3 Methods of Growing Hydroponic Strawberries (2020)
Strawberries are delicious!
Unfortunately, when I buy them from the store, its hit or miss if they are fresh or not, especially if they are sold in off-seasons.
If they are bought fresh, you need to eat them quickly for they are usually at the end of their shelf life when you can get to them.
So, I decided to grow indoor hydroponic strawberries.
Hydroponic strawberries can be grown all year round and will give you tasty fresh fruit you can enjoy anytime.
This is how you can learn to grow hydroponic strawberries for yourself.
Table of Contents
Can You Grow Strawberries Using Hydroponics?
Absolutely! Strawberries are a great addition to any hydroponic system.
There are several ways to transplant strawberries to your hydroponic system.
Starting from the Seed:
This method is unpopular because seeds are difficult to buy, getting seeds to germinate from a store-bought strawberry is difficult, and the amount of time it takes to grow them is long.
Pros:
- The least expensive means of growing strawberries.
Cons:
- The variety of strawberries you buy from the store is unknown.
- The process of growing them from seed takes several months.
- It takes over a year to get harvestable strawberries.
How to Grow Strawberries from Seed
Step one:
Buy strawberries from the store. If the variety is labeled, try to get everbearing Quinault.
Use strawberries from your garden if you can. You will know the variety that way.
Step two:
Allow the berry to dry out for about a week. This allows the berry to shrink and shrivel, making the seeds easier to remove.
Remove the seeds with a kitchen utensil like a knife, fork, or toothpick.
Once seeds are removed, allow them to dry.
Step three:
Cold-stratify the seeds.
This step simulates the natural winter cycle for the seeds and significantly raises the germination rate.
As a note: store-bought seeds have already gone through this process and can be planted right away.
1. Place the dry seeds in a napkin or paper towel.
2. Lightly wet the towel and place it in a Ziplock bag.
3. Place the bag in the refrigerator for 4 to 6 weeks.
4. If you notice the seeds germinating before 1 month, then immediately remove and plant.
Step four:
Remove the seeds from the fridge and plant them in your grow medium, watering them in.
It takes about 2 weeks for them to germinate and another month for them to start growing true leaves.
Step five:
Repot them if necessary.
Repotting in hydroponic systems is normally not necessary for a long time. A 1.5-inch Rockwool cube can hold an adult plant.
This method just takes forever. Your strawberry plants will still be young and small after 5 months. I wouldn’t expect fruit for a long time either.
Grow Strawberries from Bare Roots
Buying roots are a common method of starting strawberries in your garden. They can be placed in your outdoor garden in the soil or into your hydroponic system.
These roots are dormant strawberry plants that have been chilled or refrigerated to simulate winter. When you plant them after all danger of frost is gone, they will wake up like its spring and will be a fully productive berry-producing plant that year.
Pros:
- Bare root strawberry plants are adult plants and will produce fruit within the first year you buy them.
- Roots are inexpensive compared to buying a live adult plant.
- Easy and simple to grow. Just plant roots and water.
Cons:
- Transplanting roots into your hydroponic system may be difficult depending on what type of grow medium you use.
- I would recommend coco coir, pearlite, or clay pebbles as your grow medium of choice, for they are similar to soil.
- Rockwool can be used but you will need to break apart the cube into smaller pieces to encompass the roots.
- It is unknown how old the plant is. Strawberry plants reduce in yield after the third year, and by year 5, it won’t bear fruit and will need to be replaced.
How to Grow Strawberries from Roots
Step one:
Purchase Bare root strawberries online or at your local nursery
Step two:
Inspect your roots. They should not show any signs of mold or mildew.
The plant should not smell rotten and should be free from damage with shriveled foliage intact. For a more detailed description of what a healthy root should look like you have a look at my other blog post here.
Step three:
To plant in a hydroponic system, ensure you use pearlite, coco coir, or another type of soil like grow medium.
You may need a large net pot like 4 inches to encompass the roots.
Never completely submerge the grow medium in the solution or you will drown the plant. Your grow medium should touch your water and can be up to halfway through it. Roots need oxygen to survive so be careful.
How to Grow Strawberries from Runners.
This method is how I prefer growing strawberries hydroponically.
