How To Grow Strawberries From Seeds

When to Start Strawberries – Because strawberries are perennials, the plants will come back each year. So taking the time to give them a good start will absolutely be worth it in the long run. Bareroot strawberries can be planted anytime after last spring frost, or in the fall before first expected frost to overwinter.

But when you start strawberries from seed, you’ll want to keep them indoors in the early spring to help them along until the last frost has passed. December is a good time to start the process of growing strawberries from seed. Before you begin planting strawberry seeds, you’ll need to stratify the seeds.

This simply means giving the seeds a chilling period in order to help with germination. Place the entire seed pack into the freezer (not a deep freezer) for three to four weeks. After they’ve chilled, remove them from the freezer and bring the seeds to room temperature.

Sow the seeds thinly, pressing the seeds into a moist potting medium in seed starter trays, and barely cover the seeds with growing mix. Place the tray under grow lights, as strawberries need light to germinate. Allow several weeks for germination. Be patient: seeds may germinate anywhere from 7 days to 6 weeks.

Keep the seed tray in temperatures of 65 to 75 degrees. Do not let the seeds dry out. Provide good airflow to avoid dampening off. Once the seeds begin growing, keep the grow light about two inches above the plant. Light that’s too far away from the seedlings cause thin, leggy plants.

• When the seedling has grown and produced three sets of true leaves (the first leave to appear are the cotyledon, or seed leaves), transplant the strawberries into larger containers.
• Harden off plants before placing them in the garden or outdoor containers.
• Plant after last spring frost.
• One major benefit of growing strawberries from seed is you can plant several different varieties of your choosing, as long as they can grow in your climate.

But a drawback is you likely won’t have a good harvest of fruit for a year after planting. Most growers recommend pinching off the strawberry flowers the first year to direct the plant’s energy into producing strong roots and a good, healthy plant. Enjoy fruit the second and third year.

Can you plant the seeds straight from the strawberry?

Growing strawberries from seed? Yes, it’s possible! A strawberry patch is usually started from young plants or dormant root clumps, but you can grow delightful berries from seed too. Seed-started plants typically bear smaller fruit than hybrid varieties that are available exclusively as plants.

• For a fraction of the cost of a single hybrid strawberry plant, you can purchase a packet of seeds and plant a generous berry patch that will produce plenty of sweet, juicy fruit.
• Cost savings aside, growing your own strawberries from seed is simply fun.
• It all starts with watching for tiny leaves to emerge from the soil and quickly multiply.

Strawberries started from seed are usually alpine strawberries or close cousins to alpines. These plants produce petite berries (the fruit is about an inch long) in spring and summer. When the berries are ripe, their intense perfume wafts through the garden conjuring up thoughts of strawberry jam,

• However, alpine strawberries produce a small number of berries per plant; count on a packet of seeds to produce berries for fresh eating but not enough to make jam.
• Fruit purchased at the grocery store, along with many varieties available as plants at garden centers, are hybrid strawberries.
• Hybrid berries are developed by plant breeders crossbreeding plants over many years.

Researchers select hybrids based on their fruit size and quality along with the ease of growing. Hybrid strawberries don’t reliably reproduce by seed. They are grown from transplants.

How long do strawberry seeds take to germinate?

Why don’t we grow strawberries from seed? Figure 1. Bareroot strawberry transplant straight from the box and ready to plant. (this and all subsequent photos by G.J. Holmes) Virtually all strawberry plants grown to produce fruit were planted as a transplant. Transplants take on many forms, but in California we use bareroot transplants (Fig.1).

Why not use seeds instead? Those little things on the outside of every strawberry fruit are seeds encased in a hard outer coating (Fig.2.). They are technically “achenes” but “seeds” will do for now. If you plant seeds from a strawberry fruit, some of them will germinate, but very slowly. Under optimum conditions it takes about three weeks for the seed to germinate.

