Hydroponic strawberries are bigger and taste better

There is nothing more delicious than a homegrown strawberry, and did you know that hydroponics is a great way to get the best tasting and most nutritious strawberries possible? Although growing strawberries hydroponically was originally believed to be impossible due to the plant’s aversion to “wet feet,” growing strawberries using this method is now becoming more and more common.

Better growing conditions

One reason for the rise in popularity of hydroponic strawberries is that hydroponic gardening often requires far fewer pesticides than soil gardening. With today’s awareness of toxins, people prefer to eat fruit that is as organic as possible. The pesticide previously used on strawberries, Methel Bromide, was banned in 2005 due to its negative effects on the environment, forcing strawberry growers to seek alternative solutions to their pest problems, a of which was to grow strawberries. through hydroponics.

Hydroponically growing strawberries not only allows gardeners and farmers to grow their fruit with fewer, if any, pesticides, it also produces healthier and better tasting crops overall.

Not only do hydroponically grown fruits and vegetables produce up to three times faster than soil-grown produce, they also have a greater abundance of produce.

How to grow hydroponic strawberries at home

To grow your own hydroponic strawberries, you will first need to take cuttings from a mature strawberry plant. You will then want to place the cuttings you take in Perlite until roots appear, so that the area where the roots will grow remains moist.

Once roots appear on the strawberry cuttings, you should dip these roots into a microbial mix and wrap the plant in plastic wrap. Refrigerate plastic-covered strawberry cuttings for four to five months to simulate winter weather conditions, and then remove them from the refrigerator and place them in a hydroponic system, allowing their roots to hang in the nutrient solution. This solution should maintain a PH level between about 5.8 and 6.2, and the temperature of the room you are growing your strawberries in should be between 680 F and 780 F during the day and not drop below 550 at night.

Ideal home hydroponic setups for strawberries include the ebb and flow setup, or the NFT system.

When the flower of your plant opens, brush it lightly so that the pollen spreads to the stamens and pistils of the flower. Then all you have to do is maintain your hydroponic system with its nutrients that will continue to nourish your plant and wait for your delicious strawberries to ripen!