Load up on strawberries for sweets, savory dishes and a fresh taste of summer
By Matt Ingersoll and Jack Walsh
It was a warm 70-degree morning on June 15 when Apple Hill Farm in Concord opened for its first day of pick-your-own strawberries. It also marked the return of visitors to the property for the first time since last November — the strawberry patch is just down the street from the main farm stand, which is due to fully open for the season in the coming weeks.
For many area farms, strawberry picking kicks off a fruit harvest season that will continue through the summer months with cherries, blueberries and raspberries, before apples and pumpkins take over. At Apple Hill Farm there are a total of 12 strawberry varieties that ripen over a three-week period from mid-June through about July 4.
“This is perfect for us, because we usually start between about the 15th and the 20th [of June], and we usually go until July 4, or about the 6th or so,” co-owner Diane Souther said. “Right now what we have out there for berries is beautiful.”
It’s a similar story at Sunnycrest Farm in Londonderry, which opened for pick-your-own on June 11. Sunnycrest-grown strawberries include two varieties that are not only available for pick-your-own but are used as ingredients in several items at the farm stand’s bakery.
“Every season is different for strawberries. It usually depends on how much rain you get and it can depend on how much sunlight you get,” said Danny Hicks IV, the farm’s fourth-generation owner. “I would say this year we’re pretty much right on the money for that.”
Down in Milford, Trombly Gardens began its strawberry picking season on June 10. This is the farm stand’s first year having a pick-your-own strawberry field, according to business manager Alicia Richardson. Because every day is different during an already short picking window, Richardson said exact times the field is open always vary and are posted to social media.
As you head out to your local farm to pick some strawberries, here’s a look at some different varieties and what they’re best used for, as well as what the ideal conditions are for a strawberry crop to thrive. Read on even more for some ideas on incorporating freshly picked strawberries into your cooking or baking.
Farmers market summer strawberry salad with spring veggies
Courtesy of Diane Souther of Apple Hill Farm in Concord
1 quart fresh strawberries, washed and sliced
2 Tablespoons fresh basil, thinly cut up
2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoon sweetener, sugar, honey or maple syrup/sugar
2 baby cucumbers, peeled and sliced thin with the skin on
8 cherry-sized tomatoes
4 red radishes, sliced thin
juice of ½ lemon, freshly squeezed
¼ teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
Combine basil, strawberries, balsamic vinegar and sweetener. Toss in a bowl, cover and chill for an hour. Slice the small baby cucumbers and juice from the ½ squeezed lemon and chill in the refrigerator. Quarter the cherry tomatoes just before serving and slice the radishes. Mix the chilled cucumbers with the strawberries and basil mixture, then add radishes and cherry tomatoes. Toss with fresh ground pepper. Serve immediately. Optional ingredients can include broccoli, cauliflower, spinach, kale, Swiss chard or any other veggies you can find at the farmers market.
Strawberry varieties
Apple Hill Farm began its strawberry picking season with three varieties — Wendy, which is a typical early season strawberry, according to Souther, as well as Valley Sunset and Cavendish.
“They’re a lot like apples. They ripen at different times, and then sometimes they overlap a little bit,” Souther said. “This year, it seems like the early and the mid-season are coming in together.”
Differences in varieties can include everything from the fruit’s size and color to its water content, making some strawberries better-suited for eating and others for making jams or shortcakes. Amy Ladds-Davis, who is working her 11th season at Apple Hill Farm, said Wendys are typically smaller but sweeter strawberries, while the Cavendish variety is characterized by its larger size and deeper red color. As the weeks go on, mid- and late season varieties include Darselect, Dickens, Honeoye and Malwina — the latter of these is among the largest and is not unheard of to continue growing as the calendar flips to July, Souther said.
“Sometimes if the strawberries are really big, they are a bit too watery for making jam and stuff with, so people like the more mid-sized ones,” she said. “Some are also good for freezing. … A lot of times with the bigger ones, we’ll just pop the caps off and freeze them whole … and then you can toss them into the blender like an ice cube. They cut right up.”
Sunnycrest Farm grows Cavendish and Cabot varieties, both of which are usually available for picking around the same time, Hicks said. Compared to one another, he said Cavendish strawberries tend to be slightly smaller and sweeter than Cabots — and while he can tell the difference, strawberries are strawberries to most pickers regardless of the variety.
“It’s funny, actually, I don’t ever have anybody asking if we have this variety or that variety of strawberry,” Hicks said. “That’s all [during] apple season. … The two varieties we have are relatively easy to grow and maintain, especially the Cavendish, which are one of my favorites.”
