I am genetically predisposed to craving strawberries in February. I am from the west coast of Florida-the Tampa Bay area-and just east and a little south of Tampa is Plant City which is known for The Strawberry Festival which is in February.
At the monastery we have a strawberry bed that is several years old and which I have been cultivating back to health using the UK Extension Office periodical on Growing Kentucky Strawberries. However, no amount of nurturing was gonna get me strawberries in February from this bed.
But continuing the nurture, I carefully removed spent mothers to make room for the energetic daughters, covered with a layer of straw and waited.
April brought blooms
May brought berries
Memorial Day, Strawberry shortcake.
I wish I had a picture of the shortcake but it went really, really fast. The berries had wonderful flavor but were a bit tart for some tastes, hence the need for shortcake.
Me, I ate my first bowlful right out of the bed, dirt and all-the best reason for growing organically.
Yay! I has strawberry shortcake with my mom for breakfast this past Sunday! I also steal strawberries from the PMSS gardens every time I walk past.