Norann Oleson, Editorial Director of Food Gardening Network

Welcome to the sweet world of the most beloved of berries, the strawberry!

The berry we’ve come to know and love is actually the product of two different species from the Americas, so it’s a genuinely home-grown treat. You’ll appreciate the genius that created our strawberry even more after reading this collection.

Strawberries can be found in home gardens, raised beds, containers, and hanging pots. If you’d like to join all those strawberry gardeners, now’s the time to dig in!

First is the collection’s Introduction, where you’ll learn some of the basics about strawberries and how to choose the right variety to grow. You’ll also get the history of this crimson fruit!

Next, in the Feature Articles, you’ll get specifics about strawberry gardening—from the three types of strawberry plants to planting seedlings, watering, fertilizing, and winterizing your plants so that they’ll keep coming back for you year after year.

There’s a lot to know about strawberry gardening, so even if you’re a veteran, you might learn something new. We aim to gather everything there is to know about strawberry gardening into this single collection!

We’ve got seven fun Plant Profiles with the more popular varieties listed, including options for gardeners around the country and those who want to grow strawberries in containers.

While there are more than 200 varieties of strawberries, we’ve chosen these six strawberry plant profiles because these are some of the most commonly grown. If you’d like us to include another strawberry variety that appeals to you, please let me know by commenting below.

After all, this is Food Gardening Network, and we want to include the knowledge of all our gardening readers in everything we do. Your input is just as important to us as anything we come up with on our own!

We do think you’ll love the strawberry Recipes we’ve compiled for enjoying the fruits of your labor. They cover all the traditional uses of strawberries—with a couple of twists, of course—plus some new ideas you might not have heard of before.

You can make jam, shortcake, and smoothies, plus a salad that’s unexpected but completely delicious. And they’ll all taste even better because you’ll know that you grew the strawberries yourself instead of buying less flavorful berries at the supermarket. Everyone will appreciate your hard work when you serve these dishes!

After that, you’ll be interested to learn how all these strawberries are improving your health in Nutrition Facts about Strawberries. You probably knew they were good for you, but you may be surprised to learn about all the nutrients that this yummy fruit provides (hint: more than an orange…).

Then there are the Home Remedies & Health Benefits of Strawberries where you’ll learn how strawberries are thought to help heart health and prevent cancer. You’ll even discover how you can use strawberries directly on your skin to enhance your complexion and other beauty tips! There’s more to this berry than just shortcake!

Because we want you to have everything there is to know about strawberries at your fingertips, we’ve included a Resources section that’s complementary to this collection. You can take a deeper dive into strawberry growing like the pros and even buying strawberry plants when you check out these additional resources.

As always, we’ve included a brief Glossary in case you need a deeper explanation of any key terms. Be sure to let us know if there’s something else you need explained!

I’m off to make a Strawberry Smoothie right now, but I hope you’re ready to dive in and become a master strawberry gardener!