Growing Strawberries in Florida

A Research-Backed Home Garden Guide for Raised Beds, Containers, and Vertical Planters

Grow strawberries on Florida’s schedule, with guidance that explains both what to do and why.

Florida strawberry gardening doesn’t follow the spring-planting advice you’ll find in most gardening books. Our growing season is different, and knowing when to order, plant, feed, and harvest makes a difference.

In Growing Strawberries in Florida, Jennifer Paul of Space Coast Harvest combines research from UF/IFAS and other sources with lessons from her own garden, including the mistakes that changed how she grows.

Whether you’re planting your first few strawberry starts or trying to improve last season’s harvest, this guide helps you make informed decisions without assuming you have commercial farming equipment or years of experience.

Inside the Book

Florida’s strawberry season: When to preorder plants, plant them, expect harvests, and remove them at the season’s end.

-Choosing plants: Varieties suited to Florida and the differences between plugs, potted plants, and bare-root plants.

-Preparing your growing space: Soil, potting mix, drainage, pH, planting depth, spacing, and mulch.

-Watering and fertilizing: Practical approaches for raised beds, containers, and vertical planters, with explanations of fertilizer labels and soil-test results.

-Pollination and harvesting: How berries develop, when to pick them, and how to handle your harvest.

-Pests, diseases, and troubleshooting: What to look for, what to investigate, and when to seek help.

-A season-at-a-glance reference: A convenient summary to revisit throughout the growing season.

This is a detailed guide you can read from beginning to end or return to when a question comes up in the garden. Illustrations, reference tables, cited sources, and personal experiences help connect the research to everyday gardening decisions.

AI Use: Written by Jennifer Paul, with AI assistance for editing. Illustrations were generated using AI tools under her direction, then selected, revised, and reviewed by her. Jennifer is responsible for the final content and recommendations.

What's Not In the Book

Hydroponics

Two Formats Included

Your purchase includes both PDF and EPUB editions of the same book. Choose whichever works best for you, or use both.

PDF: Open, Read, and Refer Back

The PDF preserves the book’s page layouts, illustrations, and tables.

1. Download the PDF using the link in your delivery email.
2. Open it in your web browser, Adobe Acrobat Reader, Apple Preview, or another PDF reader.
3. Zoom in as needed, or print selected pages for your personal use.

Best for: Reading on a computer or tablet, viewing reference tables, and printing the season summary. A PDF can also be read on a phone, though you may need to zoom in.

EPUB: Read With Adjustable Text

The EPUB adapts to your screen and lets you adjust the text size in a compatible reading app. Text within illustrations does not resize independently.

1. Download the EPUB using the link in your delivery email.
2. Open or import it into an EPUB-compatible reading app, such as Apple Books.
3. Choose your preferred text size and reading settings.

Using a Kindle? Visit Amazon’s Send to Kindle, sign in to the Amazon account connected to your Kindle, and upload the downloaded EPUB. After it processes, sync your Kindle or Kindle app to access it.

Your Shopify purchase does not automatically appear in your Kindle library; the Send to Kindle step adds it.

Delivery

Download links are emailed after payment. Keep your delivery email so you can find your files again, and check your spam or promotions folder if it doesn’t arrive.

This is a digital product. No physical book will be shipped.

Written by Jennifer Paul, creator of Space Coast Harvest.

This independently published guide is not affiliated with or endorsed by UF/IFAS. Gardening results vary with location, weather, growing conditions, and care.