The seedling that emerges is a tiny plant (Fig.3). It takes another week to see the first true leaves (Fig.4) and you’re still looking at a very tiny plant that is months away from producing a flower. Figure 2.A. The “seeds” on the surface of strawberries are called “achenes” because the seed is enclosed in an outer shell. The thin, curved structure at the left side of each achene is the dried up pistil.B. Strawberry achene size (2-3 mm) compared to the tip of a ball point pen (upper right) and cross section (lower left) showing the seed encased in the outer coat or pericarp.C. Figure 3. Recently germinated strawberry seed showing the seed coat still attached to the cotyledon, 20 days after planting. A 0.5 mm mechanical pencil is shown for size reference. Contrast that to the bareroot transplant, which will push out a new set of leaves immediately after planting (Fig.4) and produce flowers within days. Figure 4. Newly emerged leaves one week after planting a bareroot transplant. When we grew our first crop of strawberries at Cal Poly, I wondered why we didn’t see volunteer strawberries in that field when we grew a subsequent crop. After all, thousands of fruit that didn’t get picked ended up rotting and the seeds ended up in the soil.

• Wouldn’t these all germinate and give rise to a lawn of tiny strawberry plants once the field was irrigated again? That’s what happens if you let weeds or any other crop go to seed the previous season.
• With strawberries, most of the seeds don’t end up in an environment where they can survive the journey from seed to mature plant, but if you look closely enough you will find volunteer strawberry plants, just not very many.

And lastly is the genetics piece. Bareroot transplants are actually daughter plants that are clones (genetically identical) of the mother plant. Seeds are produced by the exchange of genetic information from two parents. And since strawberries are a hybrid ( Fragaria x ananassa ) you’re going to get a lot of variation in the progeny or offspring.

1. We don’t want that variation because a lot of it will turn out to be inferior in some way.
2. The beauty of clonally propagated plants is that once you have the traits you desire most, the daughter plants will all have the same traits and this leads to higher and more uniform productivity.
3. And that’s why we don’t farm strawberries by starting with seeds.

On the other hand, strawberry breeders work with seeds because they are deliberately crossing specific parents to produce progeny that have specific, desirable traits. In order to get new individuals with unique traits, you have to introduce new genes from new parents.

How do you get strawberry seeds to plant?

Step 3: Extract Seeds – The seeds on a strawberry are those tiny little things found on the outside of every strawberry. Take one strawberry, and using a toothpick or knife point, scrape at the seeds to dislodge them and remove them from the fruit. It may be very fiddly to extract them from the fruit depending on the ripeness of the fruit and other factors.

How do you take care of a strawberry plant?

Grow – Most strawberry plants are perennial in zones 4 to 9. Many strawberry varieties send out runners, stems that produce baby plants. These small plants can root and grow, but for top berry yields, it’s best to let only three runners remain per plant.

1. Clip the rest off.
2. Be sure to weed your berry patch faithfully, and remove any dead leaves.
3. In fall, strawberry plants form the buds that will bloom and produce berries the following year.
4. Cover plants with mulch over the winter in colder regions to protect the newly formed buds.
5. Typically, gardeners use a winter mulch of straw, which is where these tasty berries get their name.

You can also use pine straw, chopped leaves, untreated grass clippings, or Scotts® bagged mulch around (but not on top of) the plants during the growing season to help keep weeds down, reduce the amount of watering needed, and keep berries clean. When growing strawberries, keep plants well-watered.

1. Check soil weekly, and when the top inch is dry, it’s time to water.
2. Drip irrigation works well with strawberries because it keeps leaves and fruit dry, which helps reduce disease outbreaks.
3. Your strawberries will display their most amazing growth if you treat them to the power combo of Miracle-Gro® soil and plant food.

Beginning a month after planting, apply Miracle-Gro® Performance Organics ® All Purpose Plant Nutrition Granules to restock the soil with just the kind of rich organic nutrition your strawberries need. Not only does it nourish your plants, but it also feeds the microbes in the soil that help those plants take up more nutrients.

