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How do you grow strawberries indoors? Strawberries are one of the most popular fruits among people of all ages. They are fun and relatively easy to grow.
Strawberries taste great and contain many healthy nutrients like vitamins, antioxidants, fibers, and plenty of water. People eat it as it is or use it to make delicious food items such as jams, jellies, etc.
People love growing strawberries indoors because of their multiple health benefits and applications.
If you are also interested in growing strawberries indoors, this article will provide you with a step-by-step guide to growing strawberries indoors.
Can I Grow Strawberries Indoors?
Yes, definitely. You can grow strawberry plants indoors. You need to provide sufficient sunlight, healthy nutrients, and soil to the plant to grow it indoors.
First, pick the right plant variety, then collect its seeds, sow them, take care of the seedlings, and ta-da, the ripe fruit is ready to harvest in a year.
How to Grow Strawberries Indoors: Step-By-Step Guide
Below are the key steps (along with a few gardening tips) that you should follow sequence-wise to grow strawberries indoors.
1. Pick the Right Type of Strawberry
Surprisingly, there are more than 600 varieties of strawberries, and all are originated from 5 to 6 wild species. Each strawberry variety may differ from each other based on their size, taste, and other characteristics. The main three strawberry varieties are:
- June-bearing strawberries: They give fruit once a year in the month of June. They may give fruit earlier or later than this month, depending on the area where you live.
- Ever-bearing strawberries: They produce strawberries twice a year. The buds start appearing when the length of the day is 12 hours or more than 12 hours. The plant keeps on giving fruit until the end of summer. Fruits are moderate in size.
- Day-neutral strawberries: This variety of plants gives fruit thrice a year. They are larger in size, and the plant gives fewer fruits compared to the other variety.
Out of all these varieties, day-neutral strawberries are the ideal indoor strawberries. They are not sensitive to the day length and produce fruit year-round. However, as they do not produce many fruits, it is better to grow many plants so you can enjoy a big harvest.
Alpine strawberry is the popular variety of day-neutral strawberries that people prefer for indoor planting.
Compared to the other varieties, they stay healthy even when they get less sunlight. In addition, they grow in clusters which reduces the area they cover. So, alpine strawberries are a great choice over other varieties to have the best experience.
If you like experimenting, then you can try planting all three main kinds of strawberries to check results in the growing season. Then select the variety that you found easier to grow and more suitable.
2. Prepare Fresh Seeds for Sowing
You have two choices to grow strawberries indoors. One is to grow mature strawberry plants, and the other option is to grow strawberries from seed. Opt for the second option to enjoy the whole indoor planting experience.
You can buy strawberry seeds from a local nursery or prepare them on your own. To have a safer and better experience, it is advised to go for the second choice.
Pick fresh strawberries from the market or from a strawberry planter. Dehydrate the fruit to separate seeds from the surface. One fruit gives around 200 seeds, so only one will be enough.
Once the fruit has dried, pick a toothpick and scrape the seeds to separate them. Now wash seeds to remove all remaining parts of the fruit.
Spread seeds on a paper towel and let them dry naturally. Seeds will get very hard once they have dried completely, so you will know when they are dried by touching them.
3. Find the Right Location
Your strawberry plant needs 8 hours of sunlight to make sugar. The more sunlight your plant gets, the higher the sugar levels will be. So, you can choose a location like a sunny windowsill or a similar place to keep your strawberries healthy.
The ideal temperature range is 68 degrees Fahrenheit to 75 degrees Fahrenheit.
A strawberry plant can grow up to 12 inches in height. So, make sure you provide enough room for the new plant.
If you cannot get the proper sunlight for your strawberry plant, then you’ll need to invest in some grow lights to ensure your plants are getting the “sunlight” they require.
4. Make the Soil Ready
Preparing the potting soil is important for the healthy growth of indoor plants. Strawberry plants can grow effectively in various soils with slightly acidic pH ranging from 5.6 to 6.3.
