Your Strawberry Plants Need This Before Winter Hits (Especially in Hydroponics)

Hydroponic strawberry dormancy is critical if you grow strawberries in a high tunnel or BATO buckets. In this video, I show how to overwinter hydroponic strawberries by cutting them back to build stronger crowns and boost spring yields.

If you grow hydroponic strawberries, BATO bucket strawberries, or strawberries in a high tunnel, winter dormancy is not optional — it’s essential.

In today’s video, I show exactly how and why I cut my strawberries back hard before winter, even though it looks brutal. Strawberries are perennials, and if you keep pushing growth all winter, you’re exhausting the plant and sacrificing spring yields.

🌱 In this video you’ll learn:

Why strawberry dormancy matters in hydroponics

How cold temperatures strengthen crowns and roots

How many plants per BATO bucket actually perform best

Why I remove all green growth before winter

How to safely overwinter strawberries in a controlled environment

How dormancy leads to earlier, sweeter strawberries in spring

I’m growing day-neutral Albion strawberries in hydroponic BATO buckets using an inert peat–perlite medium, full nutrient control, and reduced winter feeding. This method helps produce early strawberries that sell fast at the farmers market.

If you want to see these strawberries wake up in spring, get thinned, fed, and pushed into production — subscribe and follow along.

🌱 Homegrown Passion is all about practical hydroponic growing, high tunnel systems, and growing food that actually performs.

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#StrawberryDormancy
#BatoBucket
#HighTunnelGrowing
#WinterizingStrawberries
#GreenhouseGrowing
#Hydroponics
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#HomegrownPassion
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00:00 Why I Cut My Strawberries Back Before Winter
01:05 Skipping Dormancy Costs You Spring Fruit
02:10 Using Cold Weather to Trigger Dormancy
03:15 How Cold It Actually Gets in the High Tunnel
04:25 Strawberry Dormancy Explained (Perennials Need Rest)
05:45 Why Cool Nights Create Sweeter Strawberries
07:10 First Big Harvest Results (22 Pounds!)
08:20 Why Hydroponics Makes Dormancy Safer
09:30 Dialing in pH & EC Before Winter
10:35 Cutting Back Leaves Without Damaging Crowns
11:55 Using a Harvest Basket to Manage Cuttings
13:20 Protecting the Crown (The Only Part That Matters)
14:40 Albion Strawberries & Why Variety Matters
16:05 Managing Daughter Plants in BATO Buckets
17:30 Removing Debris to Prevent Disease & Pests
18:40 Inert Growing Media Explained (Peat & Perlite)
20:00 Reducing Water & Nutrients for Winter
21:25 Keeping Strawberries Asleep All Winter
23:00 How Dormancy Leads to Early Spring Strawberries
24:30 Why Early Strawberries Always Sell
26:00 Lowering Buckets for Winter Protection
27:30 How Long This Project Really Takes
28:40 Final Thoughts & Spring Wake-Up Tease