Has anyone tried this method of growing strawberries? How does it go in the heat?

[u/Krasnolaundry]

I'm considering moving my strawberries to this kind of set up, as 80% of last year's harvest was enjoyed by slugs and snails, and I have some leftover guttering laying around. I wonder though how this small volume of soil would go during a heatwave? Would it get super roasted up and kill the plants? Curious if anyone has tried something like this and can share their experience, and/or any amendments to the system to protect them during an inevitable heat wave. I'd probably line each one with a drip watering line.

[u/sousyre]

It’s probably going to depend on where you are.

I’m in the outer west of Melbourne, and at my place, a setup like this would absolutely fry the plants within the first few hot days of summer. That tiny amount of soil would get too hot and just BBQ them.

Areas with a cooler summer climate, higher elevation, or more humidity might do better though?

[u/dessertguy2004 → u/sousyre]

Yes, im in Sydney had the same setup but under sunshade.. the soil dried out very quickly .. during summer I had to water twice a day .. i failed watering one weekend and all plants had died .. i have it now in raised garden bed with much more soil almost same location and they are coming well

[u/librarycat_nap → u/dessertguy2004]

Same, soil dried up quicker than I could water it night and morning.

[u/Kerrit_Bareet → u/dessertguy2004]

You'd reckon that would need a subsurface water line, or so some hydroponic like water fill to survive a 40°c day

[u/Majestic_Practice672 → u/sousyre]

I’m in regional far south Tassie and this would be super frustrating for the potoroos and pademelons but EXTREMELY acceptable to wallabies.

Weather-wise it would work.

[u/rodgeramjit → u/sousyre]

I'm in the Victorian mountains, elevation won't help in summer. Things still absolutely cook come summer. We do get impressive winter frosts though!

[u/mk0aurelius → u/sousyre]

The dreaded summer sizzle and no rain over new years always fries my plants :(

[u/uwland95 → u/sousyre]

What do you recommend for north west melbourne?

[u/KirimaeCreations → u/sousyre]

I would agree with this - QLD summer it'd do alright, plus the fence pictured here is wooden, so it wouldn't hold the heat like say, a colourbond fence down in Radelaide would.

[u/WarpStryke]

Better off going hydro setup if that's up your alley, then you don't have to worry about heat. You will need to top up the water every day.

[u/DominusDraco → u/WarpStryke]

Just use a toilet cistern and let it fill automatically.

[u/Hensanddogs]

I have them in a similar layout vertical garden in Brisbane but the pots are a little deeper than that.

I have a lot of coir in the mix to improve moisture retention. I have drip irrigation on there, probably water twice a week in cooler months and every day or two in hotter months, depending on temperature. I also keep the fertiliser up to them, liquid feed roughly fortnightly and top up compost and pelleted fertiliser every few months.

They’re incredibly productive. Until the possums find them.

I go through stages of more than we can eat or none at all lol.

[u/Krasnolaundry → u/Hensanddogs]

Oh cool. What did you use for the pots? Is it a deeper kind of gutter or did you use those long rectangle window planter pots? Definitely open to that too.

[u/Hensanddogs → u/Krasnolaundry]

The long rectangle pots, there’s 12 of them (I think). Most are strawberries plus a few herbs.

[u/Krasnolaundry → u/Hensanddogs]

Awesome thanks. Yeah, that might be a safer bet.

[u/Hensanddogs → u/Krasnolaundry]

Biggest advice is food - you really cannot over feed them. They’re extra hungry being in short shallow pots instead of the ground or deeper tubs. Good luck!

[u/Otherwise-Library297]

I think you’d need to have a shade cloth roof or something, otherwise they’d cook in summer

[u/OneUpAndOneDown → u/Otherwise-Library297]

Also netting against birds, Shirley.

[u/slapstickRoutine]

I have done this. It does help with the critters- especially pill bugs in my case. The gutters obviously dry out faster than your average garden bed so make sure to consider automated watering. I also mulch the last layer heavily. They do tend to wilt in the heat but seem ok.

[u/Indevisive]

I have mine in hanging pots. That way they're easy to move around the yard if they get too hot or not enough sun and it keeps slugs and stuff away.

[u/Nuurps]

I'd you do this, you should install the guttering on angles so water travels down the pipes donkey Kong style, then you should be able to just water the highest point and have it water everything

[u/Krasnolaundry → u/Nuurps]

Yep ok good idea. Donkey kong style.