Are strawberry seeds hard to germinate?

How to Germinate Strawberry Seeds – The hardest part of growing strawberries from seed is getting the seeds to germinate in the first place. Most strawberry seeds require cold stratification to germinate, and they won’t break dormancy until they’ve gone through winter-like conditions.

1. This is a bit of an insurance policy for the strawberry seeds because there’s no point in sprouting in the fall right before a snowstorm.
2. You can mimic “winter” by simply placing the seeds in the refrigerator for 3-4 weeks, which signals to the strawberries that winter is past.
3. To germinate strawberry seeds: Place the seed packet into a Ziploc plastic bag or tight-sealing jar.

Place that in the sealed container with the seed packet into the refrigerator and leave it there for about a month. Read carefully, this is important After a month in the refrigerator, take the whole sealed container out of the refrigerator but DO NOT OPEN IT,

1. Allow it to come to room temperature while still sealed, which will prevent condensation from gathering on the cold seeds.
2. After about a day on the counter, the seeds will have warmed and they’re ready for planting.
3. Some strawberry seeds do not require cold stratification, but it’s hard to know which you have.

They may well germinate without this process, but even if they don’t require it, it won’t hurt them. Better safe than sorry.)

Why strawberry seeds don t germinate?

The Wrong Amount of Water – If your seeds aren’t germinating, first examine the amount of water you’re providing. Too much or too little water is the most likely reason for seeds not germinating. With too little or no water, seeds remain dormant. With too much water, seeds become susceptible to rot or infection from soil-borne fungi (also referred to as “dampening off”).

Do strawberry seeds need sunlight to germinate?

To plant: – Although bareroot strawberries can be planted at any time, strawberry seeds must be started indoors to ensure they are ready to go when it comes to their normal growing season. To ensure strawberry seeds will grow when you plant them, you must first stratify them.

1. To do this, place the strawberry seeds in an envelope or sealed plastic bag and store them in the refrigerator for a month.
2. Since strawberry seeds must be planted by February to be ready for harvest, begin the stratification process in January.
3. Once the month has passed, remove the seeds but leave them sealed overnight.

Open them the next day. Cold stratification is required for certain seeds to sprout properly. Cold stratification is a process in which seed dormancy is broken by mimicking the natural conditions a seed might go through. After you have gone through the stratification process, plant the seeds 1/2 inch deep in a container filled with sterile seed-starting mix.

What time of year do you start strawberry seeds?

How to grow strawberries – the different methods, explained – (Image credit: Getty images) There are three different methods to pick from when deciding how to grow strawberries. You can grow them from seed, from bare root or from runners. The method you choose for how to grow strawberries depends on where you wish to plant them and the time of the year.

Should strawberry seeds be germinated?

How to Grow Strawberries are hardy perennials, but the plants become less robust after about three years. Start strawberry plants from seed, and then propagate by cuttings and runners. Continue reading below for some pro tips on how to grow from seeds.

Latin Fragaria vesca Numerous hybrids exist listed as F. x ananassa Family: Rosaceae Difficulty Moderately easy Season & Zone Exposure: Full sun Zone: Most strawberries are hardy to Zone 5 Timing

Strawberry seeds benefit from vernalization, which is the simulation of winter in order to break dormancy. Start any time in early to late winter. After that time, they will still work, but they may not produce berries during the first season. Starting Seal strawberry seed packets in a plastic bag or airtight container and place in the refrigerator for 3-4 weeks.

1. Remove the bag or container from the refrigerator and allow the seeds to reach room temperature over a day or two before breaking the seal.
2. Opening the package too quickly may result in water condensing on the cold seeds, and this will reduce your chances of success.
3. Then, sow the seeds on the surface of pre-moistened, seed starting mix in trays or small containers.

Keep the seeded trays under bright fluorescent lights at a constant temperature of 18-24°C (65-75°F). Ensure the seed starting mix stays moist. Germination may take anywhere from 7 to 42 days. Once seeds germinate, increase ventilation to prevent damping off.

