Hey semmmm! Welcome to the forum. There are 3 different strawberry categories.

-June Bearing strawberries produce a single, large crop per year during a 2 - 3 week period in the spring. June bearers are the traditionally grown plants, producing a single flush of flowers and many runners. They are classified into early, mid-season and late varieties. The largest fruits are generally from June bearing varieties.

-Everbearing strawberries produce two to three harvests of fruit intermittently during the spring, summer and fall. Everbearing plants do not send out many runners.

-Day Neutral strawberries will produce fruit throughout the growing season. These strawberries also produce few runners. Everbearing and day neutral strawberries are great when space is limited, but the fruits are usually somewhat smaller than June bearers. Hope this helps.

Thanks urbangardenfarmer,

I had read about the 3 types and also read that Day Neutrals are the best for indoor hydro growing.

I was curious as to after the plants produce through their growing season what the next process is to get them to produce again?

do I have to wait "a year" till the next grow season? Do I have to do anything to the temperature or lights? Do I have to chill them to simulate an artificial winter? Do I scrap them and get new plants?

If anyone could help with this information that would be great!!

Thanks!!

They need to go through a chill cycle of, I believe, two weeks to two months at about 40°F to produce blooms again. From my research, the mother plant is only good for 2 - 3 harvests before quality/quantity decrease, so make sure to root some of those runners. This is for June bearers. I haven't really looked into the others all that much.

Another question if someone wouldnt mind answering...

When I chill either the mother plants or runners...do I still need to water them while in refrigeration? or will they be in some kind of dormant state and not need watering.

Thanks!!

it seems to be very common with carnivourous plant growers fridge dormancy tutorial, How to Give Plants a Dormant Period (half way down page).

Hello...first time posting.

I too am growing hydro strawberries. I am using an Emily's Garden for my system. For those that may not know, it uses a wick system. The net pots are placed in an airated nutrient solution. The solution fills about 1/3 of the pot. I have hydroton filled 1/3 of the way, then the wick placed in and hydroton filled another 1/3 with the wick through the center. I bought strawberry starters from a home store and soaked the root ball in water to remove as much dirt as possible exposing the roots. I placed the root system on top of the wick and filled the remaining area around the crown with hydroton. I am using 18/6 lighting and a stable ph of 6.0.

I have noticed the edge of the leaves turning brown. See Link below for pictures...

Any ideas what could be the trouble?

For information, I have 2 tomato plants growing in the same solution that are doing great. I am using Botanicare grow solution...2Tbsp/2Gal water.

Here is a link that might be useful: Hydro Strawberries

It could be too strong a nutrient.
Any idea what the ppm is for 2 tablespoons in 2 gallons of water? It just sounds high to me.

I am getting a TDS meter soon. I did double check the directions and for mid growth, not mature, vegetative growth is 1Tbsp per gallon. My reservoir is two gallons. I was thinking a lack of nutrients but I am very new to this.

Okay I got a TDS meter today and my solution is 1200PPM...from everything I found on the web leads me to believe that is okay.

Anyone have any ideas?

Jimmy,
Please do a forum search on TDS, EC, ppm and read them. 1200 on your meter doesn't really mean a 1200 ppm solution.

Hey jimmy, I'm very familiar with these nutrients. Your using too much nutrient. You need around 1-2 tsp. per gallon.

Another thing, if your using the Pure blend Pro line, they are mostly organic so they won't read accurately on your meter. Just lower your nutrient level to 1 tsp. per gallon for a couple weeks and then up it to 2.

organic nutes wont read properly on a meter??? good to know! How can you get around that then??

Very carefully :~)

Seriously though, just start out on the lower side of recommended doses and gradually increase, while watching your plants leaves closely. If the tips start to burn, reduce strength.

what is ppm i am also new and havent even started growing

ppm is the abbreviation for parts per million. It's a way to measure the strength of your nutrient solution.

Posted by grizzman (My Page) on Mon, Apr 5, 10 at 8:11

Jimmy,
Please do a forum search on TDS, EC, ppm and read them. 1200 on your meter doesn't really mean a 1200 ppm solution.
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Grizzman, i see now, with some added confusion, that the ppm measurement that I am getting is actually an EC reading that is converted mathmatically to a PPM reading. I havr read that their is no relationship to EC and PPM as well when comparing the levels of nutrients in my solution as individual properties.

So my next question is...the conversion formula (TDS READING X 2)/1000 that is given in many forums, an actual level of TOTAL nutrients in the solution? I guess where I'm going is if I am mixing a one part nutrient solution and not individually, how is the EC reading more accurate?

Thanks Grizzman and all other responders!!!

the way to use an EC or TDS meter, IMO, is to first mix up a batch of nutrient then take an EC reading. Later when checking the solution, if the TDS(or EC) reading is lower you know to add concentrate to raise it back to the original level. If it has risen, you know to add water. Also, if your find the initial nutrient solution is too strong for the plant, you can mix your next back to a lower reading on your meter. This is known as a relative scale as it is relative to when you first tested it. If you keep these measurements in a notebook, in the future you'll have a good idea of how to mix your nutrients to target a specific meter reading.
Bear in mind that if you record things in TDS then change meters in the future, you don't really have a way to relate your old notes to the new meter. That is why EC recordings are preferable (one reason at least)