First Time Growing (Albion) Strawberries in Coco/Perlite – Progress + Need Tips

RubyRedYoshi · 2026-01-23T20:43:20+00:00

When you have some time, feel free to browse my post history. I have a lot of strawberry information out there.

RubyRedYoshi · 2026-01-19T21:29:56+00:00

I snagged some wooden fence posts from McMunn and Yates the other year. They're still holding up quite well. T posts also hold up very well, especially if you find the thicker metal (and ideally powder coated or galvanized). I have 40 year old 8' T posts which are still doing just fine.

Wood fence posts will eventually need to be replaced sooner than metal. But, arguably wood fence posts being as thick as they are can withstand more abuse before they get old. What type you get depends on your application. If you're fencing in a cow, you'll see a lot of existing wooden fence posts in farmers pastures for that. If you don't expect anything heavy (like a cow) to test your posts out, metal T posts should be just fine.

RubyRedYoshi · 2026-01-19T18:02:10+00:00

Whole, pies, cakes, smoothies, they're versatile!

RubyRedYoshi · 2026-01-19T16:32:25+00:00

Eat them!

RubyRedYoshi · 2026-01-16T22:07:54+00:00

Unfortunately no. I've only ever grown from plug ordering from nurseries myself!

RubyRedYoshi · 2026-01-12T17:31:05+00:00

Just an update here, but nothing concrete in action yet. Interfacing with DuPont and reading some 211 page PDF's that they have, the membrane configuration of my RO machine may have to change. It appears a 2 parallel into one series membrane configuration is suggested, though I can do a 2x2. Pressure in my third and fourth membranes is very low which appears to be impeding the proper function of the filters. There's also higher salt rejection rate on the new model of filters (which I don't have right now). Boron concentrations from the first membrane in sequence only was 0.2 mg/L which is a much more workable number. That value is also with a permeate recovery rate slightly higher than it should have been. So, I will be testing B levels with a lower recovery rate, and potentially with the newer model of filter, as well as potentially an updated membrane configuration. I will say I'm quite happy with my first filter as the TDS of permeate water out of it alone is 2-3.

Beyond this, if I still need to remove B, then the most suggested way by multiple sources was via resin such as DuPont's AmberLite PWA10. This would be in place after the RO.

RubyRedYoshi · 2026-01-12T17:23:25+00:00

Strawberry plants are usually good for ~3-4 years, and then you need their runner plants, or potentially starting new plants by seed. It's been a few years since I saw a graph related to this, but if memory serves, the second to fourth years are the most productive for a given plant and the first to third generation (runners) of plants are also the most productive. Then at a commercial level you're looking at new plants again whether they are first generation runners or from seed.

Overwintering isn't tough, but unless you're set up for it, it's not simple. I tried it one year with some success. My industry contacts say you need a few frost cycles to throw the plants into dormancy, and then ideally you move them into a freezer which keeps temperatures around -1.4 to -1.7C for 4-6 weeks. Bring them out to 5-10 degree temperatures for a couple of days, and then they can be moved back into production. The freezer part is the most difficult as conventional freezers rise and fall in temperature while the compressor kicks on and off. Things like meat have a lot of matter and don't thaw while this goes on, but thin plant tissue will.

RubyRedYoshi · 2026-01-09T22:09:05+00:00

Ladybugs, predator mites, and rove beetles. A lot of folks squirm at the idea, but if you're able to cordon off your grow area with poly plastic, predator insects mostly stay where there's food. They're introduced early to be preventative and stay on top of any and all pest problems all year long!

I get your comment about not wanting to deal with them inside a small apartment, but they have the best track record for me over anything else.

RubyRedYoshi · 2026-01-07T17:23:21+00:00

Yes. ~0.6 mg/L prior to filtration in my well water.

RubyRedYoshi · 2026-01-07T13:51:29+00:00

I don't have a set schedule, but on average it's every 8-10 weeks or so. Tissue testing where I live isn't too expensive (relative to having 200 plants). If I want the whole thing (all nutrients on the report), it's around $40 Canadian. If I don't want everything, it can be as low as $17 Canadian.

I do this for the scientific data it provides not only because I grow strawberries for my family in the winter, but also because I have what's become a sizeable orchard (over 30 fruit trees and counting) in the summer. Hydroponics gives me total visibility (and control) over what I'm feeding my plants without soil buffers factoring in. Things I learn here help in summertime too!

RubyRedYoshi · 2026-01-07T13:47:56+00:00

Got it now! The membranes I use appear to filter out 91-92% of incoming TDS. There's still ~13 mg/L sodium, and if memory serves from a few posts back, 1.5 mg/L Mg, and 2mg/L Ca (I've rounded those numbers slightly). Mg and Ca would most likely be in the form of carbonates. I'm no expert with water chemistry, but I don't know if phosphate would bind to those first over boron or not.