1. Growing When seedlings have their third true leaf, they can be transplanted into their own pots.
2. Be sure to harden the seedlings off gradually before transplanting outside.
3. Space transplants 60cm (24″) apart in rows 90-120cm (36-48″) apart.
4. Grow strawberries in a well-drained, sandy loam that has been generously dug with organic matter such as finished compost or well-rotted manure.

Dig 60mL (1/4 cup) complete organic fertilizer into the soil beneath each transplant. Keep soil moist, but not soggy. A mulch of straw around plants may help prevent the soil from drying out. Companion Planting These little plants respond strongly to nearby plants.

Can you save strawberry seeds?

Saving seeds from your garden is a great way to save money and ensure your next generation of plants will thrive in your particular ecosystem. Saving strawberry seeds is no exception. In fact, if you have open-pollinated strawberries, plants grown from saved seeds may be even better equipped to handle your climate. How do you save strawberry seeds? Jump to:

Which type of strawberry seeds can you save? Seed Harvesting Methods 1. Blender 2. Sieve 3. Dried Skins 4. Tweezers How to Grow Strawberries From Saved Seeds

Where is the best place to plant strawberry seeds?

Where to Grow Strawberries – The very best-tasting fruits grow in full sunshine. Pick a sunny, sheltered site in fertile, free-draining soil that’s ideally slightly acidic. You can easily improve soil by digging in lots of organic matter before planting – compost or well-rotted manure is ideal.

A general-purpose organic fertilizer will give your new plants an extra boost. Avoid frost-prone spots if you can, so that early flowering varieties aren’t damaged, and don’t plant them where tomatoes, potatoes or chrysanthemums recently grew, because these plants are susceptible to verticillium wilt, a disease that is easily passed on to strawberries.

Strawberries may also be grown in containers, towers and even hanging baskets, making them a fantastically flexible fruit!

Can you germinate strawberry seeds in paper towel?

How to Germinate Strawberry Seeds on Paper Towels

How to Germinate Strawberry Seeds on Paper Towels

Personally, I find the paper towel method to be the best way to encourage a high germination rate among strawberry seeds. If you only have a few seeds to work with, I highly advise using this method; it’s important to know that berry seeds need light to germinate, as I found out through trial and error.

• Paper towels allow in more light than soil! I get incredibly fast germination rates when I place my strawberry seeds in paper towels in the kitchen window! Stick with me, and I’ll tell you my secrets to getting all of those tricky little strawberry seeds to sprout.
• A lot of people might tell you that it’s too hard,

That strawberry seeds have low germination rates, That the plants will take too long to produce fruit,

What month is best to plant strawberries?

Gardening: Early spring is best time to plant strawberries > Thu., April 12, 2018 Very full strawberry plants are ready for picking at Carver Farms in Newman Lake on Tuesday, June 20, 2017. (Kathy Plonka / The Spokesman-Review) We are only two months out from strawberry season. By the middle of June, plants will be heavy with fruit begging for a bowl and some fresh cream.

• I can taste them already.
• Strawberries are best planted in the early spring between now and the end of May.
• Right now, many garden centers have them in individual 4-inch pots or in bare-root bundles of 25 roots.
• In the long run, the bundles are a much better value, but it means you need to plant them as soon as you get them home to keep the roots from drying out.

If you can’t plant right away, heal them into a holding bed and plant them within a week. The nice thing about strawberries is that they can fit into any bright, sunny garden spot or in pots on your deck. To produce the most berries, they need a full day of sun.

• If you are planting them in the garden, work up an area with soil that drains water away easily; they don’t like wet feet.
• Add about 25 percent by volume of good compost and form the bed into a low mound.
• Mulch the bed with shredded pine needles or leaves to prevent weeds from sprouting.
• Pull back the mulch and plant the strawberry root so that the junction between the roots and the leaves is right at the soil surface.

