What should my light cycle be for indoor strawberries?

by Zach
(Colorado)

I am just wondering what kind of light cycle I should have for my indoor grown strawberries? Do they need a veg cycle with 18-24 hour of light and the 12-12 for flowering? And I was also wondering what kind of organic nutrients do you recommend to make my strawberries sweet and juicy.

Answer: Zach- depending on what variety you get, strawberries fall into one of two categories- June bearing or everbearing. June bearing varieties (such as Rainier) give one large crop in a 2 to 3 week period in early Summer (making them suitable for processing into jams, jellies, and syrups). Everbearing varieties (Tristar, Seascape), on the other hand, produce berries consistently from late Spring through Fall. This means, no matter what variety or type you decide to go with, they will produce strawberries under 18 hours of light (or any other lighting regimen appropriate for vegetative growth)- and there is no need to put them into a 12-12 light cycle.

For hydroponics, there are two great organic nutrient plans I recommend. One is Canna Bio nutrients, and the other is a recipe using Pure Blend Pro, Cal-Mag, Liquid Karma, and (during flowering) Sweet. More information on these two organic fertilizer plans, including the specific Pure Blend Pro recipes for veg and flowering, can be found in this post here. Happy Growing!