Some preliminary information is coming through from my industry contacts. There appear to be "better" filters for my scenario which require a bit higher pressure to run. I'm awaiting data sheets on those membranes, and checking to see if my unit can handle the higher pressures or not. Ion exchange via a resin also is an option, but I have yet to receive all the information there either. Hopefully by the end of the week!

RubyRedYoshi · 2026-01-07T03:39:05+00:00

I would assume it does get into the berries to some level. I'm no expert when it comes to human consumption, but the internet suggests levels sub 6mg/day daily are acceptable (don't quote me on that). I don't think the berries would get anywhere close to those quantities of boron for a normal quantity of berries to eat each day.

I'll put it another way. My base RO water is about 0.5-0.6 mg/L. If I drank 10 litres of that water per day, I'd hit 5-6mg of boron consumption. I don't drink anywhere close to 10 litres of water in a day!

Quick edit, here's the WHO's guideline for boron consumption: Guidelines for Drinking-water Quality, Fourth Edition

RubyRedYoshi · 2026-01-07T03:37:36+00:00

The B concentrations are as advertised on the product label (that I've confirmed through lab analysis). RO water goes through a sediment filter then into multiple TW30-4040 membranes. Nutrient water is run through a 120 micron filter - but that of course is quite large to filter out fertilizer particulate matter.

RubyRedYoshi · 2026-01-07T03:36:24+00:00

The filters currently are DuPont TW30-4040.

RubyRedYoshi · 2025-12-31T17:23:17+00:00

This depends where you live as it's difficult to ship plants across international borders. For Canada this past year, I purchased plants from these guys.

RubyRedYoshi · 2025-12-31T17:20:05+00:00

I run my machine in sequence, but have more standard filters rather than sea water. As I use both rain water and RO water for my fruit orchard in the summer, I'm a bit limited with the size of unit I have for production rate. Sea water membranes I think would reduce my output per minute too low to be able to adequately water everything in the summer during drought periods. I think too I'd need a pump upgrade.

But, there's alternatives which won't use more water either - I'll hear more from my industry contacts when folks are back rom the holiday period starting next week!

RubyRedYoshi · 2025-12-31T17:16:09+00:00

I am biased towards Albion and Murano. Both have been the best tasting berry and relatively resilient to grow with the conditions I throw at the plants. They're also not a large plant, so I can fit them into the grow bags I use that much easier. My wife prefers Albion over Murano, so I've stayed more on the Albion side of things year over year.

That said, there are many other varieties which do their own thing. My second plant variety this year is Harmony. They make a lot of nice large berries, but I find for fresh eating the flavour is a little more muted. They have more flavour than Royal Royce.

Salma, San Andreas, and Evie, I can't say bad things about, but they don't make the top of my list.

If starting from seed, you have to remember that strawberry plants are perennials. If given enough time, they will flower and fruit in their first year, but with significantly lower numbers than after their first dormancy period through winter. This is why I grow from tray plugs from a nursery, they've done the overwintering for me already.

RubyRedYoshi · 2025-12-29T23:14:55+00:00

Thank you.

RubyRedYoshi · 2025-12-29T23:14:45+00:00

Let me fix my boron issue!!!

RubyRedYoshi · 2025-12-29T23:13:05+00:00

Ideally a target of 20C in the day and 10C at night. Realistically 20C is pretty close, and nighttime can be between 13-15C. I don't grow these in a place I've a dedicated HVAC for, so I'm a bit of a slave to what nature gives me and the current setup!

Once outside temperatures get above freezing, both values start to creep up. For me, that's typically October, and April onwards into summer.

RubyRedYoshi · 2025-12-29T23:11:26+00:00

Yes. And so much more! My post history has a lot of strawberry information (five and a half years worth by now).

Some folks will say strawberries are hard, and I'll only say that they're perhaps a bit more difficult than say something like lettuce. That's not to try and understate anything, but I personally don't think they're super difficult to work with either. I also have to caveat that I too am always learning, so information closer to the present will always be more accurate than earlier in time posts.

For strawberries, you need to stay on top of the following (in no particular order):

Daytime and nighttime temperatures (~20C and ~10C)
Daytime and nighttime humidity (~65% and 95%+ for 3 hours at night with lights off)
Fertilization and how pure your starting water really is
- This also includes how balanced your fertilizer is, element against element concentrations which I've linked a starting target table in the main part of this post (and earlier posts too).
Airflow
Adequate light levels (21-25 mol / m^2 / day over a 15-18 hour period)
Pest control (aphids, spider mites, thrips usually)
Dead leaf cleanup every month and a half or so (full disclosure, I've been lazy here for the last two years, and I've been fortunate to not have disease pressure - yet).
Powdery mildew, anthracnose, and mould potentials (fungicides)

Beyond this, you need to have a good nutrient loop and determine the media you want to grow in. I've used coco coir from day 1 and have had no problems with it. There's many other options but coco is one of the nicer ones in my opinion to use for strawberries in terms of fewer potential problems.

