Growing hydroponic strawberries will carry many advantages for you over growing them in the soil in your garden!
You will have access to fresh home grown hydroponic strawberries every day of the year as growing fruit and vegetables hydroponically creates year round yields!
Four to six plants will be enough to feed a family all the strawberries they wish for. You could even plant a few more and maybe create a little sideline business for yourself. This is what myself and one or two of my friends do. By selling them to local farm shops during the off season, you can make a very tidy little profit!
As hydroponic strawberry plant roots will not need to spread out to find nutrients like soil planted strawberries do, growing time will be reduced by around 40% on average! Your hydroponic strawberries will also be a lot bigger and many say tastier!
Another big benefit to growing hydroponic strawberries is that no pesticides are needed due to there being no soil, this also means that no soil borne diseases will be passed on.
Below we’re going to show you everything you need to know about to grow hydroponic strawberries from scratch. Some things are optional however to grow them the best way, to get the fastest results and the healthiest hydroponic strawberries you will need to put everything here into action. Remember that in hydroponics, we try to manipulate the plants optimum growing conditions which means giving them their optimum temperature, best humidity levels, lots of light, plenty of CO2, a touch of love and a few other secret ingredients along the way. If you’ve already begun your hydroponic journey then you’ll also gain some great tips here as well.
Your Hydroponic Strawberries System
Below is everything you’ll need to think about!
Hydroponic System
You need to decide on a specific hydroponic system for your strawberries! You can read more about specific DIY hydroponic systems systems in detail and the system you choose should depend on your budget and the scale you’re intending on building. There is no right or wrong answer as all hydroponic gardeners have their own preferences. However, for me i would go with an ebb and flow system. The reason for this is because ebb and flows are the best system for short plants, which strawberries are. They are also one of the easiest systems to use so it will be ideal for beginners. They are also very low maintenance compared to other systems.
Hydroponic Strawberries – Nutrients
For your hydroponic nutrients I suggest you use a commercially prepared nutrient solution with a pH level of between 5.5 and 6.5. If you’re used to hydroponics then you could mix your own solution. Either way I recommend you drain and change the solution every 14 days.
Hydroponic Strawberries – Lighting
For strawberries I suggest you go for a high intensity metal halide hydroponic light. Keep the light around 4 inches above the strawberries! You will need to keep a good eye on this, especially in the early stages when the strawberries are sprouting. You don’t want the leaves to touch the light as this could cause them to frazzle under the heat. There are many different hydroponic grow lights you could go for, however I’ve given a detailed review of the one i think is the best all rounder.
Growing Hydroponic Strawberries – Grow Tents
A grow tent is optional, you can grow phenomenal strawberries without one, but by using one, you really can concentrate the light better than ever before. Not only that, but a grow tent will enable you to better monitor and control your temperature, which you should aim to be around 55 degrees Fahrenheit. Hydroponic grow tents have one other advantage too. You can keep an artificially high level of CO2 in there too by using a hydroponic intake fan. You can also get rid of your CO2 depleted air from your tent by using a hydroponic exhaust fan! Tents are amazing because it’s so easy to closely monitor and then alter accordingly your temperature, humidity, CO2 and light. They are silver on the inside to keep the light reflected inside, they are also black on the outside to stop the heat from seeping out. The only down side is that tents only come in the sizes that they come in, if that makes sense to you. If you’re growing strawberries on a very large scale then you’re not going to be able to find a big enough tent.
Growing Hydroponic Strawberries – Maintenance
Maintaining your hydroponic strawberries is easy, just as with growing all hydroponic plants! Just make sure the solution is changed once every 2 weeks and pick off any runners or ready strawberries from the plants and you should have delicious strawberries every day of the year!
If you’re using a tent then monitor the temperature. You can run this on autopilot by using timers and thermostats on your fans. The fan i pointed you to above comes with a built in thermostat.
