Growers pleased with this year's strawberry crop

Story and photos by Jim Murtagh

After four hours of berry picking under the blazing morning sun, Toni Schiano has red stained fingertips, sore muscles, and a “strawberry tan” on the small of her back. This she wears as a badge of honor. And she should. One hundred quarts of deliciously sweet and shiny red strawberries fill the back of her John Deere Gator.

With the help of her daughter Carmela Lockwood, the pair will hand pick the ripened fruit from 5,000 strawberry plants every morning for the next month.

“We go out there at 9:00 a.m. and don’t come back in until 12:00 or 1:00 p.m.” says Schiano. By the end of the day, the organic berries will be sitting in their wooden containers on the shelves of local merchants like the Guilford Food Center and the Durham Market, tempting customers with their wonderful aroma.

This is the first strawberry crop for Schiano’s Lakeside Farm in North Guilford, which is well known for raising exotic animals like llamas, emus, reindeer and chinchillas, as well as supplying feed to local farmers. Schiano desired to “get more from her land” and decided that growing strawberries, something she is intimately familiar with, would be the ideal solution. As a child, Schiano and her five siblings ran a strawberry stand in the front of their house. Each June, they would be excused from the last two weeks of school so that they could work the berry fields and help support the family.

“Terry and Antonio take a well deserved break after filling the John Deere Gator with freshly picked strawberries at Lakeside Farm.

Schiano still carries her childhood passion for strawberries and is excited to see the plants thriving in her own field. “It’s awesome to see something being produced on your farm.”

Strawberry season begins in June and lasts for about five weeks. The berries must be hand picked within a day or so of ripening, or else they will begin to rot. The back-breaking work is a labor of love for Schiano, but she laughingly points out “You forget just how much bending over it takes. I think to myself, when I was a kid, how did I pick 100 quarts all by myself?”

When her work in the field is finished, Schiano attends to the feed store and the rest of the farm chores. “I must eat a couple quarts in just the time we are picking – they give you the energy to keep going.” she says.

A strawberry patch will produce a bountiful harvest for about four years if properly maintained, but then its yield begins to diminish, and needs to be replaced. The seeds of this unique berry are on the outside of the fruit and are not used to grow new plants. The plant multiplies by sending runners out along the ground. The runners can be harvested and used to start a new crop of plants.

“It looks like it’s going to be a good year for strawberries.” says Randy Perham, Retail Operation’s Manager at Bishop’s Orchards in Guilford. “Picking is really good and the berry harvest is coming along nicely. The weather has been just right as far as a nice gradual build up to berry ripeness.” Strawberries, raspberries and blueberries are all part of the orchard’s small berry program.

Bishop’s Orchards has a combined seven acres of strawberry fields located across from the market on Long Hill Road , and at the main orchard near the Guilford High School . A wonderful experience for kids, the orchard’s “Pick Your Own” program is a welcomed activity for parents and grand-parents. Walking through the fields, searching for the biggest, juiciest strawberry can easily entertain the youngsters for an hour.

Bishop’s Orchards “Pick Your Own” program is immensely popular with kids and adults.

Perham suggests that berry hunters select full red berries thumb-size or larger, and to look at the base of the plant, within the mulch hay, for jumbo berries that other pickers might miss. Strawberries will not ripen after they are picked, so only fully ripe fruit should be harvested. “Stay in the rows and don’t sit down – you don’t want to end up with red stains.” advises Perham.

“Sampling is a good way to check the berry’s ripeness.” says Perham, and he encourages customers to leave a donation in the “sin bin” for the berries that were just too tempting to resist eating while picking in the field. The orchard donates 100% of the money that gets collected in the sin bin to local charities, so you can leave the orchard with a full tummy and that special feeling that comes from helping others.

Strawberries should not be washed until you are ready to eat them and they should be kept refrigerated. The berries can be frozen after they are hulled and sliced in half. Spread the cut berries in a single layer on a baking sheet and freeze until solid. Transfer the berries to a Ziploc bag and store frozen for several months. Thaw in a bowl when needed. Thawed berries will be soft, but are excellent choices for sauces and topping ice cream.

Schiano enjoys her strawberries right off the vine, but occasionally she likes to indulge herself with a bowl full of berries and a dollop of Cool Whip. Perham says the orchard’s strawberry shortcake recipe is a perennial favorite and shouldn’t be missed.

The Pick Your Own schedule can vary daily based on the weather and the availability of the fruit. The orchard hopes to be open for picking most mornings, and all day on the weekends until early July. Before heading out, give the information line a call at 203-458-PICK for an updated schedule. You can sample Lakeside Farm’s strawberries at local merchants and in their North Guilford store. They can be reached at: 203-457-1461.

At Lakeside Farm, everybody helps with the strawberry crop, including Toni Schiano’s grandchildren, Mateo, Terry and Antonio. (L-R).