Farm Fresh Strawberries . . . YUM!!

I picked up an obelisk planter a couple of years ago with the intention of planting hanging strawberries.  It is now in place and filled with plants I transferred from our previous house.Strawberry Tower & Patch  I doubt I’ll get any berries this year, so I was excited to see the ad in our local paper for berries picked per order.

The farmer’s son had just finished picking for the day so I was able to get a flat (6 quarts) of sweet juicy strawberries that afternoon.  A few didn’t make it home . . . a person gets hungry on those four mile drives! 🙂

The next morning I set out to freeze my berries.Processing fresh berries 1  My mother and grandmother would make jam out of half of the berries they collected during the season, the rest would be cut up and froze with a bit of sugar added.  I prefer the same method I use for blueberries, which is to freeze them whole without sugar.

Washed, cored, and run through the salad/berry spinner to get rid of excess moister, the berries are spread onto a cookie sheet for a trip to the freezer.Processing fresh berries 2

Once they’ve hardened (takes about three hours) it’s time to bag them up.  I prefer this method since it allows me to take out the number of berries I need without thawing an entire bag.Processing fresh berries 3

My dear friend Kathy turned me onto this handy little bag holder.  It has a suction cup on the bottom and easily adjusts for gallon size bags.  Processing fresh berries 4

Five quarts out of six for the freezer.Processing fresh berries 5 Half of that sixth quart is still in the fridge, I doubt it will last the day.  The other half . . . well a person gets hungry processing berries!  I think I’ll be making another call to our local farmer.  Although that can wait until tomorrow.

For now, I think I’ll take a break in our newly assembled screen house and ponder what to plant next in the kitchen garden.Patio Screen House

 

 

5 thoughts on “Farm Fresh Strawberries . . . YUM!!

  1. Sandy Rindy
    Kathy - 10 years ago

    You rock! Thanks for the call-out!

  2. Sandy Rindy
    Michael Isabell - 10 years ago

    I will be doing the same thing at some point but it is too early up here for ripe strawberries yet.
    My 2 small strawberry patches are loaded with blossoms and ripening fruit, which I hope are safe from chipmunk and bird raids, but that remains to be seen once the berries begin ripening. I plan on building a tiered, raised bed for strawberry plants, but that will be a little later this Summer. I will also be replacing our long, low raised bed that was here when we bought the place, but again, that will be later……after harvest, since it is in use now. All of the raised beds will eventually be 2′ tall, like the one we built last Fall and the one I built this Spring. I lost 7 broccoli plants this Spring to rabbits, which were planted in a lower raised bed. I learn quickly from mistakes. 😉
    Good luck with is years garden!
    XOXO

    1. Sandy Rindy
      Sandy Rindy - 10 years ago

      It’s sounds like your summer is as busy as ours. Now if Mother Nature would give us a wee bit of a break I could get ahead of the weeds. Good luck to you too!

  3. Sandy Rindy
    Cara - 10 years ago

    We picked and processed strawberries yesterday. In addition to freezing them, we made strawberry “syrup” for pancakes, waffles, and ice cream. The berries are so sweet this year that we didn’t add much sugar.

    1. Sandy Rindy
      Sandy Rindy - 10 years ago

      Cara, so glad you checked in! You’re right this has been a great year for the berries. My blackberry bushes are loaded, now they just need a few days of sunshine.

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