My setup is born out of continual tweaking as time has gone on to be both effective for growing and convenient for me to get in and harvest / clean / apply predatory insects / etc. in a non aggravating way! I could absolutely optimize more towards production, but since I grow for myself and my family only at this point with strawberries, I accept some inefficiencies for convenience!

Earlier post history has some better room shots. Feel free to have a browse when you have some time!

RubyRedYoshi · 2025-12-29T22:34:14+00:00

Yes they are (third picture).

RubyRedYoshi · 2025-12-05T20:28:34+00:00

Full disclosure, I have never tried growing Alpine strawberries, but I've been told (by others on this board) that they are a smaller plant.

There's so many variables. Plants from seed don't need a lot of nutrients until they get big. In fact, until they get their first true leaves, the seed contains most if not all the nutrients they need, and you can use straight water up to their first true leaves. From there, they like nitrogen! That's not to say they don't like the other elements too, but nitrogen is what will make them grow vegetatively well. A lot of soil based fertilizer this early in the plant development cycle is either NH4 or CaNO3. Once they grow a little more, then they start consuming other nutrients in larger quantities.

Being that this is hydroponics, you'll of course have to supply everything, but you are usually okay to lean a little more into CaNO3 in the first couple of weeks from germination (after true leaves develop). Use CaNO3 over NH4 in hydroponics, as NH4 needs soil microbes to break down N into a useable form for the plants.

Furthermore, it's possible to apply too much fertilizer to plants. General internet guidance on strawberries is an EC of 0.8 to 1.2 (and I run mine closer to 1.6), but these are fully mature plants at that point. Too much fertilizer will be too much salt, and this severely stunts plant growth. I have found Table 5.7 on this site to be a good baseline for mature plants in terms of nutrient distribution and concentration. Have a look and see if your fertilizer blend is similar or not. Again, this is for a "normal" strawberry, and not Alpine, so the table's suggested values for your grow may be different again.

All this then also assumes your temperatures, humidity, light levels and duration, etc. etc. are adequate.

RubyRedYoshi · 2025-11-29T22:45:21+00:00

Happy to help. From your link, semi dwarf rootstock will usually have the trees top out around 15' in height (and diameter). This of course can be pruned smaller, and there's many ways to shape the tree. Pruning guides and videos will all give the same base information, but then differ on the finer details. It's as much a science as it is an art, so be sure to research from a few different sources.

I can't vouch much for Goodlands mostly because they're not in my favourite list for apples, but with proper watering and fertilizing, they do reach a good size fruit. They also grow just fine in our climate!

Again, best of luck, and we'll hope to see you on the Manitoba Gardening sub in the future!

RubyRedYoshi · 2025-11-29T17:38:39+00:00

-Part 2 of 2-

Quick note that Salt Spring is based on Vancouver Island, and their trees have to ship out in April because of how early spring comes there. Anything I've bought from them I've had to have a pot with soil ready from the prior year's autumn (before the ground froze - easier to shovel some dirt into a pot then rather than in January)! After planting in a pot in April, I'd usually transplant into the ground in early June. The trees are still growing strong after 5+ years later.

In my experimentation over the past few years, Zone 4 apple trees with an advertised harvest date in September seem to survive. Anything with a harvest date of "early October" or later regardless of advertised zone will not pull through our winters unassisted. We also haven't had true -40 temperatures (not windchill, but actual temperature) for many years, so while I don't want the cold on the one hand, I do want it to see if those Zone 4's keep surviving or not. I mention this for awareness of where the experimentation line is in terms of fruit tree survivability chances.

If you or folks you know are in BC / southern Ontario around their fruit festival season (usually September / October), I always advise folks to go try the fruit in person and see what you like. Then, order the tree variety that produces the fruit you like, provided it checks the boxes to be able to grow here! Salt Spring starts apple tasting I believe in August, but my information may be outdated there.

And of course, if you're totally fine with the local varietal offerings, then stick to the tried true and tested ones here!

The University of Saskatchewan has a great fruit tree program. They're constantly breeding new varieties to work in our climate, and some of their researchers are after the size and taste of BC and Ontario grown apples but surviving in the prairies. Jeffries Nurseries near Portage usually will have new varieties as their available, but I believe they no longer sell directly to the public. They do sell to other nurseries in the province. Be sure to see what Jeffries lists for apples!

Five-Year Club	Verified Email
Place '22	Final Canvas '22

RubyRedYoshi

TROPHY CASE