Sweet Harvest
The strawberries are in full swing now, we harvested our first batch on Monday and enjoyed strawberry shortcake for dinner. Unfortunately Mr Chiots is traveling, which means I’m having to do the picking of the berries. It’s also a problem because he’s the big strawberry eater around here.
I picked roughly five gallons of berries yesterday and I didn’t even get the entire patch picked. Guess I’ll be busy hulling and freezing berries.
Since there are so many, I have been giving them to friends and neighbors. Hopefully we still have a week or two of harvesting before the season wanes so Mr Chiots can enjoy his favorite season.
Do you grow strawberries in your garden?
Filed under Around the Garden | Comments (5)
I do have a strawberry patch. We picked a couple gallons this year, not nearly as good a crop as last year. Time to do some renewal and possibly even switch varieties so we can see if there is one we like even better.
But strawberry season is so far behind us now. I am even almost done with blueberries. We only have 7 bushes and several of them did not produce this year, due to a frost right when they were blooming. But the 5 that did bear have given me over 3 gallons. And they are still not done ripening up.
And for the first time we are getting some decent blackberries. Not a lot but I can see how the patch is finally taking off and once you get to that point there is no going back.
to ann roberts's comment
I’ve been picking gallons a day for almost two weeks. I’ve picked and hulled so many I see strawberries when I close my eyes at night! My June-bearers are finishing up, though. Yesterday I only picked about half as many as I had the day before.
to Rue's comment
We have a strawberry farm close by and went picking on Sunday. The berries are wonderful this year. We have been going picking over 40 years. It was always fun when the kids were little because they would eat more in the field than they would pick. I do have 3 blueberry bushes that are ripening but no picking for a while.
to Chris's comment
Five gallons! How much space do you devote to them and how do you manage pests and chickens?
to Sarah's comment
Susy, ha, yeah, strawberries. I was given strawberry plants last fall from a neighbor at my other purchased vacant lot known as “35th Street Corner”. I prepared a bed and planted all 35 plants. This spring they were all plush and robust with strawberries growing on them. At the point when some were about half ripe and many green ones were in process of beginning to ripen, Bambi and her mom came through and ate every single one. Not only did they eat the berries but they ate every single leaf off the plants. The plants are starting to grow new leaves but there will be no berries until next year when I cover the patch with chicken wire. And so the challenge from wild life goes on.
Have a great strawberry day.
to Nebraska Dave's comment