Our first fruit of the season. I’m going to chalk this into the Success category, but not quite the Resounding Success category. It’s the first fruit to make it that high on my personal sliding scale that starts at Total Failure and moves upward.
The two reasons that the first strawberries do not rate higher are that these unnamed cultivar everbearing berries are being grown in gallon containers on my porch rail, and because the dreaded brown rot attempted to lay claim to the first ones the day before they were totally ripe.
However, my desire to have unrotted fruit exceeded my reticence to spray. Within an hour of seeing the first damage, all strawberries in containers and in the field were treated with Captan, and everyone was warned to wash any fruit they might sneak. The success was that ONLY the first few needed to have some surgical removal of damage or be disposed.
So, for three days we have had a few ripe strawberries to enjoy. The earliest planted June-bearers (Jewel) in the field have young berries developing and should have ripe berries shortly after this first flush of the everbearers is consumed.
Everyone has said these unnamed berries are delicious. My own opinion is that they are okay, not great. I believe the only reason their opinion is so high is because these were the first, in limited supply, and fresh.
Sorry, no pics. The three year old granddaughter was here. So, they were gone quicker than you could snap a shutter.