When Is Strawberry Picking Season? It Depends on Your State, the Variety and the Year
GardeningNorm is reader-supported. As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases — at no extra cost to you.
Strawberry picking season starts as early as January in the warmest parts of California and runs into July in cool northern states, and in any one place the main crop lasts only about three to eight weeks. The rule that makes sense of the map: berries ripen about four weeks after the flowers open (Penn State says 28 to 30 days, NC State about 30), so your season starts roughly four weeks after your local bloom, and bloom follows your spring. The table below shows what extension services, growers’ groups and local reports say. Use it to pick the month to start checking, then confirm with the farm, because one warm winter or one late freeze can move a date by weeks.
| Place | Reported picking window | Source (type) |
|---|---|---|
| Florida | Harvest from November (UF/IFAS) or December (grower association) to April; UF/IFAS puts the peak in February and March. Commercial farms usually open fields to pick-your-own only at the end, around April | UF/IFAS Florida Fresh (extension); Florida Strawberry Growers Association |
| Southern California | Best picking in April, sometimes as early as January or February, through June. Statewide, strawberries are harvested all year, with the peak overlapping April through August | FOX 5 San Diego (news report); California Strawberry Commission (industry group) |
| South Carolina | Midlands and Coastal Plain: late March. Piedmont: early April. Mountains: late April | Clemson Extension |
| Texas | Peak in April per a farm directory. The commercial season is short, six to eight weeks, and in 2024 it began two to three weeks earlier than in the previous three to four years | PickYourOwn.org (directory); Texas A&M AgriLife Extension |
| North Carolina | Mid-April to the end of May, depending on weather | NC Tripping (travel blog) |
| Massachusetts | First week of June, then four to five weeks into early July | UMass Extension |
| Michigan | June and early July; June-bearing plants give “one big crop in June” | Plate & Press (local guide); MSU Extension expert on Ask Extension |
| Oregon | Willamette Valley generally June; eastern Oregon as late as July. Main crop about four weeks | Oregon State Extension |
| Minnesota | June-bearing mid-June to early July (home gardener guide) or mid-July (grower guide, 3 to 6 weeks). Day-neutral from early July until frost | University of Minnesota Extension |
Why the dates differ so much, even inside one state
South Carolina is the clearest case: Clemson lists late March for the Midlands and Coastal Plain, early April for the Piedmont and late April for the Mountains. Three things move the date.
- Bloom sets the clock. June-bearing plants form their flower buds in fall under short days, sit dormant over winter, and develop fast when spring warms (UMass). From open flower to ripe fruit sources give 28 to 30 days (Penn State), about 30 (NC State) and about four weeks (Clemson, University of Minnesota). If you can see open flowers, add four weeks.
- Strawberries are a cool-season crop. A Texas A&M AgriLife Extension horticulturist says plants do well with daytime temperatures into the low 80s and cooler nights. Freezes hurt blooms, while warmth tells the plant the end is near: lose a fruit set to a freeze and the plants can shut down sooner, cutting the production window “by several weeks.” Elevation works the same way, which is why South Carolina’s regions sit a month apart.
- Variety and growing system. Cultivars are rated early, midseason or late (Penn State), and NC State suggests mixing them to stretch the harvest. Plastic-covered beds with row covers bloom and harvest earlier because the soil warms faster (Penn State), and Texas growers who used row cloth saw earlier production in 2024 (AgriLife). So a farm down the road can open weeks before yours.
A warm winter can move the season by weeks
- California, 2026: a University of California Cooperative Extension strawberry adviser said record February heat sped crop development by several weeks. In the Watsonville-Salinas district growers had harvested nearly 2.9 million crates by early April, against about 230,000 in the same period of 2024 (Fruit Growers News, summarizing California Farm Bureau reporting).
- Texas, 2024: after a mild winter the season started two to three weeks earlier than in the previous three to four years (AgriLife).
So last year’s date on a farm’s website is a hint, not a promise.
Strawberry season is not the same as pick-your-own season
Florida shows the gap: the Florida Strawberry Growers Association says commercial farms do not open their fields to u-pickers until the end of the season, usually April. Even in season the field may be empty. AgriLife reports that some pick-your-own farms are harvested out within several hours and customers are sometimes turned away, and a Michigan guide says a farm may open in the morning and close once its ripe rows are picked.
A four-step check that fits all of this:
- Find the farm’s same-day status (website, phone message or social post), not last year’s date.
- Ask which variety is in the field and whether it is early, midseason or late. Farms often plant several, and a patch that is open is not the same as a patch that is full of ripe fruit. This question is my suggestion, built on the early-to-late cultivar ratings above.
- Go at opening. Given the harvested-out-in-hours reports, early is the safe time, and one San Diego-area farm tells visitors that earlier in the day is typically less busy.
- Check the rain policy. The same farm closes its fields when it rains (FOX 5). Bring your own containers, as the Florida Strawberry Growers Association advises, and for low rows something soft to kneel on, such as a garden kneeler pad.
