If you ever looked at the detailed economics of growing a few plants for their harvest, you might want to be careful about your purchase. With the Florida move now complete, I thought it would be great to get in on the March strawberry haul and grow about 10 plants myself. The Florida strawberry season sets plants in October and harvests between February and March, so it was a perfect time to get a quote. At $2.95 per plant at the local garden center I started to think about the average haul from each plant. Usually, it is about a pint or so.
Locally, the in season Florida strawberries usually host prices between $1.50 and $2.50 per pint when in season. At $2.95 a plant, I can’t justify buying the plant for the potential yield. While I love gardening for the excitement of great quality fruits and vegetables, I like to ensure that it is worth my dollar. It really is disappointing. Unfortunately, in Florida, the strawberry is grown as an annual and dies out fully during the summer months, so I really can’t re-populate through division or suckers. If anybody is out there who knows a bit more on this or other resources in the space coast for local varieties that are under the threshold per plant, please leave a comment as I would like to get the cost under control to make it worth growing strawberries. The 3 little snhers can’t get enough of them.