Existing strawberry plants send out runners or properly known as “stolons”. These stolons are horizontal stems that run above the ground and produce new clone plants at nodes spaced at varying intervals.
These clones allow the plant to propagate and spread in your garden.
You can remove these and place them in your hydroponic system.
Pros:
- The easiest way to get strawberry plants in your hydroponic system.
- This is a new plant and will produce fruit for the maximum amount of time.
- Clones will take root wherever you want them too, whether it be a plug, pot, or hydroponic system.
Cons:
- Plants will not produce much fruit in the first year
- You need to have an existing strawberry plant to get runners from.
- I show a video on how I transplanted my strawberries into my hydroponic system from my existing plants.
Step 1:
Find a runner from your existing strawberry plant that has matured enough to have full leaves but has not sent off another runner.
You can look underneath the clone to see if there are 2 to 3 bumps on the underside. These are root nodes and will grow when they sense water.
Step 2:
Pinch off the runner and allow several inches away from the clone.
Step 3:
Take the clone and introduce it to your hydroponic system. I use Rockwool grow medium and Kratky method of hydroponics.
I use a piece of a bread tie to hold down the plant and place the stem in the hydroponic solution. Like a cut flower, this allows the plant to receive some water and give the root nodes a chance to grow.
It will take a few weeks for the plant to take root, so you will not see much foliage growth during this time. Some clones may send out another runner that needs to be immediately removed.
Are Hydroponic Strawberries Healthy?
Hydroponic strawberries receive the same nutrients as soil-grown ones. When you make the hydroponic solution, you use liquid or powder concentrates of naturally occurring minerals and fertilizers.
The plant processes and uses these minerals the same way artificially and naturally.
The major difference is with hydroponic methods you get a large boost in the growth and production rates because roots spend less time searching for nutrients and more time growing.
What Hydroponic Solution Works Best for Strawberries?
My favorite hydroponic solution is the general hydroponics 3-part liquid concentrate.
You can mix these 3 parts in varying mixes to give the absolute best mix for any plant you grow hydroponically.
I use a general-purpose mix for all growing stages currently.
Hydroponic Strawberries Kratky
Using the Kratky system is the best way to get started with hydroponics if you are not experienced.
Kratky is the simplest and least expensive way to grow plants hydroponically.
With the Kratky method, you provide the roots with air water and nutrients passively. This means no electricity or pumps are required to run this system.
It works by filling a container with the liquid nutrients and suspending the grow medium in the liquid shown here with this crude drawing… because I can’t draw.
As the water is used by the plants, the water level goes down, allowing the roots to get oxygen. Once the container is empty, you can fill it back up 3/4th of the way to repeat the process.
If you want to learn more about using the Kratky method, check out this blog here, where I break down how to get started with hydroponics
Hydroponic strawberries NFT (Nutrient Film Technique
This method is another great way to grow your plants hydroponically.
This system uses tubing, pumps, and gravity to create a nutrient solution flow by the plants in a recirculating method.
This allows many plants to all have access to the same around of nutrients at the same time.
This method is more expensive but is easier on a larger scale. With the Kratky method, each container needs to be monitored separately to ensure none run dry.
With the NFT method, hundreds of plants share the same solution and can be monitored through one reservoir.
Growing Hydroponic Strawberries for Profit
So now you have more strawberries than you can eat and want to sell the rest or maybe you started growing them for commercial purposes.
The best way to sell any type of fruit or vegetable is to understand your market. Everywhere is different, so taking a visit to your farmers market will give you a great idea of where to start, what they are selling, and what is in demand.
Local food usually goes for at least 30% more than the grocery store because people know its fresh.
Strawberries can be sold to restaurants, grocery stores, through the Facebook marketplace, or to your friends and family.
Indoor Hydroponic growers have access to strawberries all year round and will have the advantage in off-seasons to sell their produce directly to customers vice the farmers market.
Conclusion:
Growing hydroponic strawberries is easy! The hardest part of doing most things is getting started.
Don’t give yourself “analysis paralysis” by researching this to death. Get out there and get growing!
Tell me in the comments below what type of hydroponic system you are planning on using for strawberries and why you like growing with hydroponics!
Not interested in growing strawberries? That’s fine we have our own preferences. If you’re interested you can take a look at the blog I created dedicated to the advantages of growing your own vegetables, After all you can never go wrong with greens.