June-bearing, everbearing or day-neutral: which one is the farm offering?
| Type | When it fruits, per sources | What to know before you go |
|---|---|---|
| June-bearing | One main crop in late spring or early summer, about four weeks in Oregon (Oregon State). In South Carolina it bears most of its crop in April and May (Clemson) | The name misleads: it means one crop a year, not June. This is the type for jam and freezing in quantity |
| Everbearing | Two crops: one in the June-bearing season and another in late summer (Oregon State) or early fall (NC State) | Oregon State calls everbearers less desirable than day-neutral types because they are less productive. Clemson says they are poorly adapted to the mid-South and coastal South Carolina |
| Day-neutral | Throughout the growing season, from early June to the first killing frost in Massachusetts (UMass), early July to October in Minnesota (UMN) | They fruit in flushes and can pause in midsummer heat (Penn State). Oregon State says no flowers form at 90°F or higher; Arizona Extension says growth turns leafy above 85°F. Stores often label day-neutral plants “everbearing” (Oregon State) |
Is it ready? What to pick once you are in the patch
| What you see | Pick it? | What the sources say |
|---|---|---|
| Fully red, no white anywhere | Yes | UMN: harvest only fully red berries. Oregon State: ripe fruit is fully red |
| White at the shoulders or tip | Leave it for the next picking | UMN: berries showing white anywhere, shoulders included, should wait |
| About 75 to 80 percent red | Only with a reason, such as a long drive or heavy rain on the way | Oregon State: picking at 75 percent red stores longer and the color deepens, but the flavor is much better if the fruit ripens on the plant. AgriLife: at least 80 percent red, 100 percent ideal |
| Very dark but unblemished | Yes, for cooking | AgriLife: may be overripe, but fine for jelly, jam and cooking |
Don’t count on the drive home to finish the job. The California Strawberry Commission and AgriLife both say strawberries do not ripen further after picking, and a UC Davis postharvest sheet says they do not respond to ethylene, so they should be harvested near full ripeness. Oregon State is the one source that notes color deepens off the plant, while saying the flavor is better if it ripens on the plant.
Growing your own? Your picking season starts at planting
A home patch follows the same calendar, one step earlier. Planting dates are local: October in NC State’s area, late October through November in northeast Florida (UF/IFAS), April to early May in Pennsylvania (Penn State), and September 15 to November 15 below 3,000 feet in Arizona (University of Arizona Extension). A few first-year rules from the sources:
- June-bearing plants produce very little fruit in the planting year, and the highest yields usually come the year after (Oregon State).
- Pinch the flowers off day-neutral plants for the first six weeks after planting (UMass); first fruit then comes about ten weeks after planting.
- Day-neutral types suit containers best, since they send out few runners (Oregon State). A raised bed works too, and there is a way to grow strawberries indoors in an AeroGarden when the outdoor season is over.
- Birds: Clemson names netting as the most effective protection and says to anchor it around the whole planting, or birds will walk under it. A roll of bird netting is cheap insurance.
Sources: Oregon State Extension, Growing Strawberries in Your Home Garden (EC 1307); University of Minnesota Extension, Harvesting Strawberries; University of Minnesota Extension, Growing Strawberries in the Home Garden; UMass Extension, Strawberries Through the Whole Growing Season; Clemson HGIC, Strawberry Types; Clemson HGIC, Growing Strawberries; Penn State Extension, Growing Strawberries; NC State Extension, Strawberries in the Home Garden; University of Arizona Extension, Growing Strawberries in Home Gardens; UF/IFAS Florida Fresh, Strawberry; UF/IFAS Nassau County, Planting strawberries; Florida Strawberry Growers Association, U-Pick; California Strawberry Commission, Strawberry FAQ; Texas A&M AgriLife via Morning Ag Clips, Strawberry season in Texas (2024); Fruit Growers News, Texas strawberry season (2022); Fruit Growers News, California strawberry volumes (2026); FOX 5 San Diego, strawberry fields; UC Davis Postharvest, Strawberry; Plate & Press, Michigan strawberry season; Ask Extension, Michigan June harvest strawberry variety; Ask Extension, June vs everbearing strawberries; PickYourOwn.org, Texas strawberry farms; NC Tripping, Strawberry picking in North Carolina.
FAQ
Can you pick strawberries in fall? Only from day-neutral or everbearing plantings. Day-neutral plants keep fruiting until the first killing frost (UMass), and Minnesota growers using low or high tunnels can keep picking into October (University of Minnesota Extension). June-bearing fields are finished by midsummer. Florida’s new season begins in November (UF/IFAS).
Are supermarket strawberries “in season” when local ones are not? On the shelf, yes. California, which produces about 90 percent of U.S. strawberries (Fruit Growers News), harvests all year (California Strawberry Commission). A Texas A&M AgriLife horticulturist says shipped berries are harvested somewhat earlier than local ones so they reach grocers in marketable condition.
What do I do with the berries when I get home? Cool them quickly: NC State says to bring them to 38°F as soon as you can. Don’t wash or hull until you are ready to eat (Penn State says wait until just before use; UF/IFAS says hulling before washing makes them absorb water). Michigan State University Extension, as relayed by a Michigan guide, says to use them within a few days; I found no extension source with a firm number of refrigerator days. If you also have blueberries, see how long blueberries last.
What if it rained last night? Two things. Some fields close in the rain (FOX 5). And wet weather affects the fruit itself: Oregon State says rain may dilute flavor and lead to fruit rot, and an AgriLife horticulturist says too much water dilutes the sugar measurement in strawberries. The sources give no number of dry days to wait, so ask the farm how they judge it.
Does the time of day matter for picking? A little. Clemson and NC State both say early morning, while the berries are still cool, and Penn State adds that you should wait until the plants have dried, so skip the dewy first hour. Keep picked berries out of direct sunlight (Penn State).
