1. STRAWBERRY FACTS STRAWBERRIES ARE CULTIVATED WORLDWIDE FOR THE TASTY FRUIT.

2. Strawberries are grown in every state in the USA

3. California is #1 in Strawberry Production California produces 1 Billion pounds of strawberries each year.

4. Florida is #2 in production

5. Strawberries are not true berries because the seeds are on the outside! BlueberriesCranberries These are true berries because the seeds are on the inside.

6. Strawberries are the only fruit with the seeds on the outside!

7. There are 200 seeds on the average strawberry

8. Strawberries are the first fruit to ripen in the Spring

9. In a survey over half of the children ages 7-9 picked strawberries as their favorite fruit.

10. Nutrition Facts about Strawberries No Fat No Salt Good Fiber Lots of Fiber Lots of Vitamins Lots of Minerals 1 cup is only 55 calories

11. They are good food for YOU

12. Strawberries are a member of the rose family Rose Strawberry

13. Strawberries have been cultivated a long time The ancient Romans thought that strawberries cured most illness.

14. Native Americans called them “Heart Seed Berry”

15. Name Legend: English children placed a berry on a piece of wheat straw and sold it that way.

16. Strawberry Cultivation in North GA We use the Matted Row Method. Plants are placed 2 feet apart and Runners (baby plants ) will fill in between the original plants.

17. Remove the flowers in the spring of the first year This allows the plant to use its energy to produce runners instead of fruit.

18. Fertilize twice in the first Summer Keep the bed weed free. Weekly the plants will need 1-1/2 inches of water. Water plants if it does not rain. They are shallow rooted so use mulch to keep the soil moist.

19. Anyone want to help care for the Strawberry Babies this Summer?

20. This is the end of the slide show, but it is just the beginning of our strawberry production at Birney.

21. To Introduce the Children at Birney to our Strawberry Production Make a Fun Fact Mini Poster to put in the hall by the garden. I don’t want all of you to pick the same fun fact, so tell me which one you are going to pick. During the Spring the children at Birney will read the mini-posters as they go to Art, Music, or Computer Classes. Encourage your teacher to take your class out to visit the Strawberry babies in their bed.