Has anyone picked strawberries yet this season from around the Clayton area? My usual spot was open over the weekend but is now closed until Wednesday to allow more berries to ripen. Not keen on traveling far (Benson, Fuquay) and I have a container of Cool Whip screaming for some fresh berries to join it. Any other local places that have good berries? I thought there used to be another big one in the area.
Yes..I went by there this morning and they had a sign up saying they were closed until Wednesday. Smart move in my opinion vs. letting people pick strawberries that were not ready. Since I pick and eat them all season, I know I'll be back there but in the meantime....
Is it Porters up on 42 that has the big strawberry at the road and the ice cream stand? Are they open yet for strawberry picking?
We have purchased strawberries this year from Smith's, Porters and Beasleys. Beasleys are the best this year by a wide margain. No so in previous years.
We've always gone to Smith's and been very pleased. This year we tried Porters and were disappointed. We planned on getting a whole bucket, but ended up with just 1/2 buckets because they all looked horrible, either too green, or tiny, or just non-existent.
Those ones I bought (pre-picked) had great color and were good size, some were huge! But just didn't have good flavor.
I ended up waiting for Beasley's to ripen and picked some there. They were not sweet at all. This winter was very hard on the plants and they said they lost many of them. I think this is the trend in the area and the weather is to blame for them not being sweet. We ate about half of what I picked and then ended up throwing out the rest.
I've tried several area farms and they are all very tart. I learned a little trick with them this year, since I had issues with them molding in the frig after a few days. Mix white vinegar 1 part, to 3 parts water. Add the berries and gently wash for a minute. Remove from water, put on dry towel and dry them off. Put in frig. Mine stayed fresh for over a week.
I bought a bucket from Beasleys the other day and they were really good. I don't have the patience to pick them myself!
