Posted January 18th, 2025
Now Taking Orders for California Ruby June and Fronteras Strawberry Cut Offs
Order Deadline: February 12
If you recall, last year’s East Coast strawberry crop was decimated by Neopestalotiopsis. By the time we pivoted, the only plants Lassen Canyon Nursery in California had left were Fronteras. This year, we’ve had several requests among larger strawberry farmers to source from Lassen Canyon again. Why? Lassen Canyon’s plants originate in California, and at this point California has shown no signs of Neopestalotiopsis. We’ve heard good reports on the plants we sourced from them last year. Lassen Canyon’s most coveted strawberry plant is the Ruby June, a cultivar they personally developed. If we want West Coast Ruby Junes, we need to order now to secure our supply. Lassen Canyon will plant in mid-February, and if we have our order in by then, they will plant for us!
Pictured: Strawberry cut-off plantfrom Lassen Canyon Nursery.
Credit: Johnathon Godfrey - Olde Carthage Farm
Varieties Offered
Ruby Junes and Fronteras (Although Lassen Canyon Nursery offers lots of other varieties, we were told that ordering multiple varieties would slow down their shipping process and push us to a later October shipment. We put this to a vote among our larger strawberry farmers and they chose an earlier ship date over varietal diversity. We are honoring their request. Ruby Junes and Fronteras are Lassen Canyon’s largest crops, so they can honor their earliest ship date if we stick to those varieties.
Pictured: Strawberry cutoff plants from Lassen Canyon Nursery planted in plasticulture.
Credit: Johnathon Godfrey - Olde Carthage Farm
Are These Plants Organic?
Although Lassen Canyon Nursery does not supply organic certified plants, their cut offs are typically approved for organic production by certifiers because cutoffs are removed from the soil and are a generation removed from an active growing season. Ruby Junes are not offered organically anywhere, and we’ve known several organic farmers to grow them in the past. They provide a great growing solution for organic producers due to their upright growing pattern which encourages air flow around them, naturally reducing fungal issues. As always, you should check with your certifier before ordering. We did look into sourcing organic plants from an alternative California nursery, but those plants are mostly day neutral and are not as viable for the Southeast.
Order Qty: 500s or 1000s
This order is for larger growers. These plants will come in boxes of 1000 cut offs. We are willing to split a box this year but are not taking smaller orders at this time.
Pricing
Lassen Canyon is still setting this year's pricing. We will get pricing in March or April, so we are not taking money at this time, only orders. We will follow up later this spring with a firm price and ask for deposits. We have been told that last year’s pricing may increase ~$5 per 1000. Ruby Junes are going to cost $25 more due to a royalty fee. Our best estimate for pricing is ~$260/1000 (Fronteras), $285/1000 (Ruby Junes) for larger orders of 10,000+ plants, $280/1000 (Fronteras), $305/1000 (Ruby Junes) for smaller orders. There will be a modest upcharge for orders of 500 to split a box.
Freight
The price above does not include freight. Freight will be divided per box among all growers. Strawberry plants will be shipping to us across the country in a refrigerated tractor trailer. Last year, this added ~$20/1000 in freight to the cost of the plants. We will not bill for freight until the time of shipping. Our freight cost will directly relate to how large our order is and the freight rates at the time of shipping. A larger order will mean less freight per 1000, so tell your friends!
Estimated Ship Date
We have been promised Lassen Canyon’s first East Coast ship date which is the first or second week of October.
How To Order
Call, text or email Melinda: melinda@chathamfarmsupply.com, 919-545-4429. Melinda will confirm your order but wait to send pricing until we receive an invoice from Lassen Canyon later in the spring.
Will we be offering other strawberry varieties/ plants this year?
We hope so! Neopestalotiopsis was so devastating last year that East Coast strawberry nurseries are waiting to see how the disease presents itself in their test plots this spring before deciding what to offer. Once we know more, we will let you know.
UPDATE: Neopestalotiopsis (Neo-P) - NC State Extension
FAQ About Growing Strawberries
