Strawberry is one of the fruits that is in high demand from the consumer side, and the limitation of the harvesting season makes people think of building a strawberry greenhouse.

The sweet taste and wonderful aroma of strawberries is the reason for the high demand for this fruit for family consumption or making all kinds of sweets, cakes, desserts, jams, etc. But normally, the limitation of its harvesting season to spring and autumn raises the problem of unavailability of this fruit for consumers.

This issue has caused those interested in agriculture to produce and market strawberry greenhouses in all seasons of the year. To learn more about the growing conditions of this plant in the greenhouse and the process of building the cultivation space, stay with us until the end of this article.

What is a strawberry?

Strawberry is a sweet and juicy fruit from the rose family that grows as a bush and grass. This fruit has always existed wildly in nature, but its transfer from the forest to agricultural land is less than 300 years old.

Today, with the advancement of technology, strawberry cultivation in greenhouses and controlled conditions is more popular than in the open environment, for which they use different breeds.

Different methods of growing strawberries

Farmers grow strawberries, like other plants, in two ways: soil cultivation and water cultivation. In soil cultivation, plants are placed in a suitable substrate with organic materials, but for hydroponics or water cultivation, nutrients are delivered to the roots of the plant through soluble fertilizers and a water pump.

Strawberry breeds

Currently, all the seeds available in the Iranian market are imported from countries like India, and each of them has a special name. All colored berry seeds fall into one of the following categories based on the number of times they fruit per year:

Short day seeds, which are special for seasons of the year or regions with a day length of less than 13 hours.
Day-neutral seeds that bear fruit in all seasons of the year without any time limit and provided the conditions are favorable.
The seeds of four seasons, if the conditions are suitable for their growth, they bear fruit in spring and autumn.

The most well-known seed names of this fruit for those interested in making a strawberry greenhouse are:

  • Tiago
  • Red Gauntlet
  • Fresna
  • Kaminorel
  • Camarosa
  • Albion
  • flamenco
  • Everest
  • Selva, etc

Equipment and conditions necessary for the construction of a strawberry greenhouse

Setting up a suitable greenhouse for growing strawberries requires special equipment and conditions as follows:

  • Choosing the right land for building a greenhouse
  • Construction of greenhouse foundations
  • Skeletonization and choosing its type (wooden, metal and plastic)
  • Covering the skeleton with transparent or semi-transparent materials such as talc, plastic or glass
  • Buying and installing an air conditioner to adjust the humidity and temperature inside the greenhouse
  • Buying and installing a cooling or heating device in order to control the temperature
  • Automatic irrigation system
  • Installation of temperature sensitive sensors
  • Installation of sensors sensitive to humidity
  • Setting up a hydroponic system for growing in water

How to make a strawberry greenhouse

The construction of a strawberry greenhouse has different stages, and farmers must provide all the right conditions for growing this fruit in the greenhouse:

Preparing the culture bed

Strawberries grow in light soil with organic matter and proper drainage, and for better fruiting, they need plant and chemical fertilizers containing substances such as nitrogen, phosphorus, potash, etc. Before planting the plant, farmers should prepare the ground for the plant by plowing the land and adding minerals to it in the form of fertilizer.

Soil testing to ensure the presence of mineral and organic matter is necessary for the construction of a strawberry greenhouse and prevents adding too much fertilizer. After preparing the land, it is time to plant the seeds that have already been transformed into plants ready to bear fruit in special greenhouses.

Farmers should irrigate the land completely one day before planting so that the moisture covers all its parts, because planting strawberry seeds in dry land will cause them to die.

Also, the suitable pH for strawberries is between 55.5 and 6.5. Each bush should be at least 40 cm away from the side bush, because a number less than this has a negative effect on their growth.

Time to transfer the plants

Strawberry cultivation, like many agricultural products, has two types: spring and autumn. Growers should transfer the grown plants to the strawberry greenhouse during dormancy.

Accordingly, late autumn and early spring are the best times to do this. Autumn seeds usually bear fruit in the beginning of the following summer, and spring-planted plants bear fruit a few weeks after planting, which should be picked quickly in order to strengthen the plant.

Temperature control

Strawberry bushes are highly resistant to cold and sometimes remain healthy even at minus 5 degrees, but the best temperature for flowering and ripening of the fruits of this plant is between 15 and 25 degrees Celsius.

wATERING systems

The amount of water a strawberry plant needs depends on the season and the area under cultivation. Naturally, the hotter and drier the weather of the season and region, the amount of irrigation should also increase. Also, drip and rain irrigation systems are the best methods for providing moisture to this plant.

Plant propagation

In the construction of a strawberry greenhouse, to increase the number of plants, they are propagated in two ways, each of which is more suitable for some breeds:

The sexual method is specific to races that are not stem-growing.
The asexual method is suitable for plants that have grown well and then several small specimens are separated from the mother seed and replanted in the ground as independent plants.

Cooling operation

In greenhouses, in order to prevent the stagnation and dormancy of plants, as well as to strengthen their growth and fruiting, they reduce the temperature from zero to 10 degrees Celsius at certain times of the year. Of course, the continuation of this operation leads to harmful effects such as reducing the number of flowers, starch, and as a result, reducing the sweet taste of the fruits.

final word

Strawberry seed is a cold-resistant plant that bears fruit only if the conditions are suitable. The construction of a strawberry greenhouse requires familiarity with the required equipment and its cultivation process, which we explained in this article.