During the early 1980s, the Netherlands was the first country to start growing strawberries in a type of soil. Soil-borne illnesses like Phytophthora are no longer controlled with common fumigants. This is because of a new law. When strawberries were grown in Europe in the early 1990s, they were grown without soil. All European strawberry growers now use growing media instead of soil to grow their crops. During the following years, farmers came up with many solutions, such as growing bags on raised beds, wire systems, and steel gutters.
It still isn’t the same in the U.S. There are a lot of strawberry farms in California, and open-field farming is still the most common way to grow the fruit. You get many more strawberries when you use a high-quality medium instead of a field.
As you can see, in-ground strawberry farming has these benefits:
To avoid soil-borne infections, the Netherlands made a significant change. Even though cultivating in the soil had a lot of drawbacks, it was the main reason for the change.
The land doesn’t need to be turned.
If you grow crops in growing media, you don’t need to rotate the land, which may seem like a simple fact. A new growing medium makes it easier for farmers to grow strawberries in pots. They no longer have to rely on the soil quality when they use this method. Because of this, the farmer has more faith in the place where he runs his business and can invest in the facilities and infrastructure there.
The use of water and fertilizers will be cut back.
Because many farmers have limited water, moving to grow in a growing medium can help with this, too. Most strawberry-growing methods make it easy for the grower to get water from the runoff. Afterward, water and fertilizer in the runoff water can be used again. In terms of how much water it takes to make one kilo of strawberries, harvesting runoff water saves a lot of water over the other option.
The yields have gone up.
Plant density in growth medium systems can be higher than in plants that live in the soil. Because of this, the grower has a more extensive surface area for taking in nutrients. Increased absorption boosts total yields and the quality of the plants and fruits that are grown.
When berries are grown on a tabletop, there is no soil or other growing material. It doesn’t work that way. They are let to float freely in the air. As a result, losses from Botrytis and Anthracnose are cut down. To keep birds and snails from getting to the berries, you should grow them this way.
Sprouting strawberries in a medium that is rich in nutrients.
There will also be less use of insecticides, which will make things better for people. It has already been said that systems that use growing material tend to have a more significant yield per square foot. Using less pesticide per berry when a set amount of pesticide is sprayed over a particular area.
On the other hand, Berry crops that are grown in a growth medium usually don’t need as many chemicals to grow well. This is because the growing medium is clean, and the plant is safe.
Because it gives farmers a lot more power over their crops
In addition to cutting down on pesticide use, a pesticide-free environment has many other benefits. Grown in containers or grow bags, root growth is limited, allowing farmers to react quickly to changes in the weather. This result is that farmers can direct their plants into the growth or vegetative phase.
A lot more control over-irrigation and fertigation methods can be gained if you apply them directly to the plants, making them easier to work with. In this way, farmers may improve the quality and size of the berries that they grow.
