How many strawberry plants per person
Plan on about 12 to 13 plants per person for fresh eating and 25 per person if you also want to freeze berries or make jam. NC State Extension's small fruit chapter puts 50 plants in the garden for a family of four, and University of Maine Extension's strawberry bulletin suggests 100 plants for a family of four that wants a surplus to freeze or preserve. The calculator uses those two figures per person and rounds up to whole plants.
Strawberry plants for 1 to 6 people
| People | Fresh | Fresh + preserving | Harvest, fresh (lb a year) | Harvest, preserving (lb a year) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 13 | 25 | 4 to 7 | 8 to 13 |
| 2 | 25 | 50 | 8 to 13 | 17 to 25 |
| 3 | 38 | 75 | 13 to 19 | 25 to 38 |
| 4 | 50 | 100 | 17 to 25 | 33 to 50 |
| 5 | 63 | 125 | 21 to 32 | 41 to 63 |
| 6 | 75 | 150 | 25 to 38 | 50 to 75 |
The harvest range comes from NC State's yield table: about 1/3 lb per plant a year for everbearing types and 1/2 lb for June-bearing types. Ohio State University Extension notes a June-bearing plant in a matted row may give up to one quart in its first fruiting year.
The figures are a middle, not a rule. Ohio State, for example, says 25 plants normally feed an average-sized family, half of NC State's count. Start with the lower number if strawberries are one fruit among many, and the higher one if they are the fruit your household eats most.
How much room the plants take
For a family of four eating fresh, 50 June-bearing mother plants at 21 inches fill about 88 ft of row, the figure the calculator shows. Rows go 3 to 4 ft apart, so plan the garden space with the aisles included. Day-neutral plants at 8 to 12 inches need about 33 to 50 ft of row for the same count.
In a raised bed, the square foot method sets 4 plants per square foot, which puts 50 plants in about 13 sq ft. That is much tighter than June-bearing mother plants set 18 to 24 inches apart, as the strawberry spacing calculator shows.
Timing the harvest
Buy plants for the crop you want in the year you want it. June-bearing plants in a matted row give their first crop in the second spring, as Utah State University Extension explains, and Ohio State expects a bed to give its best crops for about three to four years. Day-neutral plants fruit in the planting year but are usually replanted after one or two seasons. If you want berries every year without a gap, set out a new bed a year before the old one gives out.
To size the rest of the vegetable garden for your household, use the garden size calculator. For other fruit, see raspberries per person and blueberries per person.