Michigan Strawberries-Hydroponic Farm

For most farms, strawberries in Michigan are available for 15,000 strawberry plants producing from June through October at Bowerman Blueberries, Holland, Michigan about 3 weeks in June. Not so at Bowerman Blueberries, where our strawberry plants are producing delicious, big red juicy strawberries from June through October!

The difference is our hydroponic growing system, where stacked polystyrene towers of strawberry plants provide the ideal blend of water and nutrients to each plant. We have more than 15,000 plants on a half-acre of land, and each plant produces three to five times more strawberries than ground crops--and they are delicious!

The strawberry plants are rooted in a mixture of perlite and Hydroponically grown means more delicious strawberries, and less disease and problems for growers. Come see them at Bowerman Blueberries, Holland, Michigan. vermiculite, rather than dirt, in cone shaped planters. These substances allow more oxygen and water to get to the roots, requiring substantially less water for each plant, and the plants are less susceptible to insects, fungus and disease.

Strawberries are sold pre-picked in the Bowerman Blueberries market throughout the summer.

In September and October, we select two days a week where guests may come to the farm and pick your own strawberries! Guests are delighted to learn that since the strawberries grow on towers, there is no bending down or kneeling to pick strawberries, and no dirt to get on your fingers!

Note: Due to severe weather already this fall, we are closed for the 2009 season. We will not offer PYO strawberries this month.

Hydroponic growing is more common in Florida, where the process really helps protect the plants from the southern, extended warm season and the fungus that come with that. There are few, if any other hydroponic growers in Michigan, and Bowerman's biggest competitor for strawberries are those which ripen in the truck while being transported across the country from California.