The Garden Dirt: Happy Summer!

Today is the first day of summer, and the longest day of the year. It is fitting that today was the first day Backyard University students could enjoy the season's first strawberries. Mathberries, if you're nerdy.

These came out of Mathberry Tower, but they didn't look this ready-to-eat when I picked them. I used to leave berries to ripen in the sun, all the way, until they were dark and sweet and ready, and...already invaded upon by some other critter! It never failed. I'd have my eye on a berry as it ripened, and as soon as I went to pick it, I'd find a hole full of pill bugs, already taking their share.

So, now I pick them when they're still a little greenish-white. Overall, the berry has to have a good reddish tone going on, but not more than that, or it emits the tantalizing smell of eat me to the tiny world of theiving arthro- and pseudo- pods that lie waiting in the shadows. I am no match for that dark army. They feast at night, when I am snoring. I am like a cartoon antagonist, bumbling to tuba music.

After picking, lightly brush away any dirt, leaves, etc. stuck to the berry, and set in a windowsill to ripen, turning every day. Do not wash them! Leaving the berries dry is important them getting ripe without rotting.

You'll know when it's ready to eat by the color, and even though sun-ripened all the way would be ideal, it still beats grocery store produce. Sometimes, we cut the tops off of them and freeze them, collecting them in a sealable bag in the freezer. This makes our little trickle of strawberries into an actual usable portion, good for making jam, syrup, or adding to pancake batter.

Have a long and lovely summer day!