Indoor Fruits

[darkrebelchild]

Has anyone tried to grow these fruits indoors with any success rate?

Strawberries, Grapes, Figs, Dwarf Pomegranates, Cape gooseberries, Mulberries, Apricots, Peaches and nectarines.

I understand one can grow them indoors. Is it possible?

 

[claudine]

Yes, it's possible
Some time ago, I used to grow white strawberries. They were really tasty. Currently, I grow a lot of wild strawberry plants on a window sill in my living room. They're doing great.

 

[darkrebelchild]

Wow! That's really encouraging. I should give it a try too. I just hope the desert weather here would not ruin the experiment.

 

[remnant]

I have not yet tried farming indoor plants because I think certain conditions should be fulfilled first for them to be prolific. For example, one has to provide some form of lighting for photosynthesis or alter the construction of the building to create the right conditions. On the other hand, if the building is not large, one can barely grow enough for subsistence purposes.

 

[Novelangel]

Right now I'm working on an indoor orange tree, and a banana tree. Both are healthy, but still too young to produce fruit yet. I think my mom tried to grow indoor strawberries once, but not very successfully. It could be just the region she lives in too, I don't know. Her outdoor berries grew and produced fabulously, but she had to be very aware of them. They didn't like being ignored and Michigan summers tend to be quite dry. I would like to try some indoor strawberries myself though. I think I'll do some research on that before I act on the idea though. I only have two windows in my apartment and they both face south, so I need to find out what I can and cannot grow well.

 

[kgord]

My grandmother used to grow all kinds of things on her sunporch in Pennyslvania, however, I am not sure if she had any real success with fruit trees or not. She was someone who could grow just about anything..and she had a natural solarium in the house. She may have been able to grow a small orange tree sometime.

 

[SirJoe]

The only fruit that I grew were strawberries in a aquaponics system. The other fruits I'm not sure about but provided they don't get to big ( I'm thinking of the trees you have in that list, figs, apricots, peaches and nectarines) it shouldn't be a problem. Provided they get the right amount of sun I don't see why you can't.

 

[Corzhens]

Right now I'm working on an indoor orange tree, and a banana tree. Both are healthy, but still too young to produce fruit yet. I think my mom tried to grow indoor strawberries once, but not very successfully. It could be just the region she lives in too, I don't know. Her outdoor berries grew and produced fabulously, but she had to be very aware of them. They didn't like being ignored and Michigan summers tend to be quite dry. I would like to try some indoor strawberries myself though. I think I'll do some research on that before I act on the idea though. I only have two windows in my apartment and they both face south, so I need to find out what I can and cannot grow well.

This is not to put you down, just a food for thought about banana. We bought an imported banana sapling from Thailand. When the mother tree bore fruit after 8 months, we replanted the saplings to different locations. One was near the shade of a mango tree. The second banana bore fruit at about 8 months again (we are documenting the fruiting by the use of our camera). And when the 3rd banana bore fruit, that's the time that the shaded banana bore fruit. However, the clusters were just a few, 5 clusters in all while the 1st 3 banana fruiting have more than 12 clusters at least.

My conclusion is that banana wants a lot of sunshine.

 

[Novelangel]

This is not to put you down, just a food for thought about banana. We bought an imported banana sapling from Thailand. When the mother tree bore fruit after 8 months, we replanted the saplings to different locations. One was near the shade of a mango tree. The second banana bore fruit at about 8 months again (we are documenting the fruiting by the use of our camera). And when the 3rd banana bore fruit, that's the time that the shaded banana bore fruit. However, the clusters were just a few, 5 clusters in all while the 1st 3 banana fruiting have more than 12 clusters at least.

My conclusion is that banana wants a lot of sunshine.

Exactly. I got the banana and orange trees as gifts, but I did some online research just the same, and discovered this little fact as well. Banana trees do like a lot of direct sunlight, which should prove interesting in my climate, but I will do the best I can with what I have. I'm giving it everything I can, but hopefully it will at least give me a little fruit. I wasn't aware that they would reach fruiting maturity at only eight months, so I will plan for that. I have a question for you about your banana trees. I know they only fruit once, but do they produce new shoots from the roots of the older tree?

 

[Corzhens]

@Novelangel, the banana shoots and sprouts when it reaches half maturity. Right now 1 banana in the backyard have 5 shoots which we are eradicating for it shared in the nutrients of the mother tree. But we leave 1 shoot that would be the successor when this mother tree bears fruit. Yes, the banana plant dies after fruiting. May I just note that there are varieties of banana that takes 18 months to fruiting age. Our banana is imported from Thailand and it is the earliest to fruit in 8 months. And upon the appearance of the bloom (we call it heart where the fruits come out from) it takes about 4 months for the fruit to be harvested.

 

[Novelangel]

Thank you for that interesting information, Corzhens. I really appreciate it. I have seen some banana trees planted outside... not around here of course, but in some of our more temperate states, such as Florida, they are able to grow them outside, and they reach nearly the height of the house. I'm wondering if I can restrict that growth a bit by planting indoors in a pot. I'm sure that banana trees, like any other plant, can only grow as big as the pot allows, but I'm wondering if that restriction would also restrict the amount and size of the fruit when it forms? I don't mind smaller bananas, that's fine, but I was hoping that there would be a normal-sized bunch. I hope that my mother plant will create little off-shoots of its own at some point. Hopefully, they can then be transplanted into other pots as well.

 

[Vinaya]

I have grown herbs, spices and vegetables indoors, however, I have never grown fruits inside my house. However, I have seen rapes and strawberries grown inside the house.

 

[LillyBelle]

I have never tried growing fruits indoors. But I have done some research on growing lemon trees indoors. Evidently, it can be done successfully. I would like to try my hand at it because I absolutely love lemons.

 

[filmjunkie08]

I have only heard of lemon trees and strawberries being grown indoors. But you folks have peaked my interest. I have a sunroom and it would be awesome to walk into it and pick some fruit to eat. Thanks for all of the information. Please keep it coming.