2021 Strawberries

ACK!!!!! 

Yesterday was the third nutrient feeding since I planted the strawberries, so I bumped up the AG nutrients to the full dose. Big mistake! Tonight, the smaller plants have wilted, and several other plants have leaves turning brown!



I immediately drained the garden and refilled with fresh water. I haven't put in any nutrients yet. I need to mull over how much to add now. 

My husband tested the water I drained out of the garden with his pool testing kit and said the pH was 3-4. I don't know why it would be that acidic! I tossed out the drained water ... just a few seconds before my husband reappeared with a more accurate water tester that he had been saving for my birthday. Clearly I need this gift early!

I asked about CALiMAGic on another thread. I think I will get some -- some of my lettuce gets brown tips. I will research before adding it to the strawberries. I hope they survive!

If anyone has suggestions on how much nutrients to add to the clean water, I am open to suggestions. (Right now, I'm thinking a little less than the starting dose.)

And for everyone else who started strawberry crowns -- be warned!!

I've decided to let the plants rest in the plain water overnight.

Tomorrow I'll use my early birthday present to test the pH, the EC, and ppm ~ and slowly add nutrients, including the cal/mag when it arrives. 

My research hasn't come up with consistent recommendations for ppm on hydroponic strawberries, but everyone seems to agree that strawberries want a pH around 6 and EC around 1.0-1.8. (Or 10-18 or 100-180 depending on the units used in each chart.  )

What EC did you go with? I fed mine a full feeding of AG nutes 12 days ago and they are gorgeous. Don't want to break them at the next feeding!

Update: I ended up losing almost half of my plants. The rest are showing some new growth, so I think they will recover. As you can see from the photo below -- comparing it to the ones above -- the browning of the leaves got a lot worse before it started to get better. 



In spite of everything, I'm still getting strawberries. The taste is good -- sweet and tart -- but the texture is off. The berries don't get soft and the seeds are pretty tough. 

Things I would do differently next time:
1. Pinch off the early buds to encourage plant growth.
2. Monitor the pH and EC (I am still trying to figure out the optimal EC)
3. Rinse and refill more often

Not so far. They seem to develop to a certain point and then stop. I've been leaving each berry on the stem for several days after it turns completely red, but the weight and feel of the fruit remains the same.

Update: Some of the later strawberries have been more tender and juicy, while others seem to have been stunted by the nutrient overdose.

My plan: These are supposed to be ever-bearing strawberries, continuously producing fruit. They were obviously damaged by the overdose, but a few plants seem to be thriving while others are stagnating. I am going to keep the thriving plants and move them to one side of the garden, and I will remove the stunted ones and clear the space to plant peas.

I think I can achieve a balance of pH and EC that will serve both crops, at least until the pea plants start producing -- by which time the strawberries will probably be done.

I want to try strawberry crowns again, using what I have learned. But I am also itching to try the peas in my possession. Who knew, when my husband gifted me this farm plus unit over a year ago, that it would NOT BE ENOUGH GARDEN SPACE?

AeroGarden Addict indeed!