Strawberry / Garden strawberry (Fragaria x ananassa) growing guide

Quick facts

Category: fruiting
Difficulty: intermediate
Days to harvest: 90 to 120 days
Harvest type: continuous production over weeks or months
Spacing: 25 cm between plants

Environment

Temperature: 13–24°C
pH: 5.5 to 6.5
EC (hydroponic): 1 to 1.8 mS/cm
Daily light: 17 to 22 mol/m²/day

Climate and zones

USDA zones: 4 to 9 (winter low around -34°C or warmer)
Frost tolerance: frost hardy (handles regular frost)
Season: cool (spring and fall crops)

Viable growing environments:

outdoor year-round (in zone)
outdoor in growing season (annual)
unheated greenhouse / hoop house
heated greenhouse
indoor (heated home)
indoor hydroponics under grow lights

USDA zone bounds reflect outdoor year-round survival. Anywhere outside the bounded zone range, this crop still grows as an annual in the warm months (outdoor_seasonal), under cover (greenhouse), or indoors under lights.

Growing systems

Strawberry works in:

NFT channels
vertical / aeroponic tower
drip / Dutch buckets
media bed (ebb and flow)
wicking bed
soil bed

Growing media

The substrate the roots sit in. Choice depends on the system (clay pebbles don't fit NFT channels; rockwool isn't used in media beds) and the crop (strawberry works in the media listed below).

Medium	pH effect	Water retention	Bacterial surface
Perlite (Expanded volcanic glass)	neutral / inert	very low	low
Coco coir (Coconut coir)	slightly acidic	high	moderate
Expanded clay pebbles (LECA)	neutral / inert	low	high
Soil-based mix (Potting soil)	varies by source	high	high

Bacterial surface area matters for aquaponics: clay pebbles, lava rock, and pumice double as biofilter substrate. Low-surface media (rockwool, perlite, pea gravel) work in hydroponics but need a separate biofilter in aquaponics.

Nutrient demand by stage

NPK ratios are relative weights at each growth stage; the nutrient mix calculator scales them to absolute grams or ml. EC targets shift through the plant's life: seedlings need a much lighter solution than fruiting adults.

Stage	N	P	K	EC target (mS/cm)
seedling	1	1	1	0.8
vegetative	2	1	2	1.3
flowering	1	2	2	1.5
fruiting	1	1	3	1.7

Companion-growing notes

Heavy uptake of potassium, phosphorus. Co-grown crops with the same demand will end up deficient even at "correct" EC. Plan around this in shared reservoirs.
High transpiration. Reservoir level will need regular top-ups during fruiting or flowering.

Aquaponics suitability

Compatible with typical aquaponics nutrient profiles. Fish waste provides enough nitrogen for healthy growth; supplemental potassium, calcium, and iron may still be needed depending on fish stocking density.

Care notes

One of the most popular and successful hydroponic fruit crops. NFT, Dutch bucket, vertical tower, grow bag, or hanging basket systems all work. EC 1.5-2.5 mS/cm (adjust upward during fruiting). pH 5.5-6.5. Temperature: 15–25°C for fruit production (above 30°C, pollination declines and fruit quality suffers). High light (DLI 17-25 mol/m2/day). Day-neutral varieties are essential for year-round production. From transplant to first fruit: 6-10 weeks. Runners (stolons) produce daughter plants that can be separated and replanted, providing free propagation stock. Pollination: in indoor systems, manually pollinate by touching each open flower with a soft paintbrush. Each plant produces 200–500 g of fruit per month during peak production. Botrytis (gray mold) is the primary disease; good airflow around fruit and prompt removal of damaged berries prevent spread. Spider mites are the main pest. Commercial hydroponic strawberry operations are a significant and growing sector worldwide.

Notable varieties

A starting shortlist of cultivars worth knowing about. Not exhaustive: the seed catalogs list hundreds of named varieties. These are the ones home growers commonly choose between.

Cultivar	Type	Breeder / origin	Days	Notes
Honeoye	open-pollinated	Cornell	90	June-bearing. Single concentrated crop in early summer (3-4 week window). Cold-hardy to zone 3, the standard for cold-climate gardens. Tart-sweet flavor, firm fruit, good freezing.
Albion	hybrid	UC Davis	90	Day-neutral. Produces continuously from late spring through frost regardless of day length, total yield 2-3x a June-bearer over the season. Best balance of yield + flavor + disease resistance among day-neutrals. Commercial standard in California.
Quinault	open-pollinated	WSU	90	Everbearing (two main flushes per season, spring and late summer). Easier than day-neutrals to manage; less constant attention needed. Soft fruit, doesn't store well, eat fresh or freeze the same day.
Alpine (Mignonette)	open-pollinated		120	Fragaria vesca, not the larger F. × ananassa species of the others. Tiny intensely-flavored fruit (1-2g each), grown from seed, runs almost no runners. Edges of beds and container planting. Day-neutral, continuous through summer.