strawberrries in a greenhouse

[debjay]

hi  :)
has anybody grown strawberries in a greenhouse?
i was thinking about making a strawberry bed in the greenhouse from this years new runners ::)
good idea or not? ???  ???
debs

[debjay]

[saddad]

Might get too hot for them... they were a woodland plant originally...
:-\

[markfield rover]

I have mine in GH in pots for early fruit  but these are going out soon.
and in again much later  for early fruit next year.

[antipodes]

I know that a lot of people at my site overwinter their strawberries, and mine were out in all that cold weather in March, and they seem very hardy to me, they are the best plant on my lot. I don't see much point in doing them in a greenhouse...

[Lindsay]

I agree, I would think it could get too hot in a greenhouse.  If you are worried about the cold in winter, I tend to cover them in straw or pine needles to protect them from any frost - as long as you clear it all off in the spring when growth restarts.

[RobinOfTheHood]

I relocated mine a couple of months ago. I had a few spares and stuck these in pots in the greenhouse.

I would say that they are probably 3 weeks earlier than the outside ones, maybe a month, but as there are only 4 inside then I'm getting fruit in ones and twos.

It's probably worth it if you want early fruit badly, but I can think of better uses for the greenhouse.   :)

[real food]

I have a feeling that Strawberries require pollination to fruit properly. Did you let the bees in, or did you hand pollinate?

[Tee Gee]

The potential for sweaty conditions & botrytis springs to mind!!

[GRACELAND]

I have seen them in open ended poly tunnels ,But there they would get the air through !   :)

[RobinOfTheHood]

The potential for sweaty conditions & botrytis springs to mind!!

Hmm, I had 2 that were touching the poly without me knowing, botrytis sprang to mind for those too....the rest are ok though. There's plenty of room between.

And the door has been open more often than not.

[jennym]

Strawberries are grown on a large scale commercially in the UK using polytunnels.  It extends the season, protects the fruit from the worst weather damage and can assist in preventing some of the pests and diseases that they are prone to, outside. I seem to think that the polytunnels used are mesh sided, so that they get the range of temperatures that they need to start the process of growing in the right way so that flowers and therefore fruit can be produced. I believe they need to get down to around 13 degrees C in the early stages. So, there is a danger, in an enclosed polytunnel, or greenhouse, that this wouldn't happen - as well as the air circulation problems mentioned previously.

[aob9]

I love strawberries so I raise some every year especially for the greenhouse. This is what I do.

I grow only Cambridge Favourite as I really like the flavour and it has good disease resistance.

Every Summer when the outdoor fruit bed has finished cropping and the plants are producing runners I pin 12 runners into 3 inch pots. When they have rooted I cut them from  the parent plant and allow them to grow on.Watering is crucial here as the pots are small and the roots may be poorly developed.When they become root-bound I transfer them to 7" pots with a mixture of (50/50) soil/good quality compost. They will over Winter outdoors in these pots as strawberries need frost to properly split the crown and initiate flower production.In early February after a few frosts I bring them into my unheated greenhouse. I trim all the rubbish and old leaves from them to prevent botrytis later on. Watering is once again important making sure not to over or under water. This is particularly important when the fruit is swelling.Once the fruit has began to swell I feed once a week with half strength tomato food. Pollination is not a problem normally as I leave the doors open and pollinating insects normally find their way in. If there is dull and cool weather during flowering I pollinate manually with a small paintbrush but this is very rare.

Result= I am picking strawberries for the past 3 weeks, they are about to run out now but the outdoor crop will be ready soon.

BTW, when cropping is finished destroy the plants as they will not be up to providing a good crop in the second year.

As for greenhouse clutter, 12 plants will provide a nice few strawberries daily and I will be throwing them out just as the Tom's etc are stretching in the growbags.

[weedin project]

Last year I had a whole load of them in an unheated greenhouse bed shaded by melon plants growing up a frame from the same bed.  This worked well and I got two crops off them - early June and again in September, which came as a surprise bonus  ;D.  I can't remember what variety they are but I take new plants off runners every year and this is the 4th year with them.
No problems with disease (so far).  I leave the vents partially open once we are past serious risk of frost and I have an auto-opener on a pane in the roof too, so the little beasties can get in and out to pollinate.