When selecting the perfect strawberries, prioritize shiny, bright berries with a vibrant red color, which, while varying by season, should be consistent across the fruit. Crucially, examine the calyx—the leaves at the top of the stem—ensuring they possess a fresh green glow, a clear indicator of recent harvest and vitality. You can be confident that our strawberries are ready ripened at the point of purchase, guaranteeing immediate enjoyment of their peak sweetness and flavor.  

  Day-Neutral Varieties:

  Day-Neutral strawberry varieties are exceptionally favored within South Africa's export-oriented strawberry industry, holding a strategic advantage due to their remarkable ability to produce fruit continuously and prolifically throughout the entire growing season, irrespective of fluctuations in day length. This unique characteristic empowers South African growers to significantly extend their harvest window, moving beyond the limitations of traditional seasonal production. Consequently, they can consistently supply premium quality strawberries to lucrative international markets, particularly during the crucial periods when other major strawberry-producing regions in the Northern Hemisphere are either out of season, relying on more costly and energy-intensive greenhouse production, or facing limited availability. This continuous fruiting capability not only maximizes yield potential for South African producers but also enhances their competitiveness and reliability as a consistent supplier of fresh, high-quality strawberries on the global stage.  

Short-Day Varieties (June-bearing):

  While the ascendancy of "day-neutral" varieties has fundamentally reshaped the South African strawberry industry by enabling extended harvest seasons and continuous supply, traditional short-day varieties, often referred to as "June-bearing," nonetheless maintain a valuable, albeit more specialized, role. These cultivars remain significant, particularly in specific South African regions that experience genuinely colder winters, providing the necessary chilling hours essential for their dormancy break and subsequent prolific fruit production. Unlike their day-neutral counterparts, short-day varieties typically yield a concentrated, high-volume crop over a shorter, more intense period, usually from late spring into early summer. Furthermore, the South African industry has historically invested in and continues to develop its own locally bred varieties within this group, carefully adapting them to local climatic conditions and market preferences, ensuring a diverse and robust offering alongside the more modern day-neutral selections.