There is an old saying that goes something like this: "If I tell you the huckleberries are ripe, get your bucket." This saying is to express to someone that you can be relied on to tell the truth.

This old saying is probably based on the early settlers that gathered food, including huckleberries, from the woods. I know from experience, because I picked huckleberries when I was a kid, that it was hard work. Since huckleberries require very specific growing conditions, they don't grow just anywhere. You usually had to walk a long distance to where they were known to be growing, and when you picked all of them in that area, you had to walk another long distance to another huckleberry patch. When huckleberries grow in the wild, the plants are scattered here and there, among the briers and other plants growing in the woods, so you had to search them out. They were not arranged in neat rows like commercial blueberries. Huckleberries usually had only a few berries on each plant, so picking enough for a huckleberry pie was tedious work. Huckleberry plants were not usually loaded down with berries like commercial blueberries.

If someone told you huckleberries were ripe, you wanted to know you could count on that person to tell you the truth before you went to all the trouble to go try to pick them. If you had confidence in that person, you would get your bucket and head for the woods. So when I tell you the strawberries are ripe, get your bucket.

In order for me to give you an accurate and realistic report about the condition of the strawberries in the county, I feel that it is my responsibility to sample as many strawberries as possible from all the strawberry farms I visit. I take my responsibilities very seriously, so as I walk up and down the rows while talking to the farmers, I pick the prettiest berries I see and eat them just to make sure they are as delicious as they appear. That way when I tell you they are ripe, you will know I am telling the truth. You can believe me; the strawberries are ripe, so get your bucket.

We have eight commercial strawberry farmers in Robeson County. I have visited several of their fields and talked to most of the others. Some of them have berries ready now, and the others will be opening their fields to the public this weekend.

The strawberry season will last six to eight weeks, depending upon the weather. If you want to go pick some of the local strawberries and do not know where the fields are located, either call my office for directions to the farm nearest you or visit our web site at http://robeson.ces.ncsu.edu. We are fortunate that we have not had a late freeze like last year, but the weather has been fairly cool for the past several weeks. This cool weather has provided an ideal climate for strawberries to be especially sweet and firm. They will not ripen as fast in weather like this, but they should be even more delicious than they were last year.

The greatest problem you will see if you visit one of the strawberry fields during the next week or so is that the hard rains last weekend damaged some of the berries. As these berries begin to ripen, they are especially tender and can easily be damaged. Most growers now have workers in their fields pulling off these damaged berries and throwing them away. This does increase their costs, but it ensures that you will have a better selection of good berries when you arrive.

Because of the season this year, there appears to be an abundance of pretty berries on all the plants. Because of this, even though a few of the early ripening ones were damaged, there will be plenty more that will ripen after the rains. Take advantage of this opportunity. Get your bucket and visit one of our local strawberry farms for some of the most delicious strawberries in the world.

Let me share a final word about the upcoming Water Conservation Meeting next Monday, April 14, at 10 a.m. at the Cooperative Extension Center located in the O. P. Owens Agriculture Center, Highway 72 West, Lumberton. Although it appears we have an abundance of water because of the recent rains, we should not become complacent, since it can get extremely dry again in a matter of only a couple of weeks. Several months from now, we might be in worse shape than we were this past summer.

Our population will continue to grow, and unless we do something, our demand for water will increase. We do not have an indefinite supply of water, so it is our responsibility to learn to conserve our precious resources as much as possible.

The Robeson County Master Gardeners will present this program titled "What Will We Do When There's No Water Left?" The speakers will share valuable information about water conservation in the home and water conservation in the landscape. I encourage you to come and bring your friends. The strawberries are ripe, so get your bucket.

E-mail address: Everett_Davis@ncsu.edu

Mailing Address:
P. O. Box 2280
Lumberton, NC 28359-2280

Phone: 910-671-3276
Fax: 910-671-6278

Date Created 4/11/08