It’s the end of May, and folks are anxious to visit the farm and pick strawberries. Unfortunately, Strawberries have been closed and are not available for picking. Our strawberry crop is limited to start the season. But the good news is strawberries will be plentiful in June and last longer into the summer than in past years. It’s a confusing and frustrating experience when you are ready to pick, and the crop just isn’t there. We wanted to shed some light on why this is happening and the exciting things to come on the farm this summer!
Last May in 2022 we planted about 5 acres of strawberries. We covered them in straw, as we do every year to protect them from the winter, but when it was time to uncover them and start watching the plants grow, not much happened. These plants are what we count on to offer pick-your-own early in the season. Our Farm Manager, Norm, has said so many times “We farm with science” but sometimes things like this happen even despite our best efforts and it’s a little bit of a mystery.
Knowing that the crop was going to be light to start the season, our crew shifted gears and purchased some larger strawberry plants. On April 15th, 2023 we planted acres of Cabot strawberries. These plants were bigger and more mature, so they will be ready for harvest around June 20th of this year!
Our Farming community in Delaware County and the surrounding areas is tight knit. In conversation with other farmers, Norm has realized that the early crop is light for a lot of folks this year.
One of our main missions through our pick-your-own program is to provide a small look into agriculture for those who may not experience it every day. The struggle with the early strawberry planting this year is something that all Farmers deal with at some point in their growing seasons and a very realistic look into agriculture.
If you are interested in learning more about strawberries, we encourage you to watch this True Foods TV segment with Farmer Norm How Does It Grow: Strawberries.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0V1vPC2ir4Y
We are currently picking sunflowers, peonies, lettuce, and garlic scapes and we can’t wait for this summer! The peach crop looks amazing, and soon enough we will have strawberries to enjoy! We want to thank our community for your support and understanding! We will see you soon!
