What is hydroponically grown strawberries? What are the benefits of the hydroponic method?

Strawberry is one of the favorite berries around the world. People add it to cakes, pies, and different desserts like to combine eating with cream or chocolate or just enjoy its natural taste.

Hydroponically Grown Strawberries

We used to think that strawberry plants grow in the ground and it’s hard to imagine when someone says that strawberries can be grown in the water.

However today it is a common method to grow it in a hydroponic garden. It may sound complicated, but it is easier than you think.

Some people admit that this method is far more interesting and, what is important, less time-consuming than a traditional one. It can be a good way to make your own garden not only a hobby but a successful venture as well.

So you need to know more about its advantages. We’ll study all the peculiarities of this method and tell you its benefits.

What are hydroponic strawberries?

Hydroponic strawberries grow in a soilless medium with the help of a water-based nutrient solution.

Since this style of gardening uses less water than traditional methods it provides better conditions for strawberries to take in nutrients.

And these gardens are usually set up indoors, which allows growing your favorite berry all year round.

Why should you choose growing hydroponic strawberries?

You may be confused with this hydroponic method and think why it is better than a traditional method of growing strawberries in soil.

However, those who grow hydroponic strawberries say that this method has more advantages than the traditional one. Here are some reasons.

1. First of all, in comparison with the traditional method, you don’t need to make a lot of effort since hydroponic berries require minimal maintenance. When it’s time to harvest you won’t need to waste your time on digging or weed removal, especially if you grow your strawberries on a rooftop or balcony.
2. Strawberries are less prone to be attacked by flying pests when they are in the water. Moreover, it is easier to prevent strawberries from diseases, since you have more control over the environment. You don’t have to deal with weeds because the soil environment is sterile and is always sterilized before planting.
3. If you are tight on space, now it is not a problem. Strawberries hydroponic can be stacked vertically. Hydroponic systems help strawberries to adapt to vertical growing.
4. As we said before hydroponic strawberries can grow and harvest all year round and don’t limit you in space, which increases the yield in comparison with strawberries grown traditionally.

What are the disadvantages of growing strawberries hydroponically?

Of course, there are some things about this method that will make you reconsider whether you want to use it or stick to the traditional method of growing strawberries.

The first thing is the cost of the initial setup. Of course, hydroponic systems are more expensive than growing in soil.

In their defense, we can say that such a price usually pays itself, because the yield is going to increase.

Another thing is that at first, you will have to spend plenty of time understanding how the hydroponic system works. But later on, when you know all the nuances it won’t be a big deal.

And the last thing you need to know about the hydroponic strawberry plant is that it will yield slightly fewer berries in comparison with soil systems per plant.

But since you are not limited in growing space you can compensate for it, especially if your hydroponic system is located indoors, where the temperature is permanent.

So it’s for you to decide whether to grow strawberries hydroponically or to be devoted to soil-grown strawberries. Both methods are good and it’s only your preference which one to use. What concerns the taste of these strawberries they are usually described as sweeter than soil-grown ones.

How to start to grow hydroponically?

The first step is to find an appropriate hydroponic system. They vary from each other not only in terms of price, but also in plant count, and performance.

For the first time, it is better to stick with an ebb and flow deep water culture (DWC), or hydroponic drip system. Then you’ll need a garden tray, water pump, and various hydro components.

There is also the Nutrient film technique which is now considered to be the most widely spread technique of hydroponic growing.

The plant’s roots are sitting in the net pots and hanging freely in the root zone. The Ebb and flow technique is pretty similar. The difference is that plant roots are sunk in a growing medium.

The setup is not complicated. Install a water tank under the tray where your strawberry plants will grow.

And then set up a timer and a pump to pump over the water from the tank to the growing tray to keep your berries watered and fed. And you also need to choose a growing medium (grow stones, clay pebbles, coconut coir, and so on).

And you’ll need some general hydroponics nutrients to keep your plants well-fed and growing to their full potential.

Growing hydroponic strawberries

Now we are going to discuss the main things you need to know about hydroponics strawberries.

Planting techniques

Two main techniques are used by hydroponic strawberry growers. These are runners and plugs.

What concerns runners, are young strawberry plants growing from a mother plant.

For this technique, you need to remove runners from a mother plant and plant them in your hydroponic system. Plugs are pre-rooted plants that are inserted into the growing medium of the system. You can buy them online or in a nursery.

If you want your small plant to be able to maintain a heavy harvest, it must sustain a high rate of photosynthesis. If your strawberries grow in a shady area they won’t produce the same amount of fruit as those grown in the sun and getting enough light.

