I'm in s.w. lower MI and a lot of the growers aroung here use Jewel amoung others. I put in 50 plants myself this year for personal use ( too many growers to try to compete) It is one of the best I have ever tasted and they are a very nice looking berry. My customers loved them. Khrone Farms in Hartford, MI sells them along with others.. Good Luck.

http://www.noursefarms.com/Catalog/Category/STRAWBERRIES.aspx

Virus free plants.

now here is my favorite.

Honeoye
This hybrid plant is from the Cornell Research Station, Geneva, NY, and has been a top variety for over twenty years. A foolproof strawberry plant, it combines winter hardiness, high productivity, good appearance and color, together with an excellent, firm, large-sized berry. The large berries are easy to pick, and produce high yields over a long fruiting season, making it our most consistent berry producer. It is an excellent choice for the home gardener who will also appreciate its excellent freezing quality. Optimum flavor is produced by growing this variety in medium to light soil. Honeoye is a vigorous plant with no soil-disease resistance. It remains our #1-selling, early-midseason variety.

http://www.noursefarms.com/catalog/Product/Strawberries/ST-HO/Honeoye.aspx

But you might want to get some to extend the season if you are selling them.

Here is a link that might be useful: all varieties

I also put in 25 Lamour this year. We'll see how they do. You might want to check with other growers to see what does well in your area. As stated above pick one that has a long fruiting peroid , or choose an early, mid and late season variety.

Thanks everyone! I used Ozark because they are supposed to be ever bearing around here (I think that is what my grandfather used years ago and I remember picking them all summer), but either the bed just needs to get established or they are not going to live up to hype. We are small and want to focus on herbs and cut flowers, but need something that can fill in and be something that our customers get used to us having. Not necessarily strawberries all year, but some kind of fruit. We have an established and heavy yielding Seckle pear, two two year old figs and lots of wild muscadine vines. Thanks again for the info - most of the "produce guys" at the markets we do only have strawberries for a few weeks, so if we can do even a limited amount all season that will be a great draw.

We use tri-star and tribute, both from Krohnes plant farm. these are day neutral varieties (as opposed to everbearing which at best will give you 2 paltry harvests a year). The day neutral set a decent but not overwhelming amount of fruit every 6 weeks or so. This makes for nearly continuous harvesting May through frost (or longer if you use hoop houses)

These do best as an annual and on plastic mulch. I use landscape fabric. Unlike June bearers you want to get rid os all runners so the plants make more crowns. Best planted in late summer/early fall.

On 200 feet we get about 30 to 40 pints a week most of the summer (the rate will go down as the plants finish a run than come back up again) which we sell for $4 a pint.

If any of you are anywhere close to SW Ohio we are giving a farm tour/workshop on these berries August 30th from 3 to 6 pm in association with the Innovative farmers of Ohio

Here is a link that might be useful: Boulder belt farm

I loved my Ozarks, wonderful tasting. Not big, but great taste. Have you fertilized them?

I had my Ozark Beauties for 7 years, much longer than anyone expected them to last.

I picked them only 1 time per year, and let them 'do their thing' the rest of the year.

Now we have Jewel, that was planted last summer and produced this spring, and Earliglow, just planted. I would have put in Ozarks but couldn't find them.

Boulderbelt, love your website-and your dogs. My farm dog only weighs 14 pds - maybe as we grow, the dogs will too! Thanks for the info on day neutral. I order my sunflower seeds that way, but never thought about strawberries that way.
Hanselmanfarms, Ozarks are in special pyramids with custom blended soil and have been fertilizing them. Plants are beautiful- had lots of blooms, but minimal fruit that was very tart. Another grower in the valley (I'm on the coast) had the same problem with her Ozarks. We got them from the same source, delivered at about the same time, so we are going to see what happens next spring. I trust this source- have used them in the past, and they guarantee their plants. They offer Ozarks regularly, so email me at radwanskibj@yahoo.com and I will send you the name. I would list it here, but would not want this problem to give them negative publicity.

Thanks for the offer, I'm not sure if I want to put more strawberries in right now. We planted about 500 last years and they made LOTS of runners this year. This year we are in the process of putting in another 200 or so. Hoping they do as well as last year's. I will keep you in mind IF I decide for more.

Your ground may not be as favorable for the Ozarks as mine is, which will change the taste.