NATIONAL STRAWBERRY DAY; February 27

National Strawberry Day was created to celebrate those little red fruits bursting with sweet perfection! A gift from Chile in the 1700s, garden strawberry plants made their way to North America in the 1750s. The plant is fairly easy to grow and doesn’t seem adverse to flourishing anywhere in the world. If you’d like your own homegrown strawberries this summer, make sure your plant has full sun and sandy soil

How Strawberries Got Their Name

It’s not exactly clear how strawberries got their name, but there are plenty of theories. Some believe strawberries got their name from being transported to market from the woods and fields on blankets of straw. Scholars theorize that the name originates from the Old English term meaning “strew” because the plant’s branches appear to be strewn across the ground. And there are others who think the name was inspired by the exterior seeds’ resemblance to little pieces of straw. 

Fun Facts about Strawberries

The strawberry isn’t your run-of-the-mill berry. Here are a few surprising facts that set strawberries apart from the rest of the berry family. 

• When it comes to anatomy, the actual fruit is the seed. The fleshy “berry” part is the carrier. 
• Strawberries are the only fruit to showcase their seeds on the outside.
• This may blow your mind, but the strawberry is *not* a real berry. A true berry has its seeds on the inside. Botanists classify strawberries as “multiple fruits” because they are embedded with many tiny individual fruits. Crazy, right? 
• Americans eat approximately three-and-a-half pounds of fresh berries every year. (Or, if you pick strawberries as we do, that’s the daily consumption rate!)

Growing Strawberries: The Definitive Guide (Updated 2022) is a wonderful website and Mr. Strawberry has all the answers you will ever need. Go to his site, read the interesting facts and details

How to Grow Strawberries

Once you have decided to begin growing strawberries, you need to pick your starting point. You can grow strawberries from seeds, or you can opt to transplant or purchase strawberry plants for your garden.

1. Why Grow Strawberries?	2. Choosing How to Grow: a. From Seed (new page) b. From Plants
3. Picking the Best Strawberry Variety	4. Site Selection
5. Choosing Your Growing Method a. Growing Strawberries Indoors (Hydroponics) (new page) b. Dutch Bucket Hydroponic Growing System (new page)	6. Garden Preparation
7. How to Plant Strawberry Plants a. What to Plant with Strawberries (new page)	8. Caring for Your Strawberries a. Watering Strawberries b. Fertilizing Strawberries
9. Multiplying Your Strawberry Plants… a. Propagating Strawberry Plants (new page) b. Transplanting Strawberry Plants (new page)	10. When to Harvest
11. Renovating Strawberries	12. Protecting Strawberry Plants a. Mulching (new page) b. Overwintering Strawberries (new page) c. Pests Control (new page)
13. Dealing with Common Problems… a. Plants Not Producing Strawberries (new page) b. Strawberry Plants Wilting (new page) c. Strawberry Plant Diseases (new page) d. Late Frosts/Cold Weather (new page) e. Upside-down Hanging Planters (new page)	14. Frequently Asked Questions (new page)

How the Growing Strawberries Page Works by clicking the links above.