Strawberry season is short and it's time to pick berries

Hi friends,

It’s been a hot week. Elizabeth Gardner, the meteorologist on WRAL, said it’s been the warmest April on record. It’s a dance trying to spread the water around to all the crops. The strawberries get the most love. I’m constantly walking the rows scouting for damaged berries, pulling weeds, cutting runners, checking for ripe berries. I’m averaging 7 miles a day walking back and forth from the market stall to the berry patch and up and down the rows. I’m trying to keep these plants healthy so we can have berries for as long as possible. Strawberry season is short and we have to make the most of it!

It’s all about those ripe berries. Eating them straight from the fridge, filling your freezer so you can have a taste of spring all year long. Making your beloved jam recipe, busting out the strawberry shortcake on a Sunday morning.

Lately I’ve been cutting up a bunch of berries, tossing them with some sugar and lemon (fancy term is “macerating”) and storing them in jars in my fridge for quick go-to snacks, breakfast and dessert. The options are endless. Spoon some on top of yogurt with granola. A great topping for oatmeal and waffles in the morning. Strawberry peanut butter burrito rollups. On top of ice cream. How do you like to eat your strawberries?

I’m slowly figuring out our hours for the farm. I’m still updating my voicemail every day with current hours. The berry hotline is 919-627-2946. We’re also updating Facebook daily with the hours. We are closed Friday, May 2 so the berries can rest and the farmer can tend to the tomatoes, basil, blackberries, blueberries, muscadines, elderberries, passion fruit and more.

We’ll be open Saturday May 3 from 8 am to 4pm. As always, “Call before you come” in case anything changes!

Your Farmer,

David Heeks

P.S. The sugar snap peas are just starting to fruit. We will have a few on Saturday, and we should have them pre-picked daily for a few weeks.

P.P.S. I attended a pollinator garden workshop by Debbie Roos in Chatham County last year. I designed my garden on paper and I’m finally beginning installation at the farm. We broke ground this week by opening up the rock walls of one of the old barn foundations. I’m so excited. Not only will this be beautiful, but it will be attract so many pollinators that also tend to be predators for the bugs that can be problems on the crops.

Pollinator Paradise in Pittsboro