I want to eat some Strawberries,
I want to eat them NOW.
I want to eat some Strawberries,
I want to eat them when I like!(sung while picking Strawberries)
We moved South in 2006 (Ouachita Mountains, Arkansas), and started growing our own.
We grow two different varieties:
an early
"June Bearing" (Sequoia), and an
"Ever Bearing" (Ozark Beauties).(The "Ever-bearing" is not quite true. They stop in June, with
maybe a few in late Summer).
The two peaks overlap in the Spring for an extended harvest.
The Strawberries are peaking now,
and we are picking about a gallon a day.
This is a HUGE pain in the lower back,
and we are discussing ways of raising the plants up higher,
like planting in the holes of a cinder block terrace retaining wall.
We have found Strawberries to be very
Labor Intensive,
but worth the effort.
We are having fresh, ripe Strawberries for breakfast,
Strawberry Short cake,
Strawberry Ice Cream,
Strawberry Sorbet,
and
putting up 4 pints of Strawberry preserves/Frozen Strawberries every 2 days.
Strawberry plants are very hardy,
easily surviving the coldest Winter here.
The biggest pain is thinning them out in the Spring,
but not every year is like this one.
This has been a GOOD year for Berries, so far.
The Blueberries are next, and look good.
Then come the wild Blackberries!
(I feel a little guilty posting this
because other DUers are having a
difficult year.
Good Luck and
Fertility to all.)