When is strawberry picking season in New Zealand?

Strawberry picking here runs from about November to February, with the peak over December and January. It is the first self-pick crop of the summer and by a distance the most searched: more people look for strawberry picking than for every other crop on this site put together.

The season moves north to south. Auckland and the Bay of Plenty usually open first, often in the first half of November. The Waikato and Hawke’s Bay follow within a fortnight. Canterbury and Otago are typically two to four weeks behind Auckland, and their season runs later into February as a result.

What decides the opening date

Three things, in this order.

Spring temperature. A warm October pulls the first pick forward by a week or two; a cold, wet one pushes it back. This is why no farm publishes its date far in advance.

Whether the crop is under cover. Tunnel-grown and hydroponic strawberries start earlier and finish later than a field crop, and they are far less affected by rain. A wet week that stops picking in an open paddock often does not touch them.

The variety. Camarosa and other early varieties open the season; later varieties carry it through January.

Roughly when, by region

• Auckland and Northland: early to mid November, running to late January
• Waikato and Bay of Plenty: mid to late November
• Hawke’s Bay and Manawatū-Whanganui: late November
• Wellington region: late November into December
• Nelson, Tasman and Marlborough: December
• Canterbury and Otago: December, often running well into February

These are the usual patterns, not promises. Every listing on this site carries the most recent dates we could confirm from the farm itself, and the date we checked them.

What it costs

Farms price by weight or by container, and the container matters: some sell you a fixed bucket for a set price, others weigh what you pick. Prices in New Zealand are GST-inclusive, so what the sign says is what you pay. Where a farm has published its price we put it on the listing, and where it has not, we leave the field empty rather than guess.

Picking a strawberry properly

Pinch the stem about a centimetre above the fruit rather than pulling the berry off. A strawberry pulled off its stem is already damaged, and it will leak by the time you get home.

Pick only fully red fruit. Strawberries do not ripen after picking, unlike stone fruit: a pale one stays pale and sour. Look under the leaves, where the ripest fruit hides from the people ahead of you.

Take a chilly bin. A punnet left on a car seat in January is jam by the time you get home, and unrefrigerated strawberries lose a day of shelf life for every hour they spend warm.

Before you go

Ring the farm or check its Facebook page the morning you travel. A small berry farm can be picked out by lunchtime on a fine Saturday, and rain closes rows at short notice.

See every strawberry farm we list, find one near you on the map, or check what else is ready this month.

Updated 27 August 2026