Little Yellow Wonder Strawberries
Last year, on a whim, I purchased a packet of ‘Yellow Wonder’ strawberry seeds from Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds. I started the seeds mid-summer and planted them in my garden in the fall.
The plants are compact, about 8-10 inches tall and very lush. I’m using them as a ground cover and edging in the front foundation garden. ‘Yellow Wonder’ is an alpine strawberry, so it doesn’t put off runners. This is why they’re in the front garden, I don’t have to worry about them taking over like some strawberry plants might.
The best part of these strawberries is that they’re everbearing, meaning they’ll bear fruit all summer long and into fall. They started producing a few berries in the spring, when the regular strawberry plants fruited. I wasn’t sure I would like them at that time, the fruit seemed a little mushy and they weren’t producing very many berries. About mid-June things changed. They started producing nicely and the fruit tastes much better, I’m actually quite fond of them now. They have an exotic flavor much like passion fruit, they’re really wonderful topping a salad.
Being able to grow interesting varieties of thing is one of the reasons I garden and grow edible things. I’m quite certain I never would have tasted a yellow strawberry had I not planted them in my own garden. Now I’ll be enjoying these little yellow beauties on my salads all summer long!
Do you have any interesting varieties of fruits or vegetables you’d discovered?
Beautiful. How do they taste as compared to the red strawberries? I agree, getting unusual varieties is a lot of the fun of growing things oneself, and especially if it is one of those “surprise” attempts.
to Mangochild's comment
They’re quite good, very exotic. Not strawberry flavored, necessarily. I’d say kind of like mango, or something similar. The texture is softer than most strawberries, more along the lines of wild strawberries.
to Susy's comment
I have never heard of such a thing! They are so cool!
to pam's comment
eee! I actually bought a packet of these seeds too! Although… sadly, I wasn’t successful in getting them to germinate.
Is there any special way that you got them to sprout? I am not sure if my slightly-on-the-cool-side basement was the proper place to start these particular seeds in the spring… I do have some left over, so I might try one more time before I resort to purchasing a plant from Annie’s Annuals… hehe!
And they taste of mango/passionfruit?! That makes me happy beyond belief, and I need these strawberries right now! Mmm. They look amazing on that salad too, so does your sandwich as well… mmm;
to Donna B.'s comment
I simply sprinkled them in a flat, lightly pressed them into the soil, put them on my front porch (that gets afternoon sun) and kept them watered, they germinated nicely.
It’s a venison sloppy joe on a homemade roll (although we call them sloppy juans because we make them hot & spicy).
to Susy's comment
Those do look yummy! How about the birds and the chipmunks – do they leave them alone better than the red ones? We’re about to institute a Chipmunk Relocation Program around here!!!!
to Mija's comment
I haven’t noticed the birds and the chipmunks bothering them. Our outdoor cat is doing a wonderful job with our chipmunk population.
to Susy's comment
…Too cute! :o)
…I with Donna B. up there, is there anything special you have to do to get strawberry seeds to germinate? I never thought to try and growing them from seed, I always purchased plants…
…Thank you and enjoy your berries!
…Blessings… :o)
to tj's comment
Those look really good. I thought strawberries were just strawberries. Once again, completely mistaken.
to Turling's comment
I love heirloom pole beans, they are my primary garden obsession and the reason I first put a seed to ground. I give a new variety a try every season (this year it is Hidatsa Shield Beans.) I keep meaning to sow strawberries but forgetting, maybe next Spring, now that I know I can control alpine strawberries, maybe I will put them along the bed where I’ll be planting asparagus.
to Jaspenelle's comment
I bought some wild strawberries this year. They’re much smaller than cultivated ones, and have a slightly sharper taste, but they’ve produced lots and lots of berries so far. They do put off runners, so I’m hoping to have many more next year!
to Wider Sky's comment
Wow! Yellow strawberries, I’ve never seen those before. I don’t think we have any exotic fruits growing. But I’m tempted to try those yellow strawberries now!
to Kendra @ A Sonoma Garden's comment
Interesting!
to mamaraby's comment
Very neat — never heard of yellow strawberries. And I never heard of Baker Creek either – but after looking at the link you provided I’m really interested in trying some of their seeds for next year. Thanks for sharing.
to Sandy's comment
Very neat! I for one am looking forward to my yellow pear-shaped cherry tomatoes this summer :)
to Renee's comment
Would you have 6 -plants to sell of yellow wonder strawberry?
to Pat's comment
Ive read that you must deflower the ever-bearing type of strawberries for the first six weeks they put out flowers, this will help the plant establish itself. perhaps this practice will help with the mushy early season berries.
to Daniel's comment
[…] ‘Yellow Wonder’ – a yellow alpine strawberry that produces small yellow pineapple flavored berries all summer long. Compact, about 8-10 inches tall and very lush, perfect for edging gardens. Do not produce runners. (source: started from seed a few years ago originally from Baker Creek) […]
to A Taste of Summer | Chiot’s Run's comment
I planted these too; my seedsd were from baker creek as well. I started them in the same flats as my peppers (8 wks before last frost date), in plug trays. I have a grow-light setup, and I just sprinkled the tiny seeds on top of the soil (seeding mix) exactly as you did, and kept well watered. I’ll be honest, I was totally not expecting any germination. They were last year’s whim purchase as an ‘online special’ that Baker creek often offers. Imagine my suprise when the little leaflets broke through! I had to double check my chart because I had forgotten I planted them even….And, they true leaf out basically right away which I imagine gets them off to a hardy start. I’ll separate the bunches a little bit later for transplanting much as regular strawberries, and throw them into a patch in the garden. Anyway, my point is that even with one year old seeds, a little warmth (they were covered with plastic and heated by the grow lights) they came up wonderfully. Good luck to anyone trying these! There’s enough seeds in the package to get an abundance of plants :)
to Tara's comment