You know it’s strawberry season when the strawberry displays at your local grocery or farmer’s market begin to GROW in size—enormous size—taking up space from the front to the back and all across the produce aisles. The selection is bountiful and the fruits are plump and beautiful. In our neck of the woods, the street signs pop up along the highways boasting “Plant City Strawberries.”

Strawberry Festival

In Florida, Plant City is the epicenter for everything strawberry celebrating the season in grand country tradition at the Plant City Strawberry Festival. Otherwise known as BIG fun, this event has everything from headline country music artists to fantastic youth livestock shows. This year, the event runs from March 1 – March 11 and if you’ve never been, it’s worth the trip.

My strawberries are faring well. I’ve opted for a smaller batch this year, only because I plan on relocating my garden which would entail digging the ruby-red beauties up and out of the ground. It’s never a fun prospect, so I’m trying to avoid as much heartache as possible. Besides, we have a U-Pick strawberry field nearby and can pick to our heart’s content. Then, everything in our household becomes strawberry-flavored–everything from smoothies to dessert, pancakes to pies.

How to Grow Strawberries

If you’re going to try your hand at growing a strawberry plant, pine needle mulch is a must. Berries like their soil acidic and pine needles will do the trick. Strawberries also like fish emulsion, worm poop and general all-purpose organic fertilizer. Make sure to keep their soil well-drained and before you know it, you’ll soon have yourself a ton of beautiful red berries.If you’d like to find a farm near you and try your hand at strawberry picking follow the link provided by Pick Your Own. This is an international source, mind you, and in addition to strawberries, you’ll be able to locate blueberry farms, pumpkin patches—all kinds of stuff! Looking for something new to try? Check out the All Recipes strawberry page. YUM.

Canning

Or how about trying your hand at homemade strawberry preserves? The kids and did and were surprised how easy it was to do. For complete instructions, refer to the recipe on my blog here. Why not have your own “picking party” and invite friends over to harvest your strawberries? My kids always enjoy gardening more when joined by their friends. Whatever you do, have fun and enjoy the sweet taste of Mother Nature.