It is incredibly important to make sure you’re getting the best potting soil (or potting mix) for your strawberries.
However, loam soil is the best for the optimal growth of strawberries. It is a mixture of clay, sand, and important organic compounds that plants need to develop.
Sandy soils like loam soil absorb moisture very well, which is good for the growing plant. You can also add organic matter to improve the contents of the soil. If the soil is compressed, you should break up the soil a bit before sowing seeds to ensure they get all the nutrients they need.
Consider adding sphagnum peat moss to the soil as it is helpful in maintaining the optimal pH range for growing strawberries.
5. Get the Right Container
Strawberries do not need a specific container for optimal growth. Many people prefer growing strawberry plants in buckets that they already have at home.
If you do not want to invest much in your indoor garden, then use such buckets rather than buy strawberry jars, strawberry pots, and similar items.
If you do not have suitable buckets at home, then buy a container after considering the chosen location of the plant.
For instance, if you are planning to keep the growing plant on a windowsill, it is better to get a rectangular container that will help the plant spread and get 8 hours of direct sunlight.
If you already have pressed fit pots where you plant other perennial plants, you can grow strawberries in the same pots.
Strawberries do not take much area, so they will not disturb other plants in the pots.
People with limited space can buy a hanging basket that will give enough room to the new plant and will still fit in small spaces.
The container you choose should have a good drainage system so that the plants do not drown in excessive water.
Strawberry plants have shallow roots (roots that are small and stay close to the soil surface), so a container of a maximum of 5 inches height will be enough for the plant. Fill it with 3 to 4 inches of soil.
A few container options can be found below:
KINGLAKE 4″ Plastic Plants Nursery Pot (100 pieces)
- What You Get-Seed Starter Pots Quantity:100 Pots. Weight:6g per pot.durable plastic plant pots,good…
- Nursery Pots Dimensions :4 inches outside diameter at top.Height:8.5 cm,3.34 inch,bottom…
- Multiple Drainage Holes:The Nursery Pot bottom has small Drain holes to keep soil drained and…
- Plastic Plant Pots for Plants,Cuttings & Seedlings,Plant Seed Starting pots,Great for doing lot of…
- 4 inch Pots for Plants,RISK FREE PURCHASE:Keep you satisfied and provide you friendly customer…
Mr. Stacky 5-Tier Strawberry Planter Pot
- Nullify
- Imported
- Soil Volume: 24 Quarts – Free standing or easily create grow towers off the ground using 3/4″ Pipe.
- Indoor and outdoor – weather & UV resistant
- L:16.5″ x W:16.5″ x H: 9.8″ total stack dimensions
As an alternative, you can even try planting your strawberries in hanging baskets! Check out some options below:
Ultimate Hanging Baskets
- For Growing Hanging Strawberries, Veggies, Herbs, and Flowers with Big Results
- Side Planting For A Fuller Balanced Basket and Up To 6 Times More Plants – Keeps Your Garden Away…
- Simple: Plant it. Pop It. Hang It. – Tabs Pop In To Secure The Plants In Place.
- Durable And Made To Last – Stop Replacing Straw Planters Every Year
- Used By Both Commercial Growers and Home Gardeners; Color: Stone / Diameter: 12″ / Vol: 7.5 Quarts…
6. Plant Strawberry Seed
Sprinkle seeds in the container such that there will be a distance of at least 18 inches between the two mature plantings. Maintaining this distance is crucial for preventing mold growth.
Place seeds on the soil surface and sprinkle water. Now place the container in an area where seeds get enough sunlight and air.
If the soil has all the nutrients and seeds are exposed to full sun for 8 hours, strawberry seedlings will appear in 2 to 3 weeks.
The best time to sow strawberry seeds is early spring when there is no risk of frost damage.
