Strawberry picking season in Australia, state by state
Strawberries are the crop Australians pick most, and the one with the most confusing calendar, because the season runs in opposite directions depending on which state you are in.
The short answer
| Where | Season |
|---|---|
| Queensland | June to October (winter and early spring) |
| Victoria | September to December, some farms into April |
| South Australia | September to December |
| Western Australia | September to December |
| New South Wales | September to December, warmer coastal farms longer |
| Tasmania | December to March |
Why Queensland is back to front
Strawberries hate heat and humidity. In the subtropical south-east of Queensland, summer is the worst possible time to grow them, so the industry plants in autumn and picks through the mild dry winter. The farms around Caboolture, Wamuran, Elimbah and the Sunshine Coast are at their best in July and August, when Melbourne and Adelaide have nothing in the ground at all.
That is why a Brisbane family goes strawberry picking in the middle of winter and a Melbourne family goes in spring, and why a national “strawberry season” answer is always wrong for half the country.
The southern season
In Victoria, South Australia, Western Australia and most of New South Wales the season starts in September, builds through October and November, and tails off around Christmas. Some southern farms, particularly in the cooler hills, carry on into autumn with a second flush.
Around Perth, the farms north of the city at Bullsbrook, Gnangara, Wanneroo, Carabooda and Neerabup are the cluster people mean by strawberry picking in Perth, and they run through spring. In Victoria the Yarra Valley and the Mornington Peninsula carry most of the pick-your-own strawberry farms, and in South Australia they are scattered through the Adelaide Hills and the Fleurieu.
Tasmania runs latest, picking through high summer into autumn.
Practical notes
Strawberries are usually priced by the punnet or by weight, and many farms simply sell you a container to fill. Pick with a little of the green cap attached and twist rather than pull, which keeps the fruit from tearing.
Go early. Strawberry rows get picked over quickly on a fine weekend morning, and by mid-afternoon on a busy day you will be hunting. Wear closed shoes, since the rows are usually mulched and often damp.
Do not wash them until you are ready to eat them: strawberries absorb water and go soft fast.
See strawberry picking farms across Australia, or find what is open near you on the map.
Updated 27 August 2026