Joey's great-great-grandfather strawberry picking.

There is a saying here in Seffner that it always gets cold around the time of the Strawberry Festival. This year, the festival sure did usher in some colder weather. We spent a good bit of last week moving sensitive plants into the greenhouse and then moving them right back out for the weekend. But we'll take a little extra work moving plants if it means holding on to some cooler temperatures. Speaking of the strawberry festival and cooler weather, it is a great time of year to get out and U-Pick some strawberries. When I was little, we'd go picking every year and fill the trunk of the car with flats and flats of strawberries. I always knew it was a family tradition, but I didn't realize it went all the way back to my great-great-grandfather until I discovered a picture of him with his strawberry pail. He's not wearing what I would wear to get out in the fields, but I suppose times are different.

Mark's son Nathan enjoying strawberry eating  picking.

Besides delicious strawberries, the best thing about strawberry picking is watching the kids do it. Last year, Grandpa Kerby went picking with some of the grandkids and as he was picking, he noticed that all of the best strawberries had bite marks in them. He assumed an animal was the culprit, until he caught my daughter Madeleine leaning over and taking a bite out of the strawberries, right off the plant. I guess she didn't see any sense in wasting that extra energy picking. She could really learn a lesson from her cousin Nathan. He definitely knows how to get the most out of strawberry picking! Unfortunately if freezing or canning is your goal, the kids are not usually much help. But getting them out into the fields to see where food comes from and giving them a glimpse of how it gets to our tables is much more valuable than a pail full of strawberries.

Not only is it a great time for picking, it is also a great time for planting. Strawberries are almost finished, but the blueberry bushes at the nursery are loaded with fruit. So take advantage of the amazing weather and get outside, get your hands dirty and have some fun picking or planting in the garden.

Happy Gardening, The Kerby's Nursery Family	Forward to a Friend Follow us on Facebook

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