strawberry gets its start How a
Plants are born at the nursery, raised on the farm
Story by Ching Lee • Nursery photos by Lori Eanes
Whether they end up topping shortcakes, made into jam or smothered in cream, strawberries take quite the journey to get on the plate. InCalifornia, most strawberries are grown along the coast. But those plants got their start elsewhere— usually in regions that typically don’t grow strawberries. Strawberry farmers don’t grow their plants from seed. They rely on companies such as Lassen Canyon Nursery in Shasta County to start that process in controlled environments to produce young, healthy transplants that will thrive once they’re in the ground. “We’re the foundation of the house,” said Kenny Elwood, owner of Lassen Canyon. “It’s very, very important that (growers) start off on the right foot.” The Golden State remains the nat ion’s top strawberry producer, accounting for about 88% of the U.S.-grown st rawberr ies on the ma rket , according to the California Strawberry Commission. Production never stops here, with California farms har vest ing berries in di f ferent regions throughout the year. But it wasn’t always this way.
Strawberries are grown year-round in California, with about 34,000 acres up and down the coast.
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