If you bury the growing point too deep or too shallow, the plants will struggle and be more susceptible to disease. If you bought roots in pots, gently remove the plants from the pots and set them in the soil. If you bought bare-root plants, soak them in water for an hour before you plant them to rehydrate the roots.

• Fertilize with an all-purpose garden fertilizer and water well.
• If you are planting in containers, use a good quality commercial potting soil that will stay loose and drain easily.
• The pot should be at least 16 to 18 inches in diameter, so the plants have room to spread.
• A strawberry pot with holes in the side will give you much more planting area.

Water the plants about once a week and more often as it gets hot. Strawberries come in three different types; June-bearing, day-neutral and everbearing. June-bearing plants will produce berries in June and are the most prolific. Day-neutral plants will produce a lighter crop throughout the season until frost.

• Everbearing plants will produce one crop in June and another in the early fall.
• The latter two tend to produce fewer runners which makes them better for container plantings or in tight spaces in the garden.
• June-bearing plants send out runners that then root and make new plants, so they need more room to spread.

It is best to pick off all the flowers the first year to let the plants get established. Fertilize the June-bearers and everbearing plants right after they finish fruiting with an all-purpose fertilizer. Day-neutral plants should be fertilized in June and August. Get breaking news delivered to your inbox as it happens. : Gardening: Early spring is best time to plant strawberries

Where do strawberries grow best?

Sowing alpine strawberries indoors – While summer-fruiting and perpetual strawberries are only grown from runners or young plants, alpine strawberries can also be grown from seed indoors, although germination can be slow and unreliable:

Sow either in autumn or spring, into small pots or trays filled with John Innes No.1 or fine seed compost. Firm the compost gently, then scatter the seeds thinly and evenly over the surface and lightly cover with sharp sand Place a clear plastic bag or sheet of glass over the pot or tray to maintain humidity and shade until germination. Autumn-sown seeds should be overwintered in a cold frame Germination requires 18–21°C (65–70°F) and can be slow and erratic As soon as the seedlings have two true leaves and are big enough to handle, prick them out 2.5cm (1in) apart Plant out in May, into a sunny or lightly shaded spot, in the ground or in a container

Plant strawberries in mid-spring or in late summer/early autumn – no later than the first week of September in the northern Britain and the second week of September in southern regions. Planting in August or early September gives them longer to get established before fruiting, so they should produce a better crop. Strawberries like fertile, well-drained, slightly acidic soil. In poor or heavy soil, it’s preferable to plant them in raised beds, which provide better drainage and increased rooting depth. They grow best and produce the sweetest fruits in full sun, but will tolerate some shade. Alpine strawberries thrive in light shade. Avoid planting strawberries in sites prone to late frosts, which can damage the flowers – strawberry black eye, or in exposed locations, which make it hard for pollinating insects to reach the flowers. Also, don’t plant in ground that has previously been used for potatoes, chrysanthemums or tomatoes, because they’re all prone to the disease verticillium wilt,

What is the best time of year to plant strawberries?

Plant – The best time of the year for planting strawberries is in the spring. The easiest way to grow strawberries is to plant strong, vigorous young plants. Cover the roots with soil, but don’t plant too deeply. The central growing bud must stay above the soil so sunlight can reach it and cause it to sprout.

You can grow strawberries from seeds, but plants won’t bear fruit until the year after planting. First, stash the seeds in the freezer for 4 to 6 weeks to jumpstart germination. When planting, use Miracle-Gro® Seed Starting Potting Mix and barely cover seeds because they need some light to germinate, a process that will take about a month.

Be sure to water well after planting.

How long do strawberry seeds last?

Strawberry seed can remain viable for two or more years depending on how it is stored. If frozen it can last beyond the two year period, though germination percentage drops as time goes on.

What are the black seeds on strawberries?

The black dots that cover strawberries are actually fruits formed from the separate carpels of a single flower. The fleshy and tasty portion of a strawberry derives from the receptacle of a flower with many separate carpels.

