Can I grow strawberries in UAE?

[garudamon11]

Hi, I live in an apartment and I've got a medium-small container, the weather here is very hot and humid for most of the year, I've been wondering if I can grow strawberries here because I heard strawberries like warm weather, so the main question is can I grow them outside? and if I can then when? If its not possible to grow them outside then can I grow them on the window sill inside?

[JONA878]

Hi Garudamon.
Strawberries have really only two requirements other than some soil to grow in and warm weather to ripen the fruit.
Good light and water.
If you have very hot sun then some form of shading to stop the fruit from scorching would be needed.
As to when I do not know what you day length and temperature are all year round...but they do need a rest period each year with some chill to initiate good fruit production.
All the same well worth having a go...

[garudamon11]

Hi Garudamon.
Strawberries have really only two requirements other than some soil to grow in and warm weather to ripen the fruit.
Good light and water.
If you have very hot sun then some form of shading to stop the fruit from scorching would be needed.
As to when I do not know what you day length and temperature are all year round...but they do need a rest period each year with some chill to initiate good fruit production.
All the same well worth having a go...

The sun isnt the problem in my case, the high humidity in the air is the real problem.
The day is not long (the sun sets at 6:30~) but the heat remains nearly the same in the night because of the humidity that stop the temperature from changing.
Winter starts in December and it only lasts for 3 monthes, is that enough for the strawberry plant? Should I plant strawberry seeds now?

[garudamon11]

I took some seeds using this [url]https://www.wikihow.com/Get-Strawberry-Seeds[/url] method
I'm not sure if they are small or mature:

[img]https://img838.imageshack.us/img838/7469/picture049a.jpg[/img]


I got them from those berries:

[img]https://img402.imageshack.us/img402/1702/picture050f.jpg[/img]


They were in the refrigirator, does that affect their quality? are they ready to be planted or do I have to let them dry up before planting them?

EDIT: It seems that growing strawberries from seed is really hard... I'm going to put the seeds in water to see if they float or sink
EDIT 2: Only one seed sank :/

[JONA878]

Three months of winter is more than long enough.
The humidity is no problem providing youi keep a close eye on them as regards mildew and Phytophthora infections.

With the seeds I would sow them and see what comes up.
As you say ...growing straws from seed is a rewarding task ...although a rather long one till your first fruiting.

[garudamon11]

Three months of winter is more than long enough.
The humidity is no problem providing youi keep a close eye on them as regards mildew and Phytophthora infections.

With the seeds I would sow them and see what comes up.
As you say ...growing straws from seed is a rewarding task ...although a rather long one till your first fruiting.

What are mildew and phytophthoa infections?

[JONA878]

Sorry Garudamon.
should have expained.

Mildew is a fungal problem that affects many plants but on strawberries it can cause damage and withering of the leaves and can leave a dry whiteish powder on the fruit.
It loves hot dry weather.

Phytophthora is another fungal problem again affecting many plants.
This one can cause a complete collapse of the plant as it attacks the crown ( Thats the part of the strawberry where the leaves grow from ) and also the root system of the plant. Fruit that's affected goes rotten and fluffy with the fungus spores that are growing and fruiting themselves on it.

The best control is to keep good air movement around the plant by not planting too close and remove damaged fruit and leaves before they can infect others on the plant.

Spraying is possable ...but they are protective rather than curative.

Hope that helps.

[garudamon11]

Sorry Garudamon.
should have expained.

Mildew is a fungal problem that affects many plants but on strawberries it can cause damage and withering of the leaves and can leave a dry whiteish powder on the fruit.
It loves hot dry weather.

Phytophthora is another fungal problem again affecting many plants.
This one can cause a complete collapse of the plant as it attacks the crown ( Thats the part of the strawberry where the leaves grow from ) and also the root system of the plant. Fruit that's affected goes rotten and fluffy with the fungus spores that are growing and fruiting themselves on it.

The best control is to keep good air movement around the plant by not planting too close and remove damaged fruit and leaves before they can infect others on the plant.