Kimball Fruit Farm, which has property on the state line between Hollis and Pepperell, Mass., features six strawberry varieties throughout its peak growing season. The farm originally used to only grow apples, but it’s now known for corn, peaches, kale and of course strawberries. It’s the first strawberry picking season for new owners David Wadleigh and his wife, Amanda — Brunswick, Darselect, Wendy and Allstar are a few of the popular varieties grown on the farm, and they are planted at separate times for them to be consistently ready for picking.
Strawberry festivals
Check out these events happening across the state this weekend for a chance to enjoy some locally grown strawberries and strawberry-flavored desserts and treats.
• Litchfield Community Church (259 Charles Bancroft Hwy., Litchfield) will host a drive-thru version of its annual strawberry festival on Saturday, June 25, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. The event is expected to feature fresh handmade strawberry shortcakes and strawberry rhubarb pies, as well as sausage grinders, all prepared by church congregants. All items are cash only. Local vendors, courtesy of the Litchfield Historical Society, will also be set up on the other side of the church parking lot on the day of the festival. Visit lccpnh.org.
• Join Beans and Greens Farm (245 Intervale Road, Gilford) for a strawberry festival to be held all day long on both Saturday, June 25, and Sunday, June 26 — the celebration will include a selection of various homemade strawberry treats, along with games, face painting, a craft fair and live music under the farm’s pavilion. Admission is free. Visit beansandgreensfarm.com.
• A local tradition for more than seven decades, the Hollis Strawberry Festival will return for the first time since 2019 on Sunday, June 26, from 2 to 4 p.m. on the town common (2 Monument Square, Hollis). The festival is co-sponsored by the Hollis Woman’s Club and the Hollis Town Band — fresh, local strawberry shortcakes, with or without hand-whipped cream and homemade ice cream, will be available for sale. Local artisan and craft vendors, children’s games, strawberry-themed storytimes at the Hollis Social Library, and a live performance by the Hollis Town Band are also included. In the event of rain, the festival will take place inside Hollis-Brookline Middle School (25 Main St.). Visit holliswomansclub.org.
A short harvest season
Timing is everything when it comes to weather patterns that directly affect strawberry ripening.
“Last year, it was too dry in the beginning and then too wet at the end, so the plants struggled,” Souther said. “We like to have a little bit of rain at night, every couple of days or three days or so, and then bright sunshine. Strawberries really like the sun.”
Ladds-Davis said warm summer days of 70 to 80 degrees are usually the most ideal.
“You don’t want it to be up to 90 or 95 degrees because they will literally cook in the field,” she said, “but then you don’t want it to be cold either, because the sun really helps them ripen.”
Occasional rain is always welcome, but too much is also harmful to a strawberry crop.
“Rain will plump the berries up, but you also don’t want too much rain,” Wadleigh said. “All berries, including strawberries, are prone to mold and mildew, and anything that reproduces with spores likes heat and moisture to propagate itself.”
Strawberries are perennial plants, or single crops that carry over multiple seasons, depending on the variety. Some strawberry beds can last two or three seasons, while others will continue to produce fruit even longer if the farmer is lucky. Hicks said they’re typically planted between April and May a whole year before being ready for picking by that June.
“You still have to take care of them the whole year, even though you’re not going to get a crop,” he said. “You’ve got to make sure they are properly irrigated and that they are winterized.”
To prepare for the winter, the beds are covered in layers of straw (hence the berry’s name).
“In late November or early December, we take a tractor with a mulcher and we drive over each row of strawberries and cover every single one of them in straw,” Hicks said. “It goes on thick, and then once it’s on there, especially when a nice snowfall comes, they’ll be nice and preserved.”
After the snow melts, Hicks said, the straw is removed in the spring, typically around early May. Another month or so of maintenance, which includes frost protection, is then required for the strawberries to fully ripen in time for peak picking season.
“The best time to start strawberry picking season is obviously when you see a reddish hue, but also when you see a little bit of white on them,” Hicks said. “They can still ripen when you bring them home, so if you pick them when they’re, say, 80 percent red, and you bring them home and they sit on your counter or in the fridge for a couple of days, they’ll actually darken up and still taste good. … If you pick the ones that are dark, dark red, you’ve got to eat them right away.”
