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Farm Fresh Strawberries 
Strawberries
Strawberries can be easy to grow. They provide the first fruit of the season, and are quick to bear. When harvested fully ripe in the home garden they have excellent flavor.
Fun Fact: Strawberries derive their name from the practice of winter mulching with straw to lessen winter soil heaving caused by soil freezing and thawing cycles. Other sources say the name is probably a corruption of "strewn berry" which made reference to the fact that, as a strawberry plant produced runners and spread, its berries were strewn about the ground.
Various types of strawberries are available and each type has specific environmental requirements such as temperature and hours of daylight for good production. With the wide range of climatic zones in Arizona it is important to choose the right type of strawberry for your growing conditions.
Strawberries are classified as three types: 1) June-bearing, producing one spring crop per year; 2) everbearing types, producing fruit twice each year, in the spring and fall; and 3) day-neutral types, which produce when temperatures are below 90° F. (32° C.). Each of these classified types have several varieties which can be found at local nurseries.
Get in depth with Strawberries in Arizona by reading Growing Strawberries in Home Gardens by Tom DeGomez of the University of Arizona College of Agriculture & Life Sciences! Discover the different cultivated varieties (cultivars) as well as the best practices for selecting the planting site, soil preparation, planting and of course the care and culture of strawberry plants.
Get Healthy
There are countless ways you can consume strawberries. Whether they are fresh, cooked, or frozen they are a scrumptious addition to your diet. You could add strawberries to smoothies, pies, salad, as a topping for dessert, or just on their own! You can also find strawberries in products such as lip gloss, candy, perfume, deodorizers, and more due to the delicious flavor and beautiful fragrance.
According to WebMD, strawberries are low in calories, packed with vitamins, fiber, and particularly high levels of antioxidants. Strawberries are also sodium-free, fat-free, cholesterol-free and are a good source of manganese and potassium. Just one serving (about eight strawberries) provides more vitamin C than an orange!
Strawberry Recipes
Strawberry Sauce Topping and Filling
History
According to Stwarberry: A Brief History by the University of Missouri, the strawberry is a member of the Rosaceae (Rose) family and goes by the scientific name of Fragaria x ananassa. The letter "x" in its name indicates that strawberry is of hybrid origin and, in the case of strawberry, of two different species.
In 1624 the species of strawberry known as Fragaria virginiana, native to North America, was taken from the New World to France. This specific species is known for being very fragrant but their berries, while abundant, were rather small in size.
Many years later in 1712 the species called Fragaria chiloensis made its way from Chili to France. This species is known for producing large, walnut sized berries.
Over time both of these species were widely grown in European gardens where seedlings produced features of both species started to grow. Naturally, gardeners would want to keep the plants that grew the biggest and the most abundant berries, creating what experts believe were the ancestors of our modern garden strawberry, Fragaria x ananassa.
Farm Fresh #Strawberries
PODCAST | BROADCAST DATE: February 2nd, 2018 | RADIO ARCHIVE PAGE
Julie Murphree from The Arizona Farm Bureau joins us with Patty Emmert from Duncan Family Farms. The leading premium quality certified organic farm growing strawberries and leafy greens like baby tender leaf. Plus what the Drought Contingency Plan means for farmers.Podcast link coming soon! Guests include Julie Murphree with AZ Farm Bureau & Patty Emmert with Duncan Family Farms!
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