Spraying is possable ...but they are protective rather than curative.

Hope that helps.

Thank you, that will save me lots of trouble

I will be planting the seeds tomorrow to check if they will grow (which is unlikely to happen) and if it doesnt work out I'm going to try the complex method (freezing the seeds in airtight bag and such stuff)

[garudamon11]

To make sure that I'm going to get a strawberry plant in the end, I'm going to prepare another horde of seeds, this time I'm going to try the method most sites suggest, I'm going to write down what I'm going to do and what will happen to my strawberry seeds here in this thread so that other members who are unfortunate enough to not find strawberry plants in nurseries they visit (or just want to try somethign challenging) can learn from my experiement, whether it fails or succeeds.



Well, since I don't have things like peat moss or seed tray I'm going to use simple things everyone has like normal soil and plastic cups, if you have a seed tray and peat moss then it would be better to use those instead.


What you're going to need for the first part of this experiement:


Strawberries
Knife (optional)
A tissue
A plastic cup
Warm water
A sealable plastic bag


Grab the berries and try to take the seeds out with the knife without damaging them (note that most sites suggest non-hybrid berries, now I'm not sure if the berries I used are hybrid or not since it doesnt mention anything about that on the bag but its most likely hybrid), if you havent cut your nails in a while then you can use your fingers to take the seeds out (I found this to work better than the knife), now put the seeds you take out in a plastic cup filled with warm water and put it away for 8 hours.
After that, take the seeds out and remove any remaining flesh and let the seeds dry on a tissue and when they're perfectly dry put them in a sealable plastic bag in the freezer for 2 weeks.

[JONA878]

Good luck G.
Let us know how you get on...and what the success rate is.

[Kisal]

Strawberries do best in soil with a pH of 5.5 to 6.5. Sandy soil is good for them, but if possible, you should add things like compost, a good potting mix, and maybe a little peat moss or elemental sulphur. (Add the sulphur several weeks or even months before you intend to set out your plants, so it has a chance to decay and acidify the soil for you.)

I read that the low temperatures during your winter months are between 50*F to 68*F. I'm not sure that is cold enough to provide the "chill" other members say is required, but you could always store the plants in the vegetable section of your refrigerator for a short while if necessary, before setting them out into your garden.

The link below is to an article about growing strawberries in Florida, which may have soil, temperatures, and a rainy season similar to yours. I thought the article might provide some ideas for you, even if just as starting places from which you could develop your own unique methods based on the exact growing environment where you're located.

https://strawberry.ifas.ufl.edu/growing_strawberries_in_the_flor.htm

HTH! And welcome to the forum!

[garudamon11]

I thought I replied to this post yesterday, maybe I pressed something wrong

Strawberries do best in soil with a pH of 5.5 to 6.5. Sandy soil is good for them, but if possible, you should add things like compost, a good potting mix, and maybe a little peat moss or elemental sulphur. (Add the sulphur several weeks or even months before you intend to set out your plants, so it has a chance to decay and acidify the soil for you.)

Its hard to find even soil in here, I don't think I'll ever find peat moss or elemental sulphur, is it possible to acidify the soil with things that are easier to find?

I read that the low temperatures during your winter months are between 50*F to 68*F. I'm not sure that is cold enough to provide the "chill" other members say is required, but you could always store the plants in the vegetable section of your refrigerator for a short while if necessary, before setting them out into your garden.

So do I have to put the plants only once in the refrigirator or will I have to do it again the same time next year?

The link below is to an article about growing strawberries in Florida, which may have soil, temperatures, and a rainy season similar to yours. I thought the article might provide some ideas for you, even if just as starting places from which you could develop your own unique methods based on the exact growing environment where you're located.

https://strawberry.ifas.ufl.edu/growing_strawberries_in_the_flor.htm

Well, I don't think the climate here can be compared to Florida because here it doesnt rain often, you can even count the times it rains in the winter, and the soil is sand (on the coast where I live it has a yellow-ish colour but if I go a bit inland the sand becomes reddish brown).

HTH! And welcome to the forum!

Thank you.