Strawberry Season

It’s strawberry season here at Seven Oaks, and the fresh strawberries have just started ripening this past week. I love nothing more than fresh strawberries picked from the plants, swiped on a shirttail to remove the dirt, and consumed immediately. There’s nothing sweeter than a fresh strawberry. Even the WORST fresh strawberry makes store ones pale by comparison. To say I’m an enthusiast is an understatement.

My own strawberry patch is in a raised bed approximately 8 feet by 4 feet. I planted “Everybearing” strawberry plants purchased six years ago. The mother plants have successfully sent out runners and rooted daughter plants, which I move every few years during the spring so that the bed can expand.The soil consists of a mixture of compost from the local sawmill, manure and compost, some potting soil and as much additional compost as I can layer on. I find that strawberries are heavy feeders, and the more compost I can add, the better.

The three pests that plague my strawberries are, in order: Japanese beetles, crows, and squirrels. The Japanese beetles eat the leaves, and they do plenty of damage, but I’ve chosen not to use pesticides on my berries. The bed looks awful during June, but by August most of the damage to the leaves done by the chewing insects is overcome.
The birds are another matter entirely. They’re tough to outwit. Netting might help, but I haven’t invested in it yet. As soon as the berries are the perfect shade of ripeness, crows bite the ends off. I try to hide the berries under leaves, which seems to work. If they can’t see it, they don’t eat it.As for the squirrels, well…the only squirrel smart enough to find my strawberry patch last year also found the ripening peaches on the tree near the vegetable garden. Alas, he met his maker when Whitey, one of our outdoor cats, pretended to be a white panther, stalked him and dispatched him to the after life. So far, my strawberries have been fine.How to Grow StrawberriesI’ve written several great links on how to grow strawberries. These articles will teach you how to grow your own strawberries in your home garden.

Strawberry RecipesI don’t have any of my own original strawberry recipes to share today, so I thought I’d be an archivist and instead share three links I’ve found to a ton of great recipes to use your fresh strawberries.

Southern Living shares 51 recipes for fresh strawberries. Their magazine is usually great when it comes to recipes. Some look absolutely mouth-watering!
Cooking Light is always one of my favorite recipe sources. Here they’ve listed 20 recipes for fresh strawberries.
Taste of Home is another magazine which published great recipes. Here is the link to their collection of strawberry recipes.