Day 8
UPDATE#5
Grower update
Update #5
Five ripe strawberries so far. Here are the latest two--one a bit overripe. They're tiny, but they have good strawberry flavor.
GrowLog
SuccessfulMarshall Strawberry Plants Reverse-Transplanted from Soil into an AeroGarden
Grow log by lynnee · Original thread
5 visual updates8 photos12 replies
View recapCrop🍓Strawberry
VarietyMarshall
Methodreverse transplant from soil to hydroponics, AeroGarden hydroponics
EquipmentAeroGarden system
Plants-
AudienceExperimental
What you can learnA strong reverse-transplant experiment demonstrating that established soil strawberries can survive extensive root cleaning, adapt to an AeroGarden, and continue flowering and fruiting.
Actions:2 Solution1 Transplant1 Equipment
Useful practices
- carefully removing soil without breaking roots
- cutting grow baskets to accommodate established crowns and roots
- omitting sponges for mature strawberry plants
- performing repeated reservoir rinses to remove soil and bark
- monitoring for new thin white hydroponic roots
Problems encountered
- soil
- bark
- and debris washing into the reservoir
- pre-existing crawling insects on the outdoor plants
- uncertainty about whether dark roots represented damage or normal strawberry root colour
*The days were calculated automatically and approximately.
Conversation
L
Nothing like the taste of your own grown Strawberry's ,,,Yummyyyyyyyyy. I picked a few about the same size as your picture.I am hoping the chipmunks don't steal all of them. I grew one plant from seed last year from a $4 kit with a tin can it was fun. It is the one producing right now. Like almost everything we grow on our own, store bought is a cringe thought after the experience of eating fresh picked.
Day 6
UPDATE#4
Grower update
Update #4
Actions taken
SolutionPerformed another rinse and refill to clear bark fragments from the bowl.
At 6 days, I did another R&R, because I wanted to clear the bark bits out of the bowl. The roots look like they are beginning to develop some white "AG roots", but it's hard to tell.I'm going to leave the plants alone for a while now.
Conversation
U
SO... can you tell if the white roots are new growth OR if the existing roots are transforming into water roots?
L
From looking above the waterline they are doing great. I enlarged the picture so my old eyes can see it better and it looks like both. New growth and the older roots clearing off. But Either way looks awesome.
L
The white roots look like new growth to me. They are much thinner than the soil roots. It will be clearer in a couple of weeks.
Day 6
UPDATE#3
Grower update
Update #3
By gum, it worked! Berries are growing and ripening, new flowers have appeared in back:Berries are growing and buds are opening:Goes to show that many plants can handle quite a bit of root disturbance, if you're careful not to break the roots.
Day 2
UPDATE#2
Grower update
Update #2
Actions taken
SolutionPerformed a rinse and refill because soil and bark had washed into the bowl.
Today the roots look like this. I'm not alarmed, yet, because the strawberries that I grew from crowns had pink roots that then turned very dark brown. The plants still look perky.The water in the bowl looked very dirty--no doubt from soil that soaked off--so I did an R&R. You can see some bits of bark on the bottom of the bowl. I left these for now.
Conversation
L
The strawberry plants are definitely growing. One strawberry is starting to turn red. Interestingly, neither plant has produced any runners. Runners were a real problem with the strawberries I grew before, because they added to the dead undergrowth that was so attractive to gnats.
Day 1
UPDATE#1
Grower update
Update #1
Actions taken
TransplantRemoved two established strawberry plants from soil and installed them in an AeroGarden.
EquipmentCut grow baskets and removed prongs to make room for established strawberry roots.
In a weak moment last Fall, I ordered a couple of Marshall strawberry plants from Territorial Seeds. The strawberries are supposed to be really, really tasty!territorialseed.com/products/marshallThe plants arrived a few days ago, and they're healthy, but I changed my mind about wanting to grow things this summer in the back patio area. (It's too much trouble to water container plants every day, and plants in the ground use far too much water.) I stuck the strawberries out there, because there's no room for them in the front patio, and they were already picking up tiny crawling bugs. There are lots of active birds out there, too.So I decided to try something radical--a reverse transplant from soil to an Aerogarden! I have no idea whether the plants will survive, of course. It was hard to get the soil off the roots, because there were rocks and a lot of bark in the planting mix. I've grown strawberries from crowns before, so I kind of followed that planting method with these plants. I cut the AG baskets to make room for the roots, and left out the sponges. With the second plant, I cut the prongs off the basket altogether.🍓🍓🍓🍓🍓
Conversation
U
WOW, That's a creative experiment, lynnee ! Keep us posted on the progress!
L
So far, after several hours, the strawberries are looking fine, with no drooping stems or leaves. I guess that they're behaving like cut flowers in water, at a minimum.The next thing will be whether they grow. Fingers crossed. I'll need to check the pH and stuff, if they grow. Strawberries are kind of fussy about those things. I'll also have to cut off dead leaves, because they're a great incubator for gnats.🍓🍓🍓🍓🍓
U
I'm curious as to whether the "soil" roots will start growing into "water" roots.