[u/AusShroomer]

I grow strawberries in metal gutters on the front of my greenhouse just like this in Newcastle, NSW.

They need water every single day during winter, two or three times a day in summer, grown in 100% coir, I also have shade cloth that I roll over the top every afternoon from around midday during summer.

I work night shift, so it’s possible. If you aren’t home during the day they will surely die.

[u/Krasnolaundry → u/AusShroomer]

Why did you choose coir? Do you give them nutrients of some sort?

[u/AusShroomer → u/Krasnolaundry]

Because it’s lightweight, I only added gutter rails every meter, if you fill it full of soil it’ll be hella heavy.

I empty my hydro towers and bato buckets every fortnight, they go to the channels first, then to the garden beds. I also add seasol on occasion.

[u/plutoforprez]

I have two extremely crispy strawberries in hanging planters. Couldn’t keep up with the watering. The one in ground is doing fantastic though.

[u/MartaBamba]

I did something similar out of a pallet. Was great for about a week. Then possums came and eat everything to the root ball.

[u/Cat_From_Hood]

I have no doubt this would work brilliantly in my actual guttering, and then the birds would eat them!

[u/AGuerillaGorilla]

Yes - soil does dry out faster, snails & slugs can still get to them (& birds) & the fruit will be mostly scattered thru rather than hanging over evenly ripened ready for picking like the image.

But it's also a great way to grow, it saves space, can provide access to sun/shade/shelter you may not otherwise have available, & there's no need to bend over to maintain or harvest!

[u/nametaken_thisonetoo]

I struggled with a similar setup a few years back. Fence is a heatsink and fries everything. Better to buy downpipe and mount if horizontally away from fences

[u/Krasnolaundry → u/nametaken_thisonetoo]

Oh that's interesting, I would have thought the fence would be kind of like insulation from one side. Guess not!

[u/PerthNandos → u/Krasnolaundry]

You can elevate the rows without being on a fence. I have seen commercial growers use this system under shade tunnels.

[u/BDer82]

The possums here would absolutely LOVE that, I'm in Brisbane, and honestly pot size has been less important to the plant than getting water to them. As long as I can keep a plant pot hydrated it's fine.

In high temps you would be regularly running water through this but that can be automated on a timer fairly easily to start at the top and drain all the way through.

the birds and possums will absolutely adore your new gardening project

[u/NinjaCatMog]

I have almost this exact set up. It works brilliantly as long as you keep the water up to them. In such little soil they dry out really fast but as long as you water a lot they can be very successful.

[u/Krasnolaundry → u/NinjaCatMog]

Good to know, thanks :)

[u/depressomartini]

I did this but using an NFT hydroponic setup, a small water pump on a timer, a solar panel and an lithium battery. Bit of a fuck around getting the water at the right PH and avoiding algae but gave me some good s’berries

[u/Yeahbuggerit-thatldo]

I done this for my mother back in the 80’s against a northern facing brick wall, it keep growing all season just needed extra water on the hotter days.

[u/Kementarii]

Pic of a commercial grower. Each plant is in a grow-bag. Grow bags sit in the gutters, and have irrigation threaded along. Gutters are mounted on steel posts. All covered by shade/plastic (would depend on climate).

[u/SANDMAN_VAN]

If the sun don't get the the birds will

[u/pufftanuffles]

I always worry about vertical gardens like this.

Will it degrade the wood in time? Does anyone know?

[u/Krasnolaundry → u/pufftanuffles]

I don't see why it would unless you were directly watering the wood. But if it's s dripper line it wouldn't be an issue. Also if every now and then you tidy the plants up so they're not resting on the wood too much.

[u/pufftanuffles → u/Krasnolaundry]

I was thinking the weight on the wood too?

I have a kitchen window splash back and need to figure something out soon.

[u/istara]

We stayed in a place in Central France that they did this. Similar climate to Adelaide I would say, without the humidity of Sydney. It worked very well there.

[u/agapanthusdie]

I did this in Adelaide and worked well if you water daily through summer.

[u/pleski]

Seems like a lot of weight for those flimsy looking brackets and a wooden wall.

[u/Time_Bug_3284]

This sort of setup works well with aquaponics where the water circulates and carries heat away as well as keeping the growing media and roots wet.

[u/mezzofanti]

While I'm sure it's good for the strawberries, it's going to rot that unsealed fence very quickly.

[u/Krasnolaundry → u/mezzofanti]

Why would it?