Strawberries command a short but sweet season
By Linda Hepler Beaty
Sun contributor
June brings a veritable explosion of colorful produce to farmers market stalls, and there are few offerings more welcome than this month’s first fruit: strawberries. While not everyone knows that the bright red orbs aren’t botanically berries (those fruits produced from one flower with one ovary and containing seeds on the inside), most know that hands down, strawberries are a universally favorite fruit.
And if you’re in Leelanau County in June, chances are that the local fresh strawberries you bought at the farmers market or a grocery store came from the Bardenhagen Farm in Lake Leelanau. Steve Bardenhagen bought the 180-acre farm from his parents in 2008, and with wife Pam — along with a great deal of help from his dad, Gary — grows cherries, strawberries, flowers and vegetables. While the largest acreage of the farm, which dates to the 1800s, is planted in cherries, productive strawberries comprise 10 acres of land, with an additional seven acres of strawberry plants recently established.
While the Bardenhagens grow several varieties of the fruit, the two that they’re focusing on are Earliglow and Jewel. Both have large berries, with Earliglow producing a bit earlier than Jewel. It also has a lower yield, said Pam. “But the payback is its amazing flavor.”
“They are the tastiest and sweetest of strawberries,” added Steve, so remarkable in flavor that Bardenhagen Earliglows are used in American Spoon’s award-winning “Early Glow” strawberry preserves.
Strawberry farming is not for the faint hearted, as they need frequent tending. The Bardenhagens use a “matted row” system to maximize production years (between 2-4 years) and yield of the strawberry field. In this system, the strawberry plants are placed at even intervals in a row on cultivated land, then allowed to grow until they produce runners, or “daughter plants.” The runners are trained to grow within an established area in the row, eventually creating a matted tangle of plants. Strawberries are only picked after a year of growing, said Steve, then the plants are mowed down immediately after the last harvest, which dries out the land and reduces pests. Eventually, though, despite the best of care, the plants succumb to disease, pests and weeds, and new fields must be established.
Far more interesting to strawberry lovers than growing methods, though, is exactly when those berries will be ready. In general, said Steve, “the berries appear about 30 days from blossom,” although picking commences at the farm only after there are enough berries ripe at once (enough to yield a flat, or 8 quarts of berries, within 30 feet of a row, explained Pam). This year, the Bardenhagens expected to be picking by June 10, “although we’re not 100 percent sure,” said Steve.
Picking is done daily by hand, and very carefully, to keep the cap attached and to avoid bruising the fruit, as well as to avoid trampling on the strawberry plants. The Bardenhagens are thankful to have employed the same excellent family team for the past 20 years for the three-week harvest, which commences each day, seven days a week at 7 a.m. The early morning harvest is delivered by 1 p.m. to groceries, including Hansen Food in Suttons Bay, Leland Mercantile, NJ’s Grocery in Lake Leelanau, and Gabe’s Country Market in Maple City, for immediate sale. Berries picked throughout the remainder of the day, said Pam, who estimates that at the peak of the season, 10,000 pounds of strawberries are harvested daily, are taken for processing by Leelanau Fruit Company (they wash and freeze the berries) and American Spoon. The berries are also sold at farmers markets in Leelanau and Grand Traverse County and new this year, said Pam, will be sold at a farmstand on the Bardenhagen property.
While there are many recipes for food and drinks made from strawberries, Pam’s favorite way to eat strawberries is fresh out of the field. Steve agreed, but after a moment of thought added, “Shortcake is pretty good, too.”
Strawberry fun facts
• Strawberries are grown in every state in the U.S., and throughout the world (there’s even a museum in Belgium dedicated to the fruit). California produces about 75 percent of our country’s strawberry crops.
• The ancient Romans believed that strawberries had medicinal value, and used them for everything from digestive woes to sore throats.
• The French believe the delectable fruit is an aphrodisiac, and frequently serve a traditional dish of strawberry soup to newlyweds.
• The average strawberry has 200 seeds.
• Strawberries are low in calories and high in vitamins, especially vitamin C. They are high in nitrates, too, which makes them an ideal pre-workout food, as nitrates increase blood and oxygen flow to the muscles.
• If you just can’t wait for your strawberries to turn red, you can enjoy them just prior to first blush, when they’ve softened a bit. At this stage, they’re quite tart and often pickled and used by chefs in a variety of dishes. “Green” strawberries can also be added to salads or used in cakes.
