Strawberry Fields Forever

A couple of weeks ago I cut out an advertisement for a local pick-your-own-strawberries farm.  It has been hanging on our refrigerator ever since - a reminder during daily thundershowers and overcast days that summer must be on the way because somewhere in Iowa, strawberries are growing.

Last week I finally had an opportunity to I take my little people (and their dad) to pick some berries.  It was the first nice day we'd had in awhile, and I was determined to make the most of it.  Picking strawberries in the warm afternoon sun seemed like a pretty good idea.

Having really no experience at a pick your own place, we weren't really sure what we were getting ourselves into.  I wasn't sure how the cost was going to compare to the grocery store - although I assumed correctly that it would be a lot less - or what the quality of the fruit was going to be, but I was willing to give it a try. 

When we got out there, a note on the door said that the owner had just stepped out to the garden, so we walked around the little shed and waved him down.  There were a couple of other families already picking amid the rows and rows of strawberries and an older couple had come in just before us, so they were getting their equipment and assigned a row.  As soon as he had a chance, Dave, the owner of Tannenbaum Trees & Berries in Milford, got us a sturdy box and a white metal carrying basket for it, a little white flag to stick in our row when we were done and then he showed us to a long row of strawberries to to pick as much or as little as we chose.  It smelled amazing - a combination of sunscreen and dirt and strawberry plants baking in the sun.  Abby and I got started right away while Uriah entertained Finn in the grass.  Abby was quite the budding farmer, pointing out where I'd missed something, checking over each berry to make sure it was good and justifying why she left some of the smaller ones (when we come back they'll be bigger).  The berries themselves were obviously a lot smaller than the berries at the grocery store, but I felt much better about their quality.

Abby and I only picked about half of a row which yeilded us about 4 pounds of strawberries.  I'm certain that we could have kept going and we would have harvested some serious strawberry delight, but Finn was getting a little fussy and I wanted to see what we could do with the amount that we had already picked.  So we stuck in our white flag, and headed back to the little shed to pay for our loot - $5.25 well spent. 

And, since I've already used up all of the strawberries that we picked last week and I haven't even made jam yet, we will be back over the weekend to pick some more. 

Check back to see what it is that I've done with these strawberries...posts, pictures and recipes to come!