Why won’t my seeds germinate in a paper towel?

Troubleshooting: why are my seeds not germinating? – Sometimes the paper towel trick doesn’t work, or you run out of patience waiting for seeds to sprout. Here are a few reasons why your seeds aren’t germinating despite your best efforts:

The paper towel is too wet: Seeds swimming in water may rot before they sprout, especially if they require a longer germination period. The paper towel is too dry: Seeds need consistent moisture to germinate, and you may need to mist the paper towel periodically to keep them moist. Seeds need more exposure to sun: Certain seeds require light to germinate, so if your baggies are tucked away in a room that sees little to no light, try moving them closer to a window. Seeds are too old: All seeds have an expected shelf life, and that shelf life diminishes under certain conditions. Use this seed life expectancy chart to find out how long your seeds should last. Seeds require scarification or stratification: If it seems like your seeds are especially stubborn, they might need special treatments in order to germinate. Check out these six tips for germinating hard-to-start seeds,

View the Web Story on germinating seeds in paper towels, This post updated from an article that originally appeared on February 1, 2013.

How do you know if a seed has germinated?

What is a germination test? – A germination test determines the percentage of seeds that are alive in any seed lot. The level of germination in association with seed vigor provides a very good estimate of the potential field performance. While the speed of germination varies slightly across varieties, seeds should absorb moisture within two days and produce a root and the first leaf within four days.

How long do seeds take to sprout?

How long does it take for seeds to germinate? – Different seeds take different lengths of time to germinate, so it is always worth checking how long it typically takes. Some are quick to germinate, taking 1-2 weeks at most, such as chillies, beans, sunflowers and pumpkins,

1. Some seeds take more like 2-4 weeks, such as mango and parsley,
2. Others, depending on how warm/cold it is, take closer to 2 months, for example avocado,
3. If seedlings haven’t appeared after the typical length of time for a particular seed, it’s worth trying again with seeds from a different source.
4. It’s possible that the seed was simply an unlucky dud from the parent plant.

Give it another go.

How do you plant sow easy strawberry seeds?

Alpine Strawberry seeds grow into an aromatic plant that produces tasty, crimson colored strawberries. – It’s a joy to grow these strawberries in pots and borders with its compact foliage dangling delicious fruits all summer long! These are best started indoors in the early spring.

1. For better luck with germination, freeze strawberry seeds for two to four weeks in an airtight container or sealed plastic bag.
2. Then, remove the container or bag from the freezer, wait until it’s reached room temperature to open, and then sow the seeds in peat pellets or seed starting mix and place the seed-starting tray in a warm, but not hot, location.

Strawberry seeds require cold stratification. What is it? Certain seeds require cold plus moisture to germinate because cold air allows gases to enter the seed, which helps them break their dormancy. Also called moist-prechilling, moist chilling, or cold-moist stratification, the typical temperature range for breaking dormancy using this method is 33–50°F, with strawberry seeds tolerating temperatures as low as 20°F.

• Cold stratification in a refrigerator or freezer imitates the cold of fall and winter, which helps some seeds—like strawberries—”wake up” to germinate.
• Please review our gardening guide on the subject to learn more about seed stratification.
• Growing Information Chevron Down Chevron Forward Key Features Chevron Down Chevron Forward Botanical Name: Fragaria vesca Flavor: Fresh, wild strawberry taste.

Preparation Ideas: A great choice for making strawberry jam. Plant Type: Fruit Fill Weight (grams): 0.1 Instructions Chevron Down Chevron Forward Start Alpine Strawberry seeds indoors 5-8 weeks before the last killing frost in the spring. Or, sow 2-3 seeds together outdoors every 2′.

