Strawberry Season

June is here! In the Pacific Northwest, June brings with it warmer days, school’s end, and delicious strawberries.

Strawberries are typically the first summer berry available in Oregon and they come in many different varieties. We’ve put together a handy guide to the types of strawberries you might find at our market this month, and what the differences are between them. If this article gets you curious, you can always ask questions directly to our vendors! The beauty of a farmers’ market is buying directly from farmers, who know their product inside and out.

Hood Strawberries: If we were to take a poll, Hood strawberries could come out as a statewide favorite. These petite berries are beloved for their juicy sweetness, which also makes them soft-skinned. Hood strawberries are a great product to shop at a farmers’ market, due to their fragility. The fresher you can get them, the better! You can recognize them buy their small size and deep red color.

Shuksan Strawberries: Like Hoods, these berries are named for another mountain, this time in Washington state. Because this variety was bred further north, Shuksan are more cold resistant than it’s alpine siblings. You can recognize them from their broad wedge shape and their red or yellow seeds. These handsome berries are perfect for eating fresh, using in baking, or freezing, due to their solidity.

Puget Crimson Strawberries: These berries are a great balance of sweet and tart flavors, which can make them a fun choice for jams, cocktails, or frozen yogurt parfaits.

Seascape Strawberries: These smaller berries are a favorite with home gardeners – I even have some in my backyard right now! Their long growing season (May – September) and excellent flavor make them popular everywhere they go. When you slice a Seascape strawberry, you may notice a heart shape at the center.

Albion Strawberries: These are the type of strawberry you are more likely to find in a grocery store, than as small and fragile as a Hood strawberry. Albions are conically shaped, hardy, and high yielding in the late spring/early summer. They are sometimes pale on the inside.

Totem Strawberries: Originally bred in British Columbia, Totem strawberries do very well in our pacific northwest climate. They are often ripe later in the season and identifiable by their almost diamond-like shape. These berries are firm, making for a good crisp bite, as well as recommending them for baking or freezing.

Tillamook Strawberries: Another Oregon favorite, Tillamook strawberries are bursting with sweetness. This variety is particularly popular with farmers, due to the more open shape of the plant, making berries easier to spot and pick. These plants produce a lot of big, beautiful berries, which makes them a mainstay in many home gardens as well.

It is such a joy to see all these strawberries coming market, looking gorgeous and ready for any home project you may have planned. Strawberry popsicles? Margaritas? Scones? Jam? We are lucky enough to live in a bountiful region full of berries of every flavor, size, and hardiness. The choice is yours!