Harry Stacy Farms

How is a Strawberry Produced?

1. First, strawberry plants are grown in nurseries where a mother strawberry plant grows shoots which become daughter strawberry plants. One mother plant can produce up to 20 daughter plants.

2. These daughter plants are cut off of the main plant, chilled and put into boxes then shipped to Harry Stacy Farms.

3. While we are waiting for the plants to arrive, we prepare the ground. We use a tractor to prepare the soil and make beds for the plants. These beds are covered with plastic that will keep weeds from growing around strawberry plants. A special machine then goes through the field and stamps circles through the plastic on these beds, just as a cookie cutter would cut dough. These holes expose the soil and the farmer places the young strawberry plant into the soil through these holes.

4. After about three months from the initial planting, the small plant turns into a large green plant, and flower buds begin to form. These flowers will become strawberries about 30 days later. The process takes us about 6 months from planting to when beautiful red strawberries are ready to be picked.
5. Once this happens, the farmer and the strawberry pickers will pick (harvest) the strawberries off the plant and be able to enjoy the sweetest strawberries imaginable!

6. Within 2 hours of harvest, fresh strawberries need to be refrigerated.