I had been saving this link until a particularly depressing and dreary day. I'd say that a gray, rainy, and cold day-after-Christmas fits the bill. Here is a bit of summertime dreaming to cheer you up. The Washington City Paper had published an article last June comparing demure, local Maryland strawberries to their Goliath-like California cousins. Who won? Puh-lease. No contest. Read the mouth-watering piece here and if you froze any of those wonderful local berries, time to thaw some out and mix yourself a nice year-end margarita.We wrote about growing your own strawberries in one of our first issues and I had decent success with a patch of Ozark Beauty ever-bearing ones. (That was my biggest "bumper crop" pictured here.) However, visiting creatures ate more than I did. Plus, they are not long-lived plants and all have pretty much petered out. Looking over all the drool-worthy garden catalogs now flooding my mailbox, I'm tempted to purchase another two-dozen plants. Instead I'll leave it up to our expert local growers and just visit their pick-your-own fields once or twice next June to gather a few pails full. That will leave my sunny edibles patch open to try out some more experimental goodies.
I have a very distinct memory of a berry picking expedition in Maryland from years ago. Roll-your-eyes-back-in-your-head delicious. Best ever. Though I can tell you that they have some very good local farmer strawberries in CA. They just use those gigantic berries for export.
ReplyDeleteTrue, to get a fair comparison of the strawberries we'd need a transporter. (WHEN are they going to get moving on that research?) That way we could sample the MD berries at their prime on a gorgeous sunny day out in the field right off the plant, then *whoosh* on over to a field in CA to do the same. I'm still betting that MD one will win hands down.
ReplyDelete:-)
Not to rub it in or anything, but it is already strawberry season by me. Strawberries and yogurt every day for breakfast until the season ends...YUM!
ReplyDeleteGila
Oh, and you can ask any Israeli--our fruits and veggies are the best! :)
ReplyDeleteGila
Hmm, maybe I should not tangle with Israeli pride -- being the "land of milk and honey" and all, but I think a taste test is definitely in order. Another reason for me to schedule that trip to the Holy Land! If I taste my way through the Israeli countryside and farms, can I write it off as a business expense? ;-)
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely!
ReplyDeleteActually, in all seriousness--you have to go to the Bahai Gardens--you will be in ecstacy.
Let me know when you want to come--I will see what I can do about setting up a proper "business" tour for you!
hmmm....don't suppose you include vinyards in your definition of gardens. If so, add in a couple wine tasting stops as well.
Gila
PS--had berries again this morning. :)
Absolutely! Grapes and vinyards are an essential part of the local MD/VA gardening scene and one must, of course, sample those of other regions to get a real grape-growing education.
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