It’s hard to predict more than a day or two out when strawberries are ripe enough for picking. If the beds are picked out, for instance, the farm may need to temporarily close — but all it takes is a nice sunny day or two for new fruit to ripen. That’s why Hicks said it’s always a good idea to check the farm’s social media pages for continuous updates. Some farms, including Sunnycrest, also have a pre-recorded phone hotline message that’s regularly updated with details on pick-your-own.
Treat yourself
From homemade shortcake to other strawberry-featuring baked goods and indulgences, local farm stands are offering all kinds of inspired treats to celebrate the season.
Trombly Gardens, for instance, is currently serving a specialty strawberry frappe out of its ice cream window — they’re also producing all kinds of sweets out of their bakery and kitchen, like strawberry shortcake sundaes, strawberry cake-flavored whoopie pies and, on Saturday and Sunday mornings, homemade strawberry doughnuts.
At Sunnycrest Farm, strawberries are the very first crops that Bonne Cavanagh, the farm stand’s in-house baker, receives. She uses them to bake fresh muffins — flavors include strawberry lemonade and strawberry rhubarb — as well as strawberry rhubarb crumb bars, and even a homemade strawberry cream cheese, all of which are currently available at the farm stand.
“The cream cheese is so good. It tastes like a cheesecake,” said Cavanagh, who’s been baking at Sunnycrest Farm for 10 years. “They go great with a jalapeno bagel because of the [contrast of] the hot and the sweet. The bagels are a huge hit. We get them in from New Jersey.”
Cavanagh also partners with Troy Ward Jr. of Troy’s Fresh Kitchen & Juice Bar in Londonderry. There, you’ll find her vegan gluten-free strawberry lemonade muffins, and she’s also baked strawberry rhubarb doughnuts. Once the season ends, Cavanaugh moves on to the next fruit.
“When I have no more strawberries, I’m done. I will not go buy strawberries or use frozen strawberries,” she said.
If you want to make a whole day of celebrating peak strawberry picking season, the Hollis Strawberry Festival is returning on Sunday, June 26, for the first time since 2019 — it’s co-sponsored by the Hollis Woman’s Club and the Hollis Town Band. A “hulling party” is scheduled to take place at the town’s Congregational Church on June 24, when Woman’s Club members, family and friends will be preparing the fruit to serve during the event.
According to festival chair Cathy Gast, the festival started out more than 70 years ago as a band concert before they soon began selling strawberry shortcake as a way to improve attendance. After two years off, the longtime tradition continues — as with previous festivals, attendees will have the option to order a strawberry shortcake with or without whipped cream, shortcake with or without Dr. Davis homemade vanilla ice cream, a bowl of ice cream with strawberries, or just a bowl of strawberries with or without sugar. Prices will vary depending on which item you choose, and the festival also features local artisan and craft vendors, children’s games, strawberry-themed storytimes in the town’s library, and a live performance by the Town Band.
Strawberry-rhubarb pudding
Courtesy of Diane Souther of Apple Hill Farm in Concord
Sauce:
3 cups rhubarb (fresh or frozen), cut up into small pieces
2 cups sliced strawberries (fresh or frozen)
2 teaspoons butter
¾ cup maple syrup
¼ cup water
Cake batter:
½ cup granulated sugar
2 Tablespoons butter
1 cup whole milk
1 cup flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
Streusel topping:
½ cup flour
½ cup rolled oats
½ cup brown sugar
½ stick of butter
2 teaspoons cinnamon
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In a quart saucepan on low heat, stew the sauce ingredients until tender (about seven minutes). To make the cake batter, cream together the sugar and butter in a small bowl, then add one cup of whole milk and stir until blended. Sift the flour, baking powder and salt together in a bowl, then blend with the creamed mixture of sugar, butter and milk. To make the streusel topping, cream together the flour, rolled oats, brown sugar, butter and cinnamon with a fork or with your fingers. Take the strawberry-rhubarb sauce and pour into an ungreased casserole dish, leaving ¾-inch to one inch of headspace around the top. Pour the cake batter over the top and sprinkle last with the streusel topping. Bake at 350 degrees for approximately 30 minutes, or until the top is lightly browned.
Where to get local strawberries
Here’s a list of local farms and farm stands offering fresh strawberries — where specified, it includes those that have them pre-picked as well as pick-your-own. For those that offer pick-your-own, be sure to contact each spot directly for the most up-to-date information on picking conditions and availability. Did we miss a southern New Hampshire-area farm stand offering strawberries that’s not on this list? Let us know at [email protected].