• Thin to 1 plant every 8″ when seedlings are a couple of inches tall.
• Planting Depth:,125-.25″ Seed Spacing: Sow Alpine Strawberry seeds roughly 3″ apart in rows, keeping rows approximately 8″ apart.
• Suggestions Chevron Down Chevron Forward Seeds will germinate best between 65 and 75 degrees.
• For better luck with germination, freeze strawberry seeds for 2-4 weeks in an airtight container or sealed plastic bag.

Remove the container or bag from the freezer, wait until it’s reached room temperature to open and then plant.

What are the black seeds on strawberries?

The black dots that cover strawberries are actually fruits formed from the separate carpels of a single flower. The fleshy and tasty portion of a strawberry derives from the receptacle of a flower with many separate carpels.

What are the seeds on a strawberry?

The Strawberry: A Multiple Fruit When we think of fruits and vegetables, we’re pretty sure about which is which. We tend to lump sweet or sour-tasting plants together as fruits, and those plants that are not sugary we consider vegetables. To be more accurate, however, we must consider which part of the plant we are eating.

1. While vegetables are defined as plants cultivated for their edible parts, the botanical term “fruit” is more specific.
2. It is a mature, thickened ovary or ovaries of a seed-bearing plant, together with accessory parts such as fleshy layers of tissue or “pulp.” Thus, many of the foods we think of casually as fruits, such as rhubarb (of which we eat the leaf stalks), are not fruits at all, and many of our favorite “vegetables” actually fit the definition of fruit, such as the tomato.

As a subcategory of fruits, berries are yet another story. A berry is an indehiscent (not splitting apart at maturity) fruit derived from a single ovary and having the whole wall fleshy. Berries are not all tiny, and they’re not all sweet. Surprisingly, eggplants, tomatoes and avocados are botanically classified as berries.

• And the popular strawberry is not a berry at all.
• Botanists call the strawberry a “false fruit,” a pseudocarp.
• A strawberry is actually a multiple fruit which consists of many tiny individual fruits embedded in a fleshy receptacle.
• The brownish or whitish specks, which are commonly considered seeds, are the true fruits, called achenes, and each of them surrounds a tiny seed.

These achenes also make strawberries relatively high in fiber. According to the Wellness Encyclopedia of Food and Nutrition, one-half cup of strawberries supplies more fiber than a slice of whole wheat bread, and more than 70 percent of the recommended daily allowance of vitamin C.

1. The cultivated strawberry is a hybrid of two different parent species.
2. Because they are hybrids, cultivated strawberries are often able to adapt to extreme weather conditions and environments.
3. While California and Florida are the largest producers, strawberries are grown in all 50 states.
4. Strawberries are a significant crop in Pennsylvania, but they have a relatively short season.

According to Carolyn Beinlich of Triple B Farms, a local pick-your-own berry farm in Monongahela, Pennsylvania’s ideal strawberry season lasts three and one-half weeks. The plants form their fruit buds in the fall, so adequate moisture at that time is vital.

Since October 1996 was a rainy month, Beinlich is looking forward to a bountiful strawberry crop this season. The recipe shown here is among Beinlich’s favorites for celebrating the strawberry season. For more information about Triple B Farms, call 258-3557. Lynn Parrucci is program coordinator, and Amy Eubanks is a research assistant, at the Science Center’s Kitchen Theater.

Botanist Sue Thompson of Carnegie Museum of Natural History, also contributed to this article. *** Visit the Kitchen Theater at Carnegie Science Center to learn more about the science of cooking, and get a taste of what we’re cooking and a recipe to take home.

1 quart strawberries, washed and drained well, stems removed 3_4 cup white sugar 11_2 Tablespoons cornstarch 1 1/2 cups water 1 3-ounce package strawberry gelatin 1 9-inch baked pie shell

Boil sugar, cornstarch and water until clear (about 10 minutes). Mix well with strawberries and spoon into pie shell. Refrigerate three hours. Top with whipped cream if desired, and serve. Carolyn Beinlich of Triple B Farms will present a cooking demonstration on strawberries at the Science Center’s Kitchen Theater Sunday, June 1, at 1:30 and 3:30 p.m.