7. Take Care of The Growing Plant
A strawberry plant usually takes about one year to start producing fruits. To enjoy this delicious fruit the following year, you need to take care of the plant carefully.
Strawberry plants are tough by nature, but they cannot bear excess or shortage of water. Therefore, do your best to neither flood the plant nor dehydrate it.
Touch the soil surface and check its height. If the height has been reduced by 1 inch, then water the plant. You can also use a moisture meter to check the soil’s moisture level.
You should add organic fertilizer to the soil to help the plant get all the nutrients it needs to thrive. It is better to use organic fertilizers because no one likes putting chemicals onto the fruits they are going to eat later.
You will also have to keep an eye on the pest growth. For example, spider mites grow on indoor strawberry plants.
The best way to protect your plants from these pests is by introducing predator mites like persimilis. They will feed on the pests before they get a chance to feed on your plants.
If you keep all these things in mind and take care of your growing plant, you will certainly have plenty of fresh strawberries next year.
Key Factors That Determine the Growth of The Strawberry Plant
The number of fruits your plant produces and how fast it produces them depends on the key factors that control its growth. In the case of strawberry plants, the key external factors are sunlight and temperature.
The ideal temperature for strawberries is 68 degrees Fahrenheit to 77 degrees Fahrenheit (20 degrees Celsius to 25 degrees Celsius). A little warmer or cooler than this temperature will not affect the growth.
Similarly, a strawberry plant will need 8 hours of sunlight of strength ranging from 32.000 to 130.000 lux.
How to Pollinate Indoor Strawberry Plants by Hand
Strawberries grown in the outdoor garden do not have any pollination issues. But indoor strawberries need some help in this regard.
You can use the hand-pollination method to pollinate the plant. It is a great method for beginners as it does not require skills and also does not take much time.
You can do hand pollination when the flowers of the strawberry plant have opened completely. The male part is called the stamen, and it is brown in color.
It produces stamen that you need to transfer to the female part that is called the pistil, and it is yellow-greenish in color.
To transfer pollen safely, get a makeup brush and touch the stamen with the brush. Pollens will attach to the brush. So, now brush the pollens on the pistil. Repeat the same procedure to pollinate all flowers.
After pollination, white petals will dry and die. The green sepals will stay behind, and soon the fruit will take the place of the flower.
Surprising Facts About Strawberries
Strawberry is a nutritious fruit that is liked by people of all ages. People eat the fruit as it is or make various food items or drinks like strawberry jam, cake, pie, salad, juice, and much more.
Learning a few facts about strawberries will make the whole process of growing them indoors more fun for you. Below are the surprising facts you should know as a strawberry grower.
Strawberry Belongs to The Rose Family
Rose family has more than 3,000 species, and one of them is the strawberry plant. That is why strawberries not only have a sweet taste but also have a sweet scent.
Scientists believe this smell is due to the presence of many aroma compounds in the fruits.
Strawberry Is Not A True Berry
Unlike blueberries, strawberries are not true berries. A berry is made up of a single ovary and contains seeds inside the fruit.
On the contrary, one strawberry is made up of many ovaries and has around 200 seeds on its surface.
It Is the Only Fruit That Has Seeds Present Outside the Flesh
Strawberries are considered the only fruits that have their seeds present outside the flesh. All other fruits have one or more than one seed inside the fruit.
Summing Up: How to Grow Strawberries Indoors
Growing strawberries indoors is not as difficult as you may think. With a little bit of time, effort, and knowledge about how to grow strawberries indoors successfully, your strawberry plants will be bearing fruit in no time!
A strawberry plant is tough and can withstand changes in its external environment to some extent. You should provide the plant with sufficient nutrients, sunlight, and air to get plenty of fruits during the harvesting season.
If you’re ready to start growing delicious berries right on your kitchen counter or living room table, then start today! Get started so you can enjoy some delicious, home-grown, ripe strawberries all summer long!
Let us know if you have any questions about growing your strawberries indoors!