Dole Superkids
Strawberries
History
Did you know that strawberries grew wild in Italy as long ago as 234 B.C.? That’s more than 2200 years ago!


Wild strawberries were discovered in Virginia by Europeans when their ships landed there in 1588. Early settlers in Massachusetts enjoyed eating strawberries grown by local American Indians who cultivated strawberries as early as 1643. After 1860, strawberries were widely grown in many parts of the county.

Strawberries have been grown in California since the early 1900’s. Today, over 25,000 acres of strawberries are planted each year in California and the state produces over 80% of the strawberries grown in the United States.

On Average, each acre produces about 21 tons of strawberries and the state produces one billion pounds of strawberries a year! WOW, that’s a lot of strawberries!!


How the Strawberry got it’s name

There are many explanations. Some believe that the name came form the practice of placing straw around the growing plants for protections. Others believe the name originated over 1000 years ago because of the runners that spread outward from the plant.

The name may have come from the Anglo-Saxon verb to strew (spread) and the fruit came to be know as streabergen, streberie, straibery, and finally, STRAWBERRY to the English.

*Images courtesy of www.sallys-place.com