Where to learn more about indoor strawberry growing
Source: VFD.com
The Strawberry School Online, presented by Ohio State University, offers all the keys to learn soilless production of strawberry under greenhouse and indoor controlled environment. Contents include strawberry physiology, cultivar selection, production practices, and systems.
Instructors for the course are Professor Chieri Kubota and lecturer Mark Kroggel. Students will have access to six lectures recorded previously.
Additionally, students will be invited to live QA & discussion sessions scheduled during the course access period as needed (October 1 through Jan. This course is most suitable for those who are new in controlled environment agriculture and interested in strawberry production under controlled environment conditions such as greenhouses and vertical farms.
Why this matters: For operators, this is a water-management story. The useful signal is that direct substrate measurements can help cut drain loss materially without giving up yield or fruit quality, which is exactly the kind of controllable efficiency gain a facility can build on.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why does substrate sensing matter in free-drain strawberry systems?
Because drain percentage tells a grower what already happened, while substrate moisture and EC data show root-zone conditions directly. That makes it easier to cut water loss without guessing.
What is the operator takeaway from this trial?
If the thresholds are understood well enough, growers can reduce drain water materially while protecting yield and fruit quality, which makes sensing an operational tool instead of a reporting tool.
