There are SO many varieties of strawberries, I sould start by going to a local nursery and asking a professional what type they recommend for your area – they will most likely sell the best ones for your area…sometimes there are micro-climates within one region that will affect growing such that a trained nursery-person could give you the best advice -

Also, when you are at the nursery, check out the Sunset Western Garden Book (since I see you are in California), and turn to the strawberries page

Best of luck!!!!
And good eatin’

I lived in the San Joaquine Valley for several years. While I, myself, did not grow strawberries, many of the local farmers did. They put about 10% of their plants out in Feb – in a good year they got a jump on the season – in a bad year, they lost that whole planting. Most of the main crop was put in the ground around the end of March. Late May/Early June was Strawberry Heaven on Earth Time :-)

You can get “Ever bearing” strawberries and they will produce a small amount of fruit per plant over the course of the summer or you can get “June bearing” which will produce a bigger crop per plant, but pretty much it will produce it all at one time.

I now live in the High Desert in Nevada. I ordered 12 Ozark Beauty last year from http://www.starkbros.com (they have a section on growing strawberries on their website, too) The runners now fill a 4×8 ft raised bed. I could have had strawberries last year, but had “dog invasion” problems (the garden is now fenced and canine-proofed). I am hoping to have “lots” next year :-)

If you have been bitten by the gardening bug, visit http://www.davesgarden.com to meet a bunch of like-minded people. Friendly and lots and lots of info and advice.

Good luck!