place to enjoy beautifully formed, abundant strawberry harvests.
Timing Greenhouse Strawberries for Year-Round Production
With strategic scheduling, you can achieve nearly continuous strawberry harvests:
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June-bearers – Plant in late summer, prune flowers until early spring. Harvest June-July.
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Everbearers – Plant in spring, harvest June-October. Overwinter and prune in early spring for summer crop.
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Day-neutrals – Plant early spring, prune initial flowers. Harvest late spring through fall with care. Overwinter.
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Winter crop – Move day-neutral plants into a heated greenhouse in late fall. Provide supplemental lighting.
Stagger planting and focus on day-neutral varieties for the longest harvests. With experience, you can enjoy fresh strawberries nearly any time from your greenhouse oasis!
Common Greenhouse Strawberry Problems and Solutions
Growing strawberries in a greenhouse prevents many issues but you may still encounter:
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Mold – Improve airflow and water at the base of plants. Remove affected berries promptly.
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Mites – Hose down plants to dislodge mites. Use neem oil or insecticidal soap sprays as needed.
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Aphids – Knock off with a strong stream of water. Ladybugs and lacewings devour these pests too.
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Blossom rot – Caused by inconsistent watering. Maintain even soil moisture always.
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Poor pollination – Ensure good airflow for natural pollination. Assist manually if needed.
Catch problems early and take corrective actions right away. Keep your greenhouse strawberry patch healthy and thriving for maximum harvests!
With the right greenhouse varieties, care and timing, growing strawberries in a greenhouse can yield ripe, juicy berries for months on end. Start plants at different times, choose suitable cultivars and tend carefully. Soon you’ll be plucking sun-kissed strawberries fresh from your greenhouse, even in the depths of winter!
How to plant greenhouse strawberries in pots
The pots for your greenhouse-grown strawberries should be at least six inches in diameter and around 12-15 inches deep with several draining holes. Terra-cotta or plastic pots with cup-shaped holes throughout the sides are good.
Hanging baskets make a great option in greenhouses! A 12in wide hanging baskets can keep three to four strawberry plants. Hang your baskets from the ceiling and use Plant Caddie Hooks to make it easier to move the basket up and down to care for plants and harvest.
This type of plant grows best in hanging baskets because it fruits on both the main plant and its runners.
How to get a year-round supply of strawberries
As mentioned earlier in this post, you can achieve a year-round yield of strawberries by picking the right plant type. Proving the right conditions for your strawberry plants forces them into bearing fruits for longer periods.
There are simple ways of forcing strawberries so that they can flower and fruit earlier, later, or multiple times a year:
- Pick different kinds of strawberry plants to get berries all year long. For instance, get 10 plants that bear fruit all year, 5 plants that bear fruit in June, and 10 plants that bear fruit at any time of the year. In this way, you can have plants that bear fruit at different times of the year. We understand that you will have to decide for yourself how many plants you need.
- Strawberry plants need to be cold in order to flower. You should plant them in pots that are easy to get in and out of the greenhouse. This way you can give them the break they need.
- Pollination can be hard, especially when it’s cold outside, but a VegiBee Pollinator can help you every step of the way. Since strawberries don’t last long, you have to get rid of them and plant new ones after forcing them.
Strawberries that are grown in a greenhouse won’t have to worry about bugs or bad weather, and they will fruit up to a month earlier than strawberries that are grown outside.
Please, keep reading below for providing the best growing conditions.
Because of the shallow roots, strawberries thrive when the ground is wet. They need frequent watering in hot summer days. But they don’t like sitting in the water-logged ground, which can weaken the crown and cause the berry to rot.
Water at the base; ideally, provide about an inch and half of water each week. It is better to water early in the morning. Take a look at this Greenhouse Irrigation System for excellent ground watering!
Strawberries do well in nutrient-rich, well-drained, acidic soils that have high concentrations of organic matter. You can fertilize your strawberries twice a month with a well-balanced, organic compost throughout the growing period. The optimal pH should range between 5.5 and 7.0.
Combine a layer of straw or mulch throughout the surface to keep the roots cold and free from moisture. Switch to a high potash liquid fertilizer right after they start to bloom. This will maximize its fruit-bearing ability.
Make sure that the glazing of your greenhouse is clear and there is nothing in the way to obstruct out the light. They must receive at least six hours of daylight every day, some varieties need up to 12 hours.
Choose your greenhouse site accordingly and ensure the greenhouse kit you buy allow for adequate light.
If you want to grow greenhouse strawberries in winter, you should use a grow light to give your plants enough daylight. Otherwise, they cannot bear many fruits with a lack of light and photosynthetic movement.
Strawberries love to flower in a warm weather. The temperature must not go over 77ºF because higher temperatures can negatively impair the growth and kill the pollens.
Keep the greenhouse temperature around 65-77°F until they start flowering.
Once you have picked the strawberries, decrease the temperature inside your greenhouse so that it stays cold throughout winter. A cool phase is important to stimulate them to flower the next season. This only matters if you choose June-bearing or everbearing strawberry plants.
In the first eight months or so, pick off the blossoming flowers so the strawberry plants do not fruit. If you want to start growing strawberries from runners, make sure to maintain proper humidity levels because runners are usually more sensitive to warm temperatures than grown berries.
Comparing Greenhouse Growing Strawberries to Outdoor Raised Bed Strawberries
FAQ
What’s the best fruit to grow in a greenhouse?
There are, of course, many more fruits that are suitable for greenhouse growing. I’ve just written about six that I found particularly easy and fun. If you’re looking for more, consider peaches, pears, bananas, mangos, pomegranates, and grapes. Trees are best in pots so you can move them as needed.
How do you pollinate strawberries in a greenhouse?
To effectively pollinate strawberries in a greenhouse, you can either introduce pollinating insects like bumblebees or manually transfer pollen using a small brush or even your fingers.
What temperature is too hot for strawberry plants?
Temperatures consistently above 80°F (27°C) can negatively impact strawberry plants, potentially hindering fruit production and causing stress.
How often should I water strawberries in a greenhouse?
Watering: Strawberries need moist but not waterlogged conditions. To minimize evaporation, aim for about 1. 5 inches of water per week, preferably in the morning.