We hope everyone will join us for
another tremendous Pathfinder Produce market on Thursday, May 21, from 1
to 5 p.m. There’s always such a great assortment that it’s easy to
find just the perfect fresh fruit or vegetable items to share with your
family. We cheerfully accept SNAP cards, personal checks, debit and
credit cards (MC/Visa/Discover), and it’s always great to visit with our
friendly market staff.
MARK YOUR CALENDARS! Saturday,
June 13 is the date for Splash Path
2015. The Early Registration Deadline for Splash Path 2015 is
fast approaching … May 29, so visit our website for copies of the
necessary forms and enter this incredibly fun (and affordable) paint run-walk
today! Also, June 13 will be the day we open the new 5210
Community Walking Trail at Pathfinder Village, which was built in-part
through proceeds of our inaugural Splash Path 5K and Fun Walk. The new
trail will encourage walking as a safe and positive way to stay physically
fit, and ties right in with all our 5210 goals!
***
This weekend as I was mowing and working in
the garden, I noticed that the wild strawberries had really overtaken our
back meadow, some spots in the yard, and even the walkways around the raised
beds. I’m hopeful that these wild berries will produce fruit. I’m
not expecting a bumper crop, but I just enjoy the idea of picking and eating
even just a handful.
Apparently, wild strawberries thrive in cold,
damp weather, just like the weather we had earlier this spring. It seems a
terrible waste to cull the plants growing around the wooden frames in the
garden, and according to SF
Gate, it is possible to “capture” some of these wild plants and start a
special bed. Other links on transplanting wild strawberries are
featured on Gardening
Know How and YouTube
…
I think I’ll use some extra landscape edging I have in the storage shed, some compost we salvaged from an old barn site, and give it a try!
I think I’ll use some extra landscape edging I have in the storage shed, some compost we salvaged from an old barn site, and give it a try!
If my memory serves, locally grown
strawberries are typically ready in late June, so we’re really just a few
short weeks from the harvest. I remember as a kid, there were several
“U Pick” operations in the area, but sadly, I think these have gone to the
wayside (like banana-seat bikes with coaster brakes, Woolworth’s, S&H
Green Stamps, and actual phone booths … sigh).
Strawberries, according to Wikipedia, are not
berries, but are botanically classified as “aggregate accessory fruits” (who
knew?). They are exceedingly popular world-wide, and wild varieties
have been cultivated since the pre-Columbian era in America and before the
Roman Empire in Europe. The first modern garden strawberries were bred
in France in the mid-18th century, when farmers crossed two
varieties of New World plants. It apparently took an accidental
pollination and some sharp observation for botantists to understand that
strawberries actually have both male and female flowers, and that F.
chiloensis needed to be cross pollinated by F. virginiana to
produce any fruits. (Again, who knew?)
According to the World’s
Healthiest Foods website, strawberries offer plenty of nutritional
pluses: they are high in antioxidants and anti-inflammatory nutrients, and
can help prevent cardiovascular disease, other inflammatory diseases, and
breast, cervical, colon, and esophageal cancers. One intriguing
phenomena researchers found is that strawberries, through the actions of
polyphenols known as ellagitannins, help level out spikes in blood sugar.
“This finding is great news for healthy persons wanting to maintain healthy
blood sugar levels, and also for persons with type 2 diabetes who enjoy fresh
strawberries and want to enjoy them on a regular basis,” says WHF.
Until next time, enjoy some fresh strawberries,
and be well!
Lori
