best way to grow strawberries in aquaponics

dannybagpipes1

Hey Folks! What are the best methods for growing strawberries in aquaponics?

dlf_perth

Basically you can grow strawberries in any *configuration*. Typically they grow fine in baskets in DWC modes (eg. a classic DWC or a shallow PVC tube arrangement). The can also be grown in vertical tubes. If you don't have these they can be grown in a normal media bed.

The issue with strawberries is not the plants and configuration - it comes down to whether you will get lots of fruit.
That depends on type, climate/weather, sunlight (too little or too much), season and system nutrients.
Some will prove otherwise, but for most the volume of strawberries is not excessive and is typical of most home gardening - ie. you get a couple every now and again but probably not punnets/bowls full.

IMO opinion better yields probably come from hydroponics and manure based wicking beds etc.
A good example here is Food&Fishes strawberry barrel.
"Food & Fish up and Running" - look around pages 155-160.
Sadly some of the pics have gone as he used photo bucket - but if interested sure he would post again.

Basically as you only get 1 or 2 strawberries from each plant at a time you need a lot of plants.
Having 5,10 or even 20 probably wont keep you in anything more than entertainment.

dlf_perth

I will also add that many commercial strawberries are high yielding, large sized hybrids that have been bred for commercial production. (eg. many grown commercially in Califomia). The typical strawberry varieties available via seedlings and seeds are typically heirloom varieties that wont look like those big oversized ones in the shops.

rininger85

I'm toying with ideas of how to grow some berries too. We just moved our small 4x4 raised bed dirt strawberry patch to a 3x12 raised bed dirt strawberry patch in the garden because the original bed outside the garden I was fighting raccoons for strawberries... they find them faster than we did. Hopefully being in the garden we'll keep the coons out.

I planted some june bearing berries in the greenhouse in different locations... I put 3 in the DWC, I put 1 in the hydroton, I put 3 in the "NOT NFT" tubes =), and I think I put 3 in a gravel bed... these were all roots so I have not seen any growth on them yet this past week, not sure if that is due to them being june bearing or just not enough time to sprout yet (I was thinking I'd have green growth even if it doesn't set berries until next year).

I have a couple of 8" pots of everbearing berries that I need to take out of the pots and split them up and plant them in the different beds to see what works best... I'll post here as I start to see results from planting them.

Kiara98

rininger85 wrote:

IHopefully being in the garden we'll keep the coons out.

.

Umm, dude, seriously? I happen to have an aboriginal friend and this offends me.
In this day and age, seriously?
Oh my good, can't believe some people!!

-K98

Petesake

I doubt very much Rob was referring to Australian natives.

dlf_perth

@Rininger I put 3 in the "NOT NFT" tubes =)

They would be the SWC tube's Rob....

@Kiara

he meant Racoons - the world is wider than Freo.... need to be careful before you jump.
and he clearly says racoons in the sentence... Checking the posters location would help.
Guess you have an issue with some brands of cheese as well ?

Is why it brings smiles to everyones faces when you have a fanny bag in the good old USA and why Kylie Minogue in a thong at the Syd-eny Olympics boosted stateside ratings....

Sleepe

Sorry Darren, SWC is already taken. Rob's going to have to stick with the NOT NFT tubes a while longer. :lol:

BroHay

I had mice and found out where the nest was and now I have things going crazy.

I showed my wife one that was ripe and she took it and said it was as sweet as candy and NOTHING like what is purchased in store.

3/8 gravel grow bed next to spearmint (which was cut back to nothing 2 weeks ago.

Adam

Food&Fish

Strawberry are best grown in hydroponic

Kiara98

Some strawberry dont like salt water above 1.5ppt

-K98

rininger85

Kiara98 wrote:

rininger85 wrote:

IHopefully being in the garden we'll keep the coons out.

.

Umm, dude, seriously? I happen to have an aboriginal friend and this offends me.
In this day and age, seriously?
Oh my good, can't believe some people!!

-K98

Tell your aboriginal friend to leave my strawberries alone please... then we wouldn't have a problem.. otherwise I'll catch them in my livetrap and you don't want to know what happens next...

I'm assuming this was tongue in cheek to call me out for not knowing that someplace in the world there was a racial term 'coon'... well there is here too, but I'm also of the opinion that everyone gets too butt-hurt nowadays and I'm not going to go out of my way to be politically correct, because all of the politically correct BS has my country in a world of hurt right now... was browsing facebook yesterday to see Mike Rowe post a message from an "African-American" about how much he offended her by referring to her people as "Black"... only to read a dozen responses where Black people told Mike Rowe they prefer to be called Black because they are Americans, not African-Americans, they aren't from Africa... they were born in the United States of America... that makes them Americans not African-Americans... likewise I'm not an English-American, or a German-American, I'm an American. Our country is torn and only getting worse because people are such big babies and take offense to everything... we're a bad joke... I am the epitome of a red blooded gun toting American and I don't apologize to anyone who takes offense to anything I say, likewise I don't take offense to anything anyone else says. You can call me whatever you want, just don't call me late-for-dinner.

Aufin

..... yowza .....

Kiara98

Wow, you just don't understand the hurt that guns and violence and racism do!
Came here for the strawberries, in shock now.

-K98

BroHay

And what in all of your experiences to date says that we do not? I can't speak for Rob, but I do know that I do not know anything about you except for a few different posts over the past few days..... and here is what I surmise.

Some general statements on your behalf about how offended you are or contesting things (in a general manner) with nothing to back it up as to how you base your statements.

Did you ever give thought to who you might be dealing with? People who have been doing things 2-3 times longer than you have been alive and have something that you could learn from?

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