Indoor Houseplant Guide: How to Grow Strawberries Indoors

Strawberries can be an all year treat if you choose the right type and have a flourishing environment. Yes, some strawberries are only for summer, however strawberries do also have evergreen strands and these are the types we can grow indoors under artificial light. If you’re looking to grow strawberries indoors the best idea for this is to do it from seeds and under artificial sunlight. This will conserve a lot of space in your home and time in getting to flowering. The two main types of strawberries used for indoor grows are heirloom or wild alpine strands. Wild alpine strawberries are probably the easiest to plant as they are more durable and have less environmental requirements. These two types of strawberries do come as seeds but are not common in supermarkets so you will have to scout them out first!

How to Plant Strawberry Seeds Indoors?

This time of year, is the exact time to start with strawberry seeds as they will benefit from slightly warmer climates and late spring/ summer is always their best starting point. However, strawberry’s themselves in germination will require some form of cold adaption. Like hardening off plants, strawberry seeds also need to be hardened in their germination phase, this will lead to stronger plants overall.  Replicate cold conditions by placing the seeds by the fridge for a few days then remove them from it to cause them to acknowledge winter is over.

Soil

Strawberries are perennials, perennials do require rich soil. This means you can look for a well decomposed compost. The PH can range between 5.5-5.6 PH. As this kind of soil is relatively acidic lets just see some quick ways to acidify your soil if you need to. You can add sulfate products to the soil:

Iron sulfate

Aluminum sulfate

Ammonium sulfate

If the soil is sandy, you can add more compost to help it retain moisture.

Watering

Water the plants in the morning as it gives the plant and soil all day to use it and be less dry under the grow light. Strawberry’s soil does not need to be watered so much; moist soil will suffice. Check the top 1-1.5 inches of soil. If this is dry, it may be time to water the plant again.

Growing Strawberries Under Grow Lights

With the increasing in technology, especially LED & T5 indoor grow lights, fruits, vegetables and berries have all begun to be grown within indoor farms, apartments and gardening hobbyists all year round. For indoor strawberries the light should be one that runs at a lower temperature so it can be installed closer over the plants to recue wasting light.

How Far Should the Grow Light be From the Plant? 

This range will vary according to the phase the plant is going through. Seedlings will require less intensity. Meaning the lights can be installed the furthers away from the pot. 24-30 inches is usually the range, depending on the size of the light you have chosen. Vegetative phase the light can be moved gradually a little closer, reducing the height by maybe 5-10 inches depending on how your strawberry’s have been reacting. As the vegetative phase continues the light can be gradually lowered to up the light intensity. Once your strawberries are flowering (fruiting), the light should be the closest range having the highest intensity on the plant. This height range can be between 18-24 inches. If you gradually lower the light there should be no issues. If you do drop the light and decrease the distance suddenly, you may need to take a more careful look at your strawberries daily.

What Spectrum is Best For strawberries Indoors?  

In recent controlled studies conducted on strawberries under LED lights, they did compare the red to LED lights effect on them.

Strawberries under Blue LED Lights: Higher overall biomass, faster and larger yield, smaller leaves, lower chlorophyll, lower anthocyanin.

Strawberries under RED LED Lights: Slower smaller yield, lower biomass, larger leaf size, higher chlorophyll, higher Anthocyanin.

What does this tell us about lighting strawberries? The yields and results did highlight how strawberries react to one specific type of lighting and if you wish for a larger and faster yield you would be better off having a higher blue ration in your light spectrum. However, in order to improve the chlorophyll production in the plants and increase their anthocyanin levels, the fruits would need red light exposure too.

The best light to use on strawberries would be a full spectrum indoor grow light. This is because this will ensure the plant is getting all the color spectrums it needs to grow evenly and healthy. If you’re looking for larger strawberries you would be better off looking for indoor full spectrum lights that have a high blue to red ratio from their beam. This will promote healthier, bigger strawberries that grow similar to those under natural sunlight!

What is the Best Indoor Grow Light Option?

SANSI’s 60W indoor full spectrum grow light is one of the most cost-effective ways to grow strawberries indoors. There are 2 main reasons this light is suitable for indoor strawberry growing. This is due to the light’s design and spectrum.

SANSI’s 60W Design
The light has 4 adjustable wings, fully opened out it can cover 1 square meter. 60W per square meter surpasses far more than what regular lights can output with their circular designs. The wings allow for a uniform beam to promote even natural growth, resulting in a bigger more developed plant. The customized design also allows for the light to be used within corners of the home and can cover awkward areas that require specific light outputs or covering. This light was shaped to be simplify indoor grows while producing high yields.

SANSI’s Full Spectrum Beam  

This light outputs a full spectrum beam even including far red. The blue to red ratio of this light is around 1:3. Enabling this light to produce natural sunlight beams at 4000K. The beam from this light will allow your strawberries to have higher faster yields under the blue light ratio, while having better taste and stems under the red and far red ratio.

What we all want for indoor fruits and berries especially is health, high yields and great taste. Applying the 60W SANSI full spectrum light to your strawberries will do all of this. 

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