Early Fruit in a Greenhouse

[dod]

I have some strawberries and a couple of small apple trees in my greenhouse, and they are just starting to show signs of life. I didn't realise that the strawberries needed a cold period, so I will no doubt be finding out whether or not a winter in the greenhouse (unheated) was cold enough for them.

Does anybody have any idea how much earlier I might be able to get fruit from them in the greenhouse compared to outside? Also, I am working on the assumption that I will be able to move the apples outside in the summer once the fruit has set to make space for some summer crops which will hopefully be getting reasonably large by then. Is this likely to work, and will the fruit take longer to ripen if I move them outside compared to staying inside the greenhouse?

Many thanks,

Dod

[Bigmallly]

Welcome to the vine dod. If it's the trees first year, you may not get anything, IMO it should be outside as it will most likely need pollinating with another variety which hopefully will be nearby. My strawbs are never brought inside. Not sure what else to add but am sure other grapes will advise.

[Capsid]

Neither strawberries or apple trees need to be in a greenhouse. I'm not sure about strawberries but fruiting may also be dependent on day length rather than heat. The greenhouse is best used for germinating seeds and bringing them on for platning out and those plants that do need some heat such as melons, cucumbers, peppers, aubergines and tomatoes.

[Bigmallly]

The only fruit I have in my GH besides toms is a Peach Tree as they are a little more delicate but will pollinate by hand.

[Matt94]

what about cucumbers or peppers bigmally?

[veggiechicken]

Definitely put your apple trees outside. They're not meant for a hot greenhouse
I have a few strawberries in pots for an earlier crop and because the squirrels pinch the outdoor ones. The pots are outside most of the year though, only indoors for fruiting.
Also, a grapevine with its roots outside, but led into the GH through a side pane of glass. I'm going to axe it this year, it takes too much light from the tomatoes and the grapes are stripped by the blackbirds!
I have a lot of problems with wildlife!!

[Bigmallly]

what about cucumbers or peppers bigmally?

Peppers will be in GH but Cucumbers will be outside, Marketmore 76 I think they are called.

[Two_Sheds]

Apples are native to the UK ~ outside

[di]

A chap at the lottie grows some of his strawberries in the greenhouse...I think he has them in a suspended trough so they don't take up too much space. He gets his first at least three weeks before anyone else.
I've not tried it myself, although keep meaning to.

[dod]

Thanks for the responses, although whilst I admire the enthusiasm most of the responses do seem to have missed the point, which was how much earlier these plants might fruit compared to those outside.

I asked Google too, which alterted me to the theory of "growing degree days", which seem to apply to both apples and strawberries. This makes me think that I might be on the right track, although I've still no idea how much earlier they might be. I checked some of their outdoor brethren and the strawberries in the greenhouse are showing many more signs of like than those outside, although the apples don't seem to be very different at the moment.

One of the reasons why I did this was that there is very little in the greenhouse at the moment, and most of the things that need to be in there are either not yet in existence, tiny seedling in the house, or just very small. There is loads of space at the moment and I had hoped to make use of this to get some fruits earlier than I would if they were all grown outside. It will hopefully also mean that the crops don't all come at once.

[biggreenfingers]

You could get strawberries about 3-5 weeks earlier than those ones outside dependent on conditions. You may also need to pollinate by hand using a little paint brush. Good luck.

[Two_Sheds]

One of the troubles with growing plants in a gh are pests: greenfly are a big problem and reproduce madly in a warm still environment. Strawbs are quite prone to moulds/botrytis too, esp in warm, humid airless conditions.

Another is lack of pollinating insects for the flowers

[rustylady]

Dod, your apples should definitely be outside. Your strawberries should be OK in the greenhouse but you will probably need to hand pollinate. I don't think we missed the point and the strawberry question has already been answered.

[Capsid]

One of the troubles with growing plants in a gh are pests: greenfly are a big problem and reproduce madly in a warm still environment. Strawbs are quite prone to moulds/botrytis too, esp in warm, humid airless conditions.

Another is lack of pollinating insects for the flowers

Dod, your apples should definitely be outside. Your strawberries should be OK in the greenhouse but you will probably need to hand pollinate. I don't think we missed the point and the strawberry question has already been answered.

I'm not convinced that insects won't get in the greenhouse to pollinate. How come aphids can get in but others can't?

[dod]

Thanks Biggreenfingers, I'd say that eating strawberries a month earlier was probably worth it, although the proof of the pudding is in the eating, so I'll have to see how they taste.

Rustylady, I have plenty of apples outside, but this year I hope to be able to eat some of my own a little earlier, rather than make do with the tail end of a southern hemisphere harvest from Tescos. I remain moderately hopeful that this year I will be able to eat some of my own apples in early September. Once I have munched my way through all of them I will start on those outdoors (if they are already ripe by then).

Capsid, I agree with you, it might be a bit harder for pollinating insects to get in, but it will not be impossible. I was under the impression that the main problem would be if they flowered before there was much insect activity. It remains to be seen just when they will flower, and how many insects will be about at the time. It has been fairly mild here, so I am hopeful that the insects will be getting out and about reasonably early this year. Even if they don't I wouldn't imagine it is all that difficult to pollinate by hand, although I'm hoping I won't need to dress up as a bee and make buzzing noises whilst I'm at it.