Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Trying to figure out if strawberries prefer one type of AP system to another.
I've made a strawberry tower, filled with clayballs (hydroton) and has unfiltered FT water running to the top of it via 1/4" irrigation hose, all the time. No timer.
The water runs down the inside of the tower, and exits back into the fish tank.
I've been able to grow lettuce in the tower without problem, but everytime I try strawberries, they die within a few weeks.
I'm wondering if maybe the roots are getting too wet, and I should incorporate a timer to allow the roots to dry a bit.
Also considering just planting them in my GB, which is about 25cm deep, filled with hydroton, and has a bell siphon, running 24/7. I've had great success with Lettuce, Cherry Tomatoes, Dill, Beet, garlic, eggplant, in it, but haven't tried Strawberries in it yet.

Anyone who has successfully grown strawberries in AP, I would love to hear about what sort of system you are using.

Hi Farmz246, I have strawberries in towers filled with bird netting and a constant flow via 13mm poly taps from a header pipe fed from the ST. So far most have survived and some are doing well and are flowering. Some runners didn't make it possibly because they were planted a bit deep in the netting and the crowns were too wet and rotted. One variety, Hokowase really suffered when I salted the system to 1 ppt and possibly from the cold winter. Strawberries are super sensitive to salt so 0.5 to 1ppt is about as high as you can go. It will be interesting to see how they go setting fruit as the weather warms up in spring.

You should have enough drainage with your towers so long as the crowns are not in too deep and staying wet. Do you know what the salinity of you water is? Have you had any success with strawberries in regular gardens? I am not sure how they go in tropical or sub tropical climates.

I enjoyed reading your system thread. I am now having issues of GB inlets clogging with biofilm and solids too.

Hi Joc,
thanks for your response. So far I haven't had much luck with strawberries in soil either. Well...in a strawberry pot really. IT was doing well...new growth and runners, even a few flowers, but then suddenly leaves curled up at the edges and went brown and the plant died.
I live very near the sea, so that maybe the problem, too much salt in the air and burning them maybe.

I have not grown strawberries before. Do they only need to grow in towers when using Aquaponics or can the be incorporated in a normal GB that floods and drains?


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Hi jacko, have strawberry's in f&D here, just starting to flower up.. seem to be going ok

I think the main reason people plant in towers is that they can't tell old from new once they spread, therefore not being able to cull older non productive plants.

Albeit that's from reading not from personal experience ahah


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I bought seedlings today at Bunnings and planted them in my F&D system.

I saw that there are 3 types so got 2 each.

Temptation
Alpine
Sweetheart






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Thanks Jacko,
keep us informed as they go please.

strawberries sucepitble to pythium, seems heavy populations in AP
Also sensitive to salt levels and like different pH too
Old posts indicate many - inc me - have given up on them in AP water
I now run separate hydro setup in net pots, aside from equipment problems it looks great

I've had strawberries growing well in media beds, and in DWC. It's one of the better DWC crops too.

I don't think they are too fussy, but they are probably one of the only plants I'd get NFT for, so the berries can hang over the side, it'll make it easier to harvest.

Your right on the NFT for strawberries colum either that or towers,both seem made for strawberry growing,NFT systems allow good airflow around and under the plant and keep the fruit off of the media,important for me with the high humidity we suffer with most of the year.I have grown in all three system types,my NFT tubes were the most successful.

thanks for all the replies.
I'm going to attempt a NFT setup for strawberries and lettuce.
Fingers crossed

In my first system I had 2 strawberry planted in a tower it was a salted system
And on 2 plants there were 80 fruit
Within a short while the strawberry's died and never bothered again
viewtopic.php?f=18&t=663&start=510

For what it's worth, my strawberries are flourishing but read below as my conditions may be considerably different to yours. They started in an IBC grow bed but just about took over so I then put them in to a tower. That has now expanded to two towers, each about 1m tall. Since being in the towers, they have fruited well. I have placed 1/8" jets into the top of the towers to restrict the flow from the bottom drain to a steady trickle. I only water for 15 minutes every hour. They seem to have gown equally well whether under flood and drain in the grow bed or trickle fed in the tower. I live in Townsville, a tropical region of Australia. It is now our winter so they are in open sun. In summer, I cover the beds with a heavy shade. My beds have been growing for about 4 months now and at this stage, I am still supplementary feeding with Charlie Carp. I do have about 100 small creek fish and will soon introduce some barramundi, but from how my tomatoes are going, I suspect that I am running a bit low on the nutrient level. My nitrobacter and nitrosomas seem well established though as it only takes a day or so for ammonia to be converted to nitrogen and used up.

The strawberries I am growing are Pohlman's "Strawberries Galore Sweetie". They grow to about thumb size (not as large as supermarket strawberries) but are flavoursome and sweet. The tower on the left was planted out from the grow bed about 2 months ago, the tower on the right had runners cut from the left tower and planted about two weeks ago.

thanks baileysw. Very informative.
Are you near the ocean or more inland?