Strawberries picky about weather

Red juicy deliciousness. That’s one way of describing Rockingham County’s homegrown strawberries.

Strawberry season is in full swing in the county and growers are picking and selling their crops at road-side stands.

“It looks like we’re having a pretty good strawberry season,” said Kathryn Holmes, horticulture agent with the Rockingham County Cooperative Extension. “We have a lot of strawberry growers and they have pretty good-sized fields.”

The characteristically large, juicy Chandlers are the most common kind of strawberry grown in Rock-ingham County, according to Holmes. The early-ripening Sweet Charlie is another variety of strawberry grown in Rockingham County. Any strawberry lover knows that a freshly-picked strawberry has a superior taste to a strawberry from the grocery store, likely shipped from another state.

“It has more water in it. It hasn’t started to turn color or lose its freshness,” said Holmes.

North Carolina ranks third in the nation in strawberry production, according to the North Carolina Strawberry Association. The majority of North Carolina’s strawberries are sold at markets within the state, while the top two strawberry producers — California and Florida — primarily grow berries for shipping.

May is official “strawberry month” in North Carolina. Cool weather prolongs the season and hot weather shortens the season, according to the North Carolina Strawberry Association.

“Strawberries are like a pansy. They do well in cool weather,” said Harden Brown, a strawberry grower in Ruffin. He said the second week of May was a “tough week” because of all the rain, but the sunny, rela-tively cool weather last week has had a positive impact on the strawberries.

“The sun really helps them,” he said. Brown’s son Justin said too much rain makes the Chandler straw-berries “mushy and soft.”

“In an ideal situation, you’d like to be able to control the water content through drip irrigation system,” he said.

This spring has been a particularly wet season. Holmes said most strawberry growers, including Brown, planted their berries on raised beds with plastic to protect them. J.C. Barham, another local strawberry farmer, called this year’s strawberry crop “fair” because of all the rain.

“We’ve had a lot of cloudy, rainy weather, which has done away with some of them. It’s not strawberry weather,” said Barham. He said he would much prefer sunny, dry days when he can manually water his strawberries to make sure they have the proper amount of moisture.

Barham hand picks the strawberries in his two-acre field. He tries to sell all the strawberries he picks that day at his roadside market on U.S. Highway 158, about 12 miles west of Reidsville.

Despite losing some strawberries to the rain, the Brown’s still have plenty of juicy red Chandlers from their four acres of fields. Justin said his family should have strawberries available through mid-June.

“So far, the supply and demand is matching up pretty well,” said Justin. People want strawberries and the Brown’s have plenty of them. Some of the Brown’s best customers are the banks in Reidsville and Midtown Market in Danville.

To get to the Brown farm from Reidsville, head down U.S. Highway 29 Business straight into Ruffin. Pass the Ruffin Volunteer Fire Department on the left, go down the road three-quarters of a mile and take a right onto Service Road. Headed south on Highway 29 (from Danville), take the Mayfield Road exit and follow the signs for the strawberries. Strawberries will be on sale at the roadside farmers’ market from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturdays. The Brown’s strawberries are also sold at their convenience store — Friendly Video, next door to the Ruffin Volunteer Fire Department.

Other Strawberry Growers in Rockingham County, as listed on www.ncfarmfresh.com:

Tucker’s Farm and Nursery is at 3349 U.S. 220 in the Madison area. The farm offer customers the op-tions of picking their own strawberries and has a roadside market. Hours of operation are 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday and 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday.

D.L. Tuttle’s Berry & Vegetable Farm is on N.C. Highway 135 between Madison and Stoneville. Hours of operation are 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Saturday.

Hall’s Strawberry & Vegetable Farm is at 179 Oakus Page Road. From Reidsville, take N.C. Highway 87 south to Cherry Grove Road. Go five miles on Cherry Grove Road and make a right onto Oakus Page, a short dirt road. Strawberries are at the end of the road. Hall’s offers customers the option of picking their own strawberries. Hours of operation are 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Saturday.

Riverside Farms at 241 Rierson Road in Madison has fresh strawberries. From Highway 311 in Madison, turn on Lindsey Bridge Road, go past the river and turn left on Riverson Road. The roadside stand is on the left. Hours of operation are from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Saturday.

Sammy Manuel sells the strawberries from his farm on Dairy Road just outside Reidsville. To get to the farm, turn left off N.C. 87 onto Sandy Cross and make a right onto Dairy Road. Follow the signs for the strawberries. (Manuel’s is unlisted on www.ncfarmfresh.com).

Baines can be reached at mbaines@reidsvillereview.com or 349-4331, ext. 35.