Grow strawberry in Aerogarden - From seed to first strawberry harvest (in 12 weeks) (Hydroponics) 

what kind of airstone?

​@Riaz0987 I assume the kind that blows bubbles. I'm not sure of the width of his aerogarden, but I'd imagine if you can get a long airstone the length of you aerogarden that would be ideal.

I grew cannabis and added a capful of peroxide with each water change. I also used two air stones and occasionally trimmed the roots.

Master Blend is great! I haven’t thought about doing half strength, but it makes sense to start out.

yeah, we just keep trying until we succeed.

yeah, I am trying it again with different combinations. I will let you know with my updates.

Thanks. Yeah, I directly sowed in coco coir and it just worked fine. Keeping in fridge might also work as it works for many seeds.

I just planted some seeds I pulled from store bought strawberries. They sprouted without the stratification (puting them in the fridge) as well. I’m not sure if that’s just in general that it’s not required or if it’s because I keep my store bought strawberries IN the fridge. Perhaps that satisfied the stratification requirement. 🤷‍♀️

​​@@GrowingDreams Interesting... did I understand you correctly, that you plucked the tiny seeds from store bought strawberries & placed in a grow sponge & they germinated or in wet paper towels ??? 🤔

Trimming the roots can actually bring root rot on quicker. The pythium is attracted to the “damage” caused by the trimming. Root rot is typically overcome by: 1. having strong, adult plants in the first place 2. Changing the water more frequently 3. Adding an agent to combat the root rot (like hydrogen peroxide or some other items), 4. Adding an air stone. Kratky (no air stone) is better for shorter-lived plants. Longer growing plants can work in Kratky-like system, but shorter-liver are better for “Kratky”

​​@@GrowingDreams I've trimmed my plants roots ever since I have been using the Bounty Elite system, Sept. of 2022... I never heard of nor read where anyone said to trim or not to trim. I did it after I saw how bound with other roots they were getting, and bc they were surrounding the pump which made it difficult to breathe freely... I have trimmed "massive" amts... I'm talking massive! Some roots were over 12 inches. I trimmed all down to about 3". It never hurt any of them. In fact they grew much better. Never had root rot or any such thing but I did make a point to change the water & sanitize each garden 1-2 times a month, (at every 2nd then 4th feedings)! I used foam bleach to sanitize the entire garden, top & bottom with a THOROUGH final rinse. I also rinsed off the roots really well. I have never attempted to grow strawberries which might be a different story... but I plan to as soon as I can find the right seeds & space. Also after trimming I did move some plants around to different locations or holes. I have never lost 1 plant to root rot but I have had abt 6 AG pods over a span of time to not germinate. That's to be expected... not all seeds I buy in the store germinate 100% . I love my Aero gardens & as of rt now I have 5 Bounty Elites. Love love love them. ❤

I used hydro guard in my recent strawberry experiment and still had no luck. 😞

@@aerogardenexperiments they actually do ALOT better in ebb and flow or NFT systems where their roots are not constantly suspended in a nutrient solution. If you happen to try an experiment in the future try adding a good air stone connected to air pump to the reservoir and see if it helps. 🤞

Nice thoughts. Yeah, I will try it again soon.

Runners are used to make new plants. I don't see any use of them in Aerogarden. Fruits will be coming on main plants only. So, you can safely remove runners from the main plants in Aerogarden.

Yes I had success putting seeds directly into Aerogarden. However, the germination rate is extremely low and it took lot of time (~3 weeks) .

Sounds good, thank you for the replay!

I agree on my experience with the grow anything pods and planting my own strawberries. It seems much more effective to germinate them elsewhere (either in coco coir or with the paper towel method).

As far as I read, lot of people use either AG nutes in Aerogardens or master blend in DIY hydroponic systems.

u can use flora series or fox grow big works great with strawberrys also u might tey root crowns for everbearing

Nutrients are the problem. Don't add any. At this stage no nutrients should be added. High nutrient concentration will kill strawberries.

@@paulglover6525 so no nutrients once see flowers ?

@@paul8093 Yes.

This variety produces only small berries. For pollination, try a paint brush and try to spread the pollen.

Thank you very much for lot of great tips.

Sorry to ask I’m new to all this but what is hydrozyme?? I’ve never had the root rot issue but always trying to learn new things

Hmm that's surprising and that's wrong in my experience. May be that's the case for some varieties. I have grown alpine strawberries twice so far and I got strawberries from day ~100.

@@aerogardenexperiments well looks like I’ll be trying this again. Thank you.

My experience was also about 4-5 months to fruit. Not years. I also dealt with root rot at one point, so very similar grow. I did not prune mine as often. I added an air stone to one Aerogarden and one did not have an air stone. The one with the air stone grew significantly quicker. So that might be a good experiment.

We just have to keep the soil moist. Maybe spray some water every 2-3 days.

@@aerogardenexperiments okay thank you

I am using only Aerogarden nutrients and I use 8ml every 14 days as I see the indicator. I got so many strawberries from day ~120.

It's definitely worth, if no issues. Root rot issue continued for me and I had to transfer the plants to outside garden. But if we manage to grow successfully it's definitely worth, in my opinion, especially compared to the store bought strawberries.

No, I didn't have to. But if you don't see any development, you can use a paint brush and rub on the flowers touching the center. Strawberry flowers doesn't require cross pollination.

I don't think so. Blueberry plants like dry soil and takes really long. Of course, I never tried so I can't speak a lot.

Yeah, airstone should definitely help a bit. I also think that I should have grown in only 4 pods. Less is always better.

Got it. My aerogarden will arrive tomorrow. I also bought strawberry seeds. I also bought the Grow Anything kit for Aerogarden. Do I need to start by using the Styrofoam cups or can I just use the Grow Anything kit to start?

Peteolane, You could start with the pods. However, the benefit of the cup is you can control how many sprouts you have per pod. If you place seeds into the pod to sprout you with either have to 1. Sow 4-5 seeds to ensure germination or 2. Pluck up extra seedlings that sprout. 3. Try one at a time to see if it sprouts and try again if not. I used some seeds off store-bought strawberries as an experiment. They did sprout but took over a month to do so. So even doing the one at a time, depending on the seeds, it might take longer to sprout than expected and you may end up with a number of seedlings competing that you then have to thin. Some thoughts.

Strawberry flowers are complete flowers. You don't need another plant or a flower to pollinate. Just rub the flower with a paint brush gently or give the plant a little shake.

hmm.. maybe something wrong with the product itself.

Interesting... I actually heard that strawberries take very less nutrients. I am going to experiment soon.

It's called Regina. Rareseeds used carry this variety but I am not seeing it anymore.

@@aerogardenexperiments Interesting. I tried growing strawberries indoors, but they did not grow well under the lights I had & then they got fungus & died. I googled & there is a variety called "Sweet Charlie" that is supposed to be disease resistant & does not need a dormant period during a frozen winter. But I just moved into an even smaller apartment, so have not tried it yet.

@@aerogardenexperiments BTW, I think you might need a larger setup. Strawberry plants can grow up to 2 feet (2/3 meter) and send out runners 6 to 12 feet long (2 to 4 meters).

just saw now u added h202

Thank you for the tips and recommendations. I will follow them next time.

Thanks again.

Thank you. I will try again with low nutrients.

@@aerogardenexperiments hydrobuilder.com/learn/hydroponic-strawberries/