I read this entire thread yesterday from start to finish. I really appreciate the input Steven.
Dax
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i’m not a fan of whole foods market—my purchases there have been expired, or had live silk worms in them, or been moldy—but my wife recently got some strawbs from WF and they were hands-down the best strawbs i’d ever tasted.
as expected, the packaging said nothing about the particular variety. makes me want to grow my own, with the strain selection based on this thread’s recs. thanks for everybody’s input.
I think your ire is misplaced. Whole foods is more subject to the juggernaut that is Discole then they are to the consumers. Driscole decided what a market ready berry was long ago. On the off chance a market ready berry tasted good you would ever be able to obtain the cultivar as they only use inhouse developed strains.
Yeah that’s big! i would have let it ripen more. The tip is not red.
I have a few archer strawberries that big.
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I picked early and let it more ripen on the couter for tasting flavor . I like them a lot more than Seascape Strawberry . Their stem longer and stronger than the others to hold the fruits up high above the ground to keep away from slugs . Go ahead to read info about Puget Crimson Strawberry very interesting Drew .
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Good info thanks.
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Guess I’ll have to get some Flavorfest to try. I have Mara de Bois, White D, Earliglow, San Andreas, and Seascape. White D is probably my favorite sweetness and flavor wise but not traditional strawberry flavor. The rest all seem fairly good but not the best strawberries that I’ve ever eaten. None of them really seem that great this rainy year.
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when i was young my father used to have a bed of sparkle. I’ve tried many cultivars over the years and never found the taste as good as them. wonder how flavorfest compares? a lot of u pick farms up here, until very recently , grew sparkle. the berries were medium size but prolific and taste was to die for! i may have to do a mixed bed of them next spring.
This year was set back by an early freeze last fall. The consequences of the even went unnoticed till this spring. Even the strawberries, were damaged. I lost some in containers. So not a good year to judge them. Ironic but some plants I did nothing for, no straw cover etc. are doing the best.Those were Sonata, from Nourse. Farms. They offered them with their pineberries and someone here, sorry, i already forgot who? Gave me some of both. The pineberries are not as good as White D, I still grow them though. Anyway the Sonata is huge, and is sweet and a touch tart, when not fully ripe. When ripe it’s all sugar. Very acceptable not fully ripe,. I’m having mold issues as I didn’t spray this year. So picking them a little early helps. Excellent strawberry the Sonata. It’s large, not super firm. Juicy, and refreshing when cold. Stood out above others. A top shelf cultivar.
I’ll have to give them a try. I’ve also had it with Driscoll’s hard and flavorless berries. Thanks for the tip Vincent. I just had three 4’ x 8’ raised beds and I can dedicate one to berries. Yay!
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I ordered over hundred of Seascape but only 25 Puget Crimson from Raintree last year. Now I like Puget Crimson very much , Tasting so wonderful flavor. You should try and be sure to plant them separately with the others strawberry Quill.
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I’m beginning to think that any could be the best under the right conditions as some rated poorly are anything but here, so a lot depends on local conditions. I have also noticed a trend towards picking not fully ripe berries. Hard to judge if not left on the plant long enough.
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Trialling Yambu this year, they seem promising. Not overly large. I distrust very large strawberries.
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LOL, yeah well considering the ones they sell. This year, a strange year I must admit. The big ones are the best so far.
The most recent Illinois fruit & vegetable growers newsletter reports poor strawberry harvests across the state this year.
![20180612_073252[1]](https://d55v7rs15ikf5.cloudfront.net/original/3X/c/d/cdc411d4d5098b3cb02eab004f9f126224f2aa95.jpg)
New to strawberries, trying two varieties, AC Wendy and Darselect. Built a frame out of 2x12 that will be covered with chicken wire eventually. Any info about these varieties or suggestions appreciated…
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Tried Wendy a couple years ago, it didn’t seem very vigorous, but that was when I was having a lot of trouble getting my new bed started
I got some AC Wendy plants last summer. They grew and produced well. The berries were sweet but not as intensely flavored as I like, though most of my producers were in a greenhouse, which can mess with flavor. They were impressive in their hardiness though, overwintering with ease with no cover or consideration of any kind. I also tried some Cavendish, which were also very hardy, (though not quite as tough as AC Wendy) which I liked the flavor of better.
