Strawberries, June Berries, Everbearing or Day-Neutral

Ahhhh…strawberry season is here.  We are not the only ones that love these sweet little berries, get them before the birds! If you have them in your garden you know you have to check them everyday! It is amazing how fast they ripen in this warm weather.

Planting, growing and harvesting strawberries…The Farmers Almanac can tell you everything you need to know! We have been picking fresh Strawberries for about a week now in Minnesota. Sweet, juicy strawberries are treats when right off the plant. Supermarket berries tend to be tart with grainy texture; this is because the natural sugar in the berries begins converting to starch as soon as it is plucked from the plant. It’s definitely worth your while to try growing strawberries, and the good news is that they are relatively easy to grow if you have full sun.

Strawberry plants come in three types:

  • Day-Neutral: Insensitive to day length, these varieties produce buds, fruits and runners continuously if temperature remains between 35 and 85. Production is less than that of Junebearers.
  • Everbearer: These varieties form buds during the long days of summer and the short days of autumn. The summer-formed buds flower and fruit in autumn, and the autumn-formed buds fruit the following spring.
  • Junebearer: Length-of-day sensitive, these varieties produce buds in the autumn, flowers and fruits the following spring, and runners during the long days of summer.
  • For the home garden, we recommend Junebearers. Although you will have to wait a year for fruit harvesting, it will be well worth it. To read more click here.  This makes us hungry for all the delicious summer Strawberry Desserts. Strawberry Shortcake, Strawberry Rhubarb Pie, Strawberry Malts, Strawberry Sundaes and what about a Fruit Torte, or  Shortbread with Vanilla Ice Cream and fresh picked Strawberries to name a few! Today we are in Strawberry heaven!!