PLANT CITY, Fla. — There's still some mystery surrounding the origins of strawberries. But, if there's one thing that's certain it's that the tropical fruit has a home here in the Tampa Bay area.
Strawberries are so beloved in the Sunshine State that every year Plant City dedicates more than a week to celebrate the fruit with the Strawberry Festival. It's 10 days of music, games and rides all in the name of the almighty Florida strawberry.
But, how did strawberries become such a staple here in the Tampa Bay region?
Well, it actually all began in the very same Plant City. More specifically, it started with the city's founder, Henry Plant.
According to the nonprofit Florida Strawberry Growers Association, more than a century ago, Plant built a railway to connect Tampa and Plant City in order to help local farmers develop a market for their freshly harvested winter strawberry crop. The strawberry industry continued to grow across the Tampa Bay area, and Plant City was eventually recognized as the "Winter Strawberry Capital of the World."
The reason it received that moniker is that, unlike other parts of the world, Florida is not blanketed with snow during the wintertime, allowing the state to grow all kinds of crops virtually year-round.
Strawberries, in particular, do very well during Florida's winter days. Scientists with UF/IFAS go into a little more detail. Strawberries grow in temperatures between 50 and 80 degrees Fahrenheit and require less than 14 hours of daylight.
That's why Florida has the perfect conditions for strawberry crops to grow in the fall and eventually be harvested in the winter and spring.
All that results in strawberries being a staple of Florida's agricultural industry. In 2019, the state reported that strawberries generated more than $300 million.
