The quickest way to get strawberries in The Sims 4 is to buy a Starter Fruits seed packet (§35) from Build mode or a computer, open it and plant what you get. Strawberries are a base game plant, so you need no packs. You can also pick them from wild plants on community lots, grow more from the ones you already have, or graft them. With Seasons installed, strawberries only grow in spring.
Strawberry facts at a glance
| Detail | Value |
|---|---|
| Pack | Base game |
| Rarity | Uncommon |
| Plant type | Bush (also fits a vertical garden) |
| Value | §7 at normal quality, §24 at Perfect |
| Season (Seasons) | Spring |
| Special use | Raises the chance of a baby girl |
Buy seed packets
Seed packets are in Build mode under Outdoor Activities (since patch 68) or on a computer. Opening a packet gives your Sim seeds in their inventory. They look like the finished fruit, and you plant them the same way.
| Packet | Price | Gardening level | Possible contents | Pack |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Starter Fruits | §35 | 1 | Apple, Grapes, Plantain, Strawberry (only Strawberry in spring with Seasons) | Base game |
| Farmer Flowers and Fruit | §75 | 7 | Apple, Blue Bells, Chrysanthemum, Daisy, Grapes, Holly, Plantain, Strawberry | Base game |
| Seasonal Spring Plants | §100 | 1 | Lemon, Strawberry, Carrot, Green Pea, Daisy, Bluebell, Rose, Snapdragon, Crocus, Tulip | Seasons |
| Vertical Garden Fruit | §35 | From the vertical garden | Strawberry, Grape, Blackberry, Soy Bean | Eco Lifestyle |
The contents are random, so a packet can give you apples instead. With Seasons, buy Starter Fruits in spring: then strawberries are the only possible result.
Prefer to watch? This short video from Quick Tips shows the steps:
Pick wild strawberries
Plants grow wild on many public lots, and your Sim can harvest them for free. Neighbors’ gardens count too, if your Sim does not mind pinching. Wild plants in a world are random, so there is no single spot that always has strawberries. Open the map, visit parks and community lots and hover over bushes to see what they are. With Seasons, look in spring: out of season the bushes sit dormant and carry no fruit.
Grow your own strawberries
- Put a strawberry or strawberry seed from the inventory on the ground outside, or in a pot or planter box.
- Click it and choose Plant. Gardening level 1 is enough, even for uncommon plants.
- Water, weed and spray for bugs when the plant shows it needs it. A plant left untended loses health every 12 Sim hours and can die.
- Harvest when fruit appears. A plant can hold up to 10 harvestables, and since the Seasons update all plants on a lot produce new fruit at 5 AM.
- Plant some of the harvest to grow a bigger patch.
Two tips from the gardening skill:
- Evolve (level 2): when a plant reaches full health, evolve it to raise the quality. Better strawberries are worth more and make better food. Planting a high quality strawberry starts the new plant at that quality.
- Fertilize (level 3): any plant or fish works as fertilizer. It makes plants evolve faster, but it does not raise quality or harvest speed by itself.
To plant out of season with Seasons, grow strawberries indoors, for example in a greenhouse: indoor plants are not held back by the season. Our guide to changing the weather covers the seasons and weather cheats.
Grafting with strawberries
From gardening level 5, Sims can take a cutting from one plant and graft it onto another. These pairs with strawberry give a third, rarer fruit:
| Graft strawberry with | Result |
|---|---|
| Blue Bells | Grapes |
| Daisy | Bonsai Buds |
| Snapdragon | Dragonfruit |
It does not matter which plant is the base. A grafted plant grows in the season of the base plant.
Strawberries and baby girls
Since patch 17, a pregnant Sim who eats strawberries or listens to pop music has a higher chance of a girl. Carrots and alternative music raise the chance of a boy. It is a nudge, not a guarantee, and it does not work on babies from alien abduction. Our baby gender guide has the details, and the pregnancy cheats page covers the rest.
Cheats that help
There is no official cheat that spawns strawberries. Cheats can still speed things up:
motherlodegives §50,000 for seed packets.stats.set_skill_level Major_Gardening 7unlocks the Farmer packets right away (enabletestingcheats truefirst). See how to max skills.
FAQ
Do I need a pack to get strawberries?
No. Strawberries, the Starter Fruits packet and the Farmer Flowers and Fruit packet are all in the base game. Seasons and Eco Lifestyle only add more packets.
Why do my strawberry plants not grow?
With Seasons, strawberries only grow in spring. In summer, fall and winter the plant goes dormant. Move it into a greenhouse or wait for spring.
How much is a strawberry worth?
§7 at normal quality and §24 at Perfect. That makes them a weak cash crop; their value is in cooking, grafting and the baby girl bonus.
Can I grow strawberries in a pot?
Yes. They also fit in vertical gardens.
Do strawberries guarantee a baby girl?
No. They raise the chance. Combine them with pop music for the best odds.
Can I get strawberries on console?
Yes. Everything on this page works the same on PlayStation and Xbox.
Sources: The Sims Wiki pages on Gardening (The Sims 4), Pregnancy and Gender.