It’s strawberry season here in Florida. Every year at this time, Florida strawberries dominate the markets throughout the country. We Floridians also find these, plump, ripe and sweet little red orbs in profusion at our local farmers markets and at the roadside stands that dot the landscape along our roads. For the more adventurous, there are also some U-Pick farms, where you can dive right in and pick bushels of your own ruby hued jewels.
For the strawberry farmers in our state, it is a multimillion dollar business. For the home grower, it can be a delicious and rewarding endeavor. Strawberries can be successfully in grown in garden patches as well as in pots and hydroponic containers. There is almost nothing in this world as satisfying to the senses as biting into a just-picked strawberry, still warm from the sun, with rivulets of sweet juice dripping down your chin. I know what I’m talking about. My father used to plant a small strawberry patch in his garden each year. His berries were the sweetest and most succulent I’ve ever had. I remember how he used to laugh as he peeked out of our kitchen window to watch all the neighborhood kids sneaking into the garden to swipe a few!
