sweet red berry goodness!I have finally eaten a freshly picked, local, organic strawberry and all I can say is, Wow. Last saturday we were on our way to a local state park and had gotten off course. Somewhere near Thonotosassa, FL, in the outskirts of Tampa, we passed a little sign for u-pick organic produce with a picture of a smiling strawberry. It was calling to me! I had just been exploring this subject online, but hadn't made any contacts. Then here it was, serendipity! We pulled down a short dirt road to rows and rows of strawberry plants sprinked with red: Strawberry Passion Farms.
We also picked a few bags full of spinach, lacinto kale, rainbow chard, collards and romain lettuce.
Marco in front of rows of Lacinto Kale, also called Dinosaur Kale- my favorite!It was a beautiful day for fresh food. Even going to the farm, the organic strawberries were a bit more expensive than the regular ones on supersale at the supermarket. It's important to note, though, that strawberries are one of the fruits and veggies that receive the highest inputs of chemical fertilizers and pesticides. It's hard to nuture them along organically and farmers need to be able to live off of what they grow. It's a balance being thrifty and also paying what things are really worth. Spinach is another veggie that often gets a lot of pesticide input. These ones were so fresh and also inexpensive as we got to load up a grocery bag of mixed leafy greens for only $2.50!
The flavor of all of it, totally fresh and warmed in the Florida sun: priceless!
I'm really excited about following what's in season and discovering more Florida farms.
Two of the U-Pick websites I've been exploring:
www.pickyourown.org
www.localharvest.org
4 comments:
There is a u-pick strawberry farm near us too! We will go next month, when they are ripe up here. Later this summer, we will go to a blueberry farm. Yummy! Have you looked at the Florida agriculture department website? The Georgia Dept of Ag is how I find out about the ones around here.
Hey you and Marco, what a beautiful way for both of you to express yourselves. I was thinking of both of you after talking to you today about my brother. Sure, I'll join you both on this journey. Blogging is fun, I like to blog, too. You seemed so sad today I hope I wasn't too depressing. When I saw your sadness it made me sad, so I decided to write and ask if you won't be sad then I won't be sad. I hope to see you, soon. - Art from VH
Hi Art, I won't be sad if you won't be sad. :) And it'd good to remember that the sadness comes out of love, and that I wouldn't change that for anything. It's when you've felt the beauty of that person that their absence breaks your heart.
Hi Laia, yes, I couldn't agree with you more. Okay, let's allow their beauty to live within us as a way to keep their spirits alive and to not forget, yet go on with our lives and hope that they guide us closer to happiness and fulfillment.
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