Strawberry growing systems we have used in the past 35+ years have gone from growing in a field to growing in greenhouses and vertical hydroponic systems. We have adapted many innovations that others have come up with. We are now introducing a hydroponic system that fits our current production of wild strawberry seeds. Most of this production occurs in small outdoor cages that use pollinator exclusion screens. The cages are opened only for harvesting the fruit. This reduces the risk of pollinators getting into the cages to bring in pollen from outside sources. Such a system necessitates irrigation systems that do not require entry into the cage.
We call the system a Wild Strawberry Growing System. It utilizes the best techniques and materials that we have used over the years. At the core of the system is Riococo Coir plugs and coir from Riococo grow bags used in bato buckets. Riococo has been used for a few years now and was thoroughly tested and compared to other coco on the market including Jiffy. We have chosen Riococo because of its very low salt content and particle size that is consistent between plugs and grow bag particles. Bato buckets allow wild strawberry crowns (clumps) to expand easily which greatly increases potential yields and reduces the need for transplanting. Under normal conditions we can grow the plants for two years before transplanting is needed. We will be adding pictures to this page soon.
In short, we germinate seeds in Riococo plugs. We currently use 42mm plugs so that we can sow multiple seeds per plug. We typically sow 6 seeds per plug. This insures that we will have close to 5 seedlings per plug which will simulate a more mature seedling clump at transplant.
Plugs are sometimes transplanted to Riococo growing blocks prior to transplanting into bato buckets. This is done to save indoor growing space. The blocks are grown under LED lights in NFT channels. When plugs are produced in warmer weather they are transplanted direct into the bato buckets.
The bato buckets are filled with Riococo coir that are purchased in 3-5 gallon growing bags. A nylon paint strainer bag is put inside the bato bucket to keep particles from getting into the drain water. The bato bucket is setup on a reservoir or 1.5” pvc drain line using a pump to irrigate.