It doesn’t matter which technique you choose but be sure that strawberry plants are getting enough sunlight. They need six hours of sunlight per day to be able to produce fruit.

If you are growing strawberry plants indoors you will need to provide them with artificial light. For this, you can use full-spectrum LED grow lights.

Speaking about temperature, strawberries prefer it to be from 60 to 70 degrees Fahrenheit during the growing season. It is a crucial step thing, because when the temperature is too hot or too cold, it may affect the quality of strawberries.

Water quality and nutrients

Hydroponic strawberries will need a nutrient solution. The nutrient-rich solution should contain nitrogen, potassium, and phosphorus.

Nutrient levels must be high enough to maintain plant growth. You can use secondary nutrients which are Calcium, Magnesium, and Sulphur. There can be a question “are hydroponic strawberries organic?”.

We must say that plants grown hydroponically can be organic but not always. If you use organic nutrients you will get high-quality strawberries.

And synthetic nutrients infuse strawberry hydroponics with artificial (man-made) nutrients. To add you must always check the pH level to be between 6.0 and 7.0. It can be checked with a pH testing kit.

Pollination and pruning of strawberry plants

These plants don’t need insects to pollinate them since they do it by themselves. But strawberries, which grow indoors will need manual pollination.

To perform this you just need to take a paintbrush and transfer pollen from the male flowers to the female flowers. If the hydroponic setup is outside you won’t need to do this.

What concerns pruning, this is an important part because strawberries produce fruit on runners. So pruning away non-fruit-bearing runners is crucial if you want to encourage fruit production. If you see a sprout formed at the tip of the runner, you can use it for propagation.

To propagate strawberry plant uses seeds or plantlets. So you need to take runners and immerse them in a propagation medium. As soon as they have rooted, you can transplant them in separate pots or containers.

Taking care of growing plants. Troubleshooting

There are a few different ways to take care of plants. For example, pollination and pruning were mentioned before. Another common method is fruit rot. Fruit rot is a decay in the strawberry’s layers. This can be caused by overwatering or when there is a big amount of fertilizer near strawberry roots.

To prevent it, you are recommended to pick berries as soon as they are ripe. If it so happened that you still had to face this problem, you can solve it by applying neem oil.

You can also face some problems which usually come from nutrition and pH disbalance. Mainly the issue is in overfeeding or underfeeding.

The best advice is to keep a detailed journal and take down all the steps you perform and all the things you observe. It is recommended not only when you grow hydronic strawberries, but with other plants as well.

Also, make sure that the nutrient solution is at the right level. If you use a stiff nutrient solution it is better to dilute it with extra water. To be 100% sure that use an appropriate solution you should talk to your supplier and see what solutions for hydroponic strawberry production are in stock.

As with many plants, strawberry is prone to be attacked by pests. Even if you grow hydroponic strawberries indoors they cannot insure against mites, thrips, and gnats. You can stave off it by spreading the neem oil which was mentioned before over the plant surface.

And of course, some diseases may infect a plant from time to time. For example, Botrytis cinerea is a fungal disease and can easily invade your greenhouse. To protect the strawberry plant from this you can use neem oil (light infection) or a copper-based fungicide (large-scale infection).

There is another disease which is called Powdery mildew and it is also spore-based.

To fight it off you can again use neem oil or a cooper-based fungicide.

You may ask when it is time to harvest. So berries can only be harvested when at least three-quarters of the surface of the fruit has changed color from green to red.

The berries should be soft enough and give little if pressed lightly. You may pick them up by hand, but it’s better to use a pair of scissors. Be careful not to bring any harm to the plant.

FAQ

Conclusion

Today except for the traditional way of growing berries many people admit the excellence of the hydroponic method since it provides some great benefits. For example, it is less time-consuming and requires less effort than a traditional one. Moreover, hydroponic plants are less tend to be attacked by pests, especially if they grow indoors.

You don’t have to deal with weeds since a soil environment is sterile and if you are lacking in space you don’t need to worry, since this method allows a plant to grow vertically. And finally, you can harvest all year round. You don’t have any limits in space, which increases the yield.

Of course, there are some little disadvantages and that is why some people prefer a traditional way of growing berries. It is all about your preferences.

We must say that in the beginning, you may find the hydroponic method a bit complicated, but once you have studied all the peculiarities of the process you’ll be able to admire its benefits.

Take good care of your plants, don’t forget about such factors as temperature and lighting, and enjoy fresh strawberries from your garden.

Read More About Hydroponic Strawberries