Strawberry Power

Don demonstrated how to make your own strawberry planter using imitation terracotta pots
stacked in a tower formation. When growing strawberries in a tower it is not necessary to
mulch with plastic or straw, because the fruit hangs over the sides and stays clean.
Youll need

3 x imitation terracotta pots

potting mix
strawberry plants

Method
1. Decide where you want to put your strawberry tower before you start filling the pots
with potting mix - choose a sunny position.
2. Half fill the largest pot with potting mix. Take the next sized pot and place it on top.
Make sure that the pot is centred and level, check the height and then top up the bigger
pot with potting mix. (Tip: dont use real terracotta pots for your tower they have
thick sides and dont stack as well as plastic pots.)
3. Repeat step 2 until all the pots are stacked and filled with potting mix.
4. Plant the strawberries. Don used advanced, fruiting plants to create an instant effect
for television, but you could save money by using smaller plants. (Tip: be sure to buy
plants that are certified free of virus diseases.) Water in the strawberries.
5. Keep plants well watered, particularly during dry spells. Protect from slugs, snails and
birds. Feed occasionally with a 50:50 mixture of Seasol and Nitrosol.
Further information
Plastic imitation terracotta pots cost from $5.50 to $18 at nurseries and garden centres 150mm
(6") tubs of mature strawberry plants cost $8 each 500ml Seasol costs about $10 500ml
Nitrosol costs around $8

Strawberry / herb 3 tier planting tower

Create your own strawberry tower with this space saving design the tower effect also makes
your strawberries less prone to attacks from slugs. can also be used for growning, herbs and
small vegetables in small spaces on patios and balconies. Includes a saucer at the bottom to
make watering thetower easy and avoid water spilling all over the place.
Can fit up to 10 strawberry plants.
Dimensions 47cm high x 38cm Diameter

Growing Basil Vertically in Aquaponics

Recently we were talking to someone who wishes to remain anonymous who say they
invested more than $250,000 in their commercial aquaponics business and it wasnt working
to plan. Sure they grew plants. The fish grew fine. They had 1,000 Jade perch in their tanks

that were coming up for harvest. The system was running so well that they claimed they could
grow lettuce in two weeks for market! They were able to get $1.20 per lettuce head wholesale
at the food co-op. Although they didnt have organic certification their aquaponically grown
herbs and vegetables were in demand as the co-op only sold organic food to their fussy
customers at a premium price.

They had trialled all sorts of plants over the first year and the system worked fine but it had
problems. Amongst the every day issues they encountered from high summer heat (52C) in
the greenhouse and occasional bug infestations attacking their crops. Their main complaint
was a major problem that doesnt make rounds to often in Aquaponic discussions plants
wilting
Wilting
Some plants are prone to wilting in high heat but the wilting they were talking about was at
harvest. The owners had grown a large crop of Basil and blamed Aquaponics as the culprit.
The plants after all had it too easy. The Basil plants were full of water with their roots
submersed in the stuff all the time. It was a DWC floating raft system with heavily
oxygenated water so the plants were very happy indeed until harvest day. Then the plants
flopped over and wilted when picked. They had lost a whole crop to wilting.
Harvest
A little closer investigation revealed that the owners had decided to let their Basil grow nice
and big and then when they decided to harvest the plants out, they also removed the roots and
cut up the stems into marketable sizes and wrapped the whole thing in plastic and threw it into
the truck to take to market the next day. They didnt have a cold room so shelf storage of the
product became a big problem. They had also tried adding a slurp of water into the parcels to
give the plants a drink but that method didnt work either! All they had was a pile of wilted
plants that no one would buy.
They had failed to understand the way a plant works. It requires its root system to stay alive!
Thats why you will see a lot of happy hydroponically grown Basil plants in the market-place
selling with their net-pots and roots still intact.

Each tower has a regulator attached to adjust nutrient drip.

Growing Basil in Vertical Towers
Heres a clever way to grow Basil in vertical towers. Aleece Landis the Duckponics lady we
featured before or as she is also known as TCLynx on Aquaponics forums demonstrated to us
her Basil herb arrangement grown in zip towers and also a curious method for capturing rain
water in saucers to top up the towers. She has high alkaline water where she lives so capturing
rain water with a neutral pH is a good way to keep her pH stable. Theres also a little bonus
feature on Aleeces method of growing Loofa, a type of fibrous gourd that when dried makes
a great sponge that she also sells.
Aleece could take her Basil towers to market and bring the whole thing back, including the
plants she didnt sell. She could then hook her towers back up to her aquaponics system and
away it goes for another week. No wilting. No dead plants. Vertical towers are a great idea
that can also grow all sorts of herbs and climbing plants like strawberries.

Making your own Basil or Strawberry tower is not hard if you run a pump with enough head
to pump the height of your towers. The towers are ordinary storm-water drainage pipes or
4

PVC tubing wide enough to accommodate gravel or hydroton. A series of holes are cut into
the tower to accommodate spaces for the seedlings. Placing the tower at opposite end of your
auto-siphon allows good nutrient flow through the entire growbed feeding your plants.