Strawberries
Dates below are counted from the average last spring frost or the average first fall frost. Enter a ZIP in the calendar for NOAA 1991–2020 station averages, or pick a zone and use the zone table.
When to plant
Soil and site
Plant in full sun, on well-drained ground that does not hold standing water. Higher ground and moving air reduce frost damage on blossoms. Minnesota says open flowers are damaged near 30°F.
Seedlings
The calendar date is for dormant plants in a matted row: University of Tennessee sets those plants 3–4 weeks before the average last frost, and this page uses the middle of that range. Set the soil line at the middle of the crown. Roots stay buried and the growing point stays visible. Minnesota plants dormant crowns in spring once a trowel enters the soil easily, and waits to set potted plants until frost risk has passed. Those two cases are not given separate calendar dates.
In the garden
Space matted-row plants 18–24 inches apart, with rows several feet apart so runners can root. Pinch the first flowers on June-bearers so the plants establish; Tennessee says that pushes the first harvest to a little more than a year later. Day-neutral plants can fruit in the planting year after the early blossoms are removed. June-bearers need a winter mulch in cold climates; pull it back when new growth starts, and be ready to cover open flowers if frost returns.
Picking
Minnesota counts about four weeks from flowering to ripe fruit. Pick berries fully red; they do not ripen further after harvest. Oregon State says a June-bearing crop usually lasts around four weeks. Renovate June-bearers about one to two weeks after that harvest.
Harvest
University of Tennessee says the first matted-row harvest comes a little more than a year after planting. That phrase is not turned into a day count here. University of Minnesota counts about four weeks from flowering to ripe fruit. Oregon State says the June-bearing picking season usually lasts around four weeks.
Pick berries when they are fully red. They do not continue to ripen after harvest. June-bearing plants give that crop the year after planting if you removed the first flowers. Check the patch daily once color shows.
Preserving
Strawberries are not on the NCHFP list for canning whole berries. Do not use the blueberry canning directions for them. The tested boiling-water method here is pectin jam. Follow that recipe as written.
USDA's tested strawberry jam with powdered pectin is a boiling-water process. Use the linked recipe and altitude table. Do not invent a process for canning crushed strawberries as if they were whole blueberries.
National Center for Home Food Preservation: Strawberry jam with pectin →Freeze firm, fully red berries with the NCHFP strawberry method. Sugar packs and unsweetened packs are both on that page.
National Center for Home Food Preservation: Freezing strawberries →Dry fully ripe strawberries with the NCHFP drying guide, then condition them before packing.
National Center for Home Food Preservation: Drying fruits and vegetables →A home freeze-dryer can dry this crop, but USDA has not published a canning-style time for it. Follow the appliance manual for load and cycle length, then store the dry food sealed. Freeze-drying is not a substitute for a tested canning process.
Appliance manual (no USDA process time)
Canning, pickling, and fermenting notes here are summaries of tested USDA and National Center for Home Food Preservation methods. Times, pressures, and amounts live only on those pages. This site does not publish home-invented processing times.
Gear placeholders
These rows are reserved for affiliate links later. They are not links, and nothing here is for sale.
- Placeholder: seeds for Strawberries
- Placeholder: canning gear
- Placeholder: home freeze dryer
Dates by zone
These pages turn the same frost offsets into calendar dates for each zone the calendar covers.