Strawberries try #2

[maskedsonnet]

Now that they're all up and thinned they are bushing out very nicely!!

[Sher]

Fantastic!!! 

[Shawn]

very healthy looking

[maskedsonnet]

These got BIG while I was gone!!

[Sher]

Wow! Maybe they thrive on neglect! 

[lynnee]

Those are some vigorous strawberries!

DcKpvN

[maskedsonnet]

These have EXPLODED leaf-wise. I think I may need to do a little trimming. There are some flowers buried in there, though!

[Sher]

[lynnee]

Those are both leafy and tall! What kind of nutes are you giving them? I'd be tempted to try some KoolBloom, but I'm not sure that I'd do it!

[maskedsonnet]

I’ve stuck with good ol’ AG nutrients! I’ve been putting 20mL instead of the called-for 24 at feeding time and they seem pretty happy with it. I’ve actually never experimented with any supplemental nutrients in any of my garden projects, I just use AG to keep things simple for myself.

[lynnee]

The AG nutrients are darn good, all right! Are you doing anything fancy with the pump settings?

[maskedsonnet]

Nope! I'm sure I thought long and hard about what setting to use (it ended up on Peppers) but I honestly don't remember the logic behind that selection. Maybe because they both bear "fruit"?

[maskedsonnet]

I keep looking at these thinking "I should do something about this" and having absolutely no idea WHAT I should do. Trim it, ideally, but I'm kind of afraid I won't have any leaves left if I do, they're all at the very top of the stems :|

[Shawn]

WOW!  look at that wonderful jungle

[Sher]

Apr 4, 2022 5:40:10 GMT -5 Shawn said:

WOW!  look at that wonderful jungle

Yes!!!

[lynnee]

maskedsonnet , this article, strawberryplants.org/growing-strawberries-indoors/, doesn't say what to do with your tall strawberries, but it does have some interesting information for commercial farmers about growing hydroponic strawberries indoors.

[Sher]

That was a fascinating article, lynnee. I especially appreciated their advice on starting with the equipment you have, and the affect of temperature on fruit quality and taste.

[maskedsonnet]

As I slowly run out of space in that room, I've been thinking more and more about turning one side of my garage into a gardening area with grow lights, since I've only got one car to park in there and it's a 2-car garage. My biggest concern is how hot it gets here in the summer, the garage turns into an oven. So I'd have to figure something out to keep it cool, maybe a portable evap cooler. I've already got a heater in there for the plants that I over-winter in the garage, adding a cooler and a temperature sensor with smart outlets to turn them on and off as needed wouldn't be much of an issue.


Anyways, the vague idea gets more serious and detailed every time I look at these and how they're growing up into the lights. Maybe I'll start tinkering and shoving things around in the garage on my days off, finally make up my mind! 

[lynnee]

Have you considered an insulated garage door? When mine needed replacing, I ordered an insulated one, but the installer brought an uninsulated one, so I accepted it. Thus I don't know whether insulation would prevent heating up in the afternoons, or make the problem worse by holding heat in.

Something that I'm sure would help my situation would be to install a fan (like the ones used to cool attics). Some of my neighbors have done this.

[Shawn]

Apr 12, 2022 10:50:37 GMT -5 lynnee said:

Have you considered an insulated garage door? When mine needed replacing, I ordered an insulated one, but the installer brought an uninsulated one, so I accepted it. Thus I don't know whether insulation would prevent heating up in the afternoons, or make the problem worse by holding heat in.

Something that I'm sure would help my situation would be to install a fan (like the ones used to cool attics). Some of my neighbors have done this.

We have an insulated door.  It does not keep the cold or heat out.  However it does help some.  At least with ours and a single car garage and the door have windows at the top.