We are a family who loves fresh fruits and veggies, so when the opportunity came to pick strawberries, we loaded up the van and headed to the strawberry fields!
I thoroughly enjoyed our little adventure. It was a great morning that rolled science lessons, math lessons, a field trip, a buffet, and a fun time all in to one.
We divided the girls into teams of one Big, one Middle, and one Little with a basket and a goal. The boys grabbed a basket and headed off with manly swagger to fill theirs faster than their sisters. It is always a race. Whatever it is, it is always a race!
They worked hard, but enjoyed every moment of it. My job was to run the filled baskets up to the “office” and grab an empty one for them to fill.
In the picture above, you can see my boys (Israel -2, and Noah -14) roaming the fields eating and picking. I am not sure if any of the strawberries that made it into Israel’s hands were ever put into the baskets.
The strawberries were so ripe, juicy, and sweet.
At the top of the fields stood an old shack whose front porch served as the “office”. It fit perfectly with the couple who handed out baskets and took payment.
We took our bounty of eight overly full gallon baskets home to process. The little trick of using a straw to core each berry worked beautifully. Simply use a clean straw to poke through the berry from the bottom up towards the stem. It will core it and pop the top off with ease.
We put all of the tops, cores, and trimmings to the side and fed them to the chickens. They were delighted with their treat! Oh, the happy squawking!
I dried 5 trays of strawberries in my dehydrator. The chips will be used in our homemade energy bars. They add nice crunch and flavor.
I cut up and froze a large portion of the strawberries to use in cobblers, smoothies, pies, and homemade ice cream this summer.
I also attempted to oven dry strawberries as seen in this pin on Pinterest (http://pinterest.com/pin/102527328989401617/). It did not work well at all. The berries never dried as described and were far too moist to can in jars or bags. Mold would have spoiled them quickly. It is too bad it didn’t work. If you try to oven dry them (not dehydrate them into chips), and it actually works, let me know what you did! I am still intrigued by the idea.
With our strawberry harvest such a success, I am now looking toward our next fruit-filled adventure at the end of the month when we head out to pick peaches!
Do you enjoy getting out to the farms and being a part of the harvesting?
All for God’s glory,
~Rhen
Find me on:
Granny helped to really set the tone for the room with the quilt she blessed Noah with for the 14th birthday he recently celebrated. His bedroom makeover was a part of his birthday present from Dad and I.
