Oh boy, are we lucky to get these. Last season, Nichols experienced significant pest pressure on their strawberries and weren’t able to include them in the shares. Despite the slow start, the strawberries are looking great this year. You’ll notice how deep red these strawberries are. That’s because Nichols doesn’t irrigate them. Overwatering strawberries (all berries really) just waters down the berries themselves. Industrial ag does this because it increases yield, essentially just selling water in berry packaging (mind you, usually from water scarce areas: California, Texas, Mexico). These strawberries from Nichols are concentrated deliciousness.
It’s been a great year for strawberries. Plenty of water earlier on in the season to get them growing, and now a lack of it to keep them concentrated with flavor. An extra helping of strawberries were included with this week’s shares so that we can all enjoy them to the fullest.
Last spring’s weather was dramatically different than this year’s. Between draught like conditions along and a mite issue, Nichols produced very few strawberries. This year, the farm reports that the mite issue is lingering a bit, but there will be enough for us all to enjoy. They are a deep red and very delicate, although a little bigger than they were just a week ago.