Apple Hill Farm
580 Mountain Road, Concord, 224-8862, applehillfarmnh.com
Cost: $3.75 per pound for pick-your-own, or $8 per pre-picked quart
Hours: Monday through Saturday, 8:30 a.m. to noon
Applecrest Farm Orchards
133 Exeter Road, North Hampton, 926-3721, applecrest.com
Cost: $6.25 per pound for pick-your-own; $5.75 per pound if picking eight pounds or more
Hours: Daily, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Barrett Hill Farm
450 Fitchburg Road, Mason, 878-2848, barretthillfarm.com
Cost: Starts at $4.50 per pound for pick-your-own; price gradually decreases the more pounds you pick
Hours: Daily, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Beans & Greens Farm
245 Intervale Road, Gilford, 293-2853, beansandgreensfarm.com
Cost: $11.49 per quart (pre-picked only)
Hours: Daily, 7:30 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Brookdale Fruit Farm
41 Broad St., Hollis, 465-2240, brookdalefruitfarm.com
Cost: $4.50 per pound for pick-your-own
Hours: Most days, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.; call or visit the website for the most up-to-date details on picking conditions and times
Butternut Farm
195 Meaderboro Road, Farmington, 335-4705, butternutfarm.net
Cost: $4.29 per pound for pick-your-own; $3.99 per pound if picking 10 pounds or greater
Hours: Tuesday through Sunday, 7 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Devriendt Farm Products
47 Story Road, Goffstown, 497-2793, devriendtfarm.com
Cost: $3.99 per pound for pick-your-own
Hours: Daily, 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Fitch’s Corner Farm Stand
499 N. River Road, Milford, find them on Facebook
Cost: $4.75 per pint, or $8.99 per quart (pre-picked only; cash or check only)
Hours: Daily, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Heron Pond Farm
299 Main Ave., South Hampton, 394-0129, heronpondfarm.com
Cost: $4.75 per pint, or $9 per quart (pre-picked only; pick-your-own likely coming soon)
Hours: Daily, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.
J&F Farms
124 Chester Road, Derry, 437-0535, jandffarmsnh.com
Cost: $8 per quart or four quarts for $30 for pick-your-own; $10 per pre-picked quart
Hours: Days and times vary for pick-your-own and are regularly posted to social media. The farm’s hours are Monday through Friday, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., and Saturday and Sunday, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., according to its website.
Johnson Golden Harvest
412 W. River Road, Hooksett, 210-2031, johnsongoldenharvest.com
Cost: $5.99 per pint, or $9.99 per quart (pre-picked only)
Hours: Monday through Friday, 10:30 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Saturday, 10:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Sunday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Kimball Fruit Farm
Route 122, on the Hollis and Pepperell, Mass., border, 978-433-9751
Cost: $3 per pound for pick-your-own
Hours: Daily, 9 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.
Lavoie’s Farm
172 Nartoff Road, Hollis, 882-0072, lavoiesfarm.com
Cost: $3.99 per pound for pick-your-own, or $8.49 per pre-picked quart
Hours: Daily, 8 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Lull Farm
65 Broad St., Hollis, 465-7079; 615 Route 13, Milford, 673-3119; livefreeandfarm.com
Cost: $9 per quart (pre-picked only)
Hours: Daily, 7 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. in Hollis, and 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. in Milford
McKenzie’s Farm
71 Northeast Pond Road, Milton, 652-9400, mckenziesfarm.com
Cost: $4.29 per pound for pick-your-own; $3.99 per pound if picking 10 pounds or greater
Hours: Daily, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.
McQuesten Farm
330 Charles Bancroft Hwy., Litchfield, 424-9268, find them on Facebook @mcquesten.farm
Cost: $3.99 per pound for pick-your-own, or $7.50 per pre-picked pint
Hours: Daily, 7 a.m. to 2 p.m., for pick-your-own; the farm stand remains open until 5 p.m.
Paradise Farm
468 Center Road, Lyndeborough, 345-0860, paradisefarmnh.com
Cost: $8.49 per quart (pre-picked only)
Hours: Available at the Milford Farmers Market (milfordnhfarmersmarket.com) on Saturdays, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at 300 Elm St. in Milford (across from the New Hampshire Antique Co-op)
Rossview Farm
85 District 5 Road, Concord, 228-4872, rossviewfarm.com
Cost: $3.50 per pound for pick-your-own, or $8 per pre-picked quart
Hours: Sunday and Monday, 7 a.m. to 1 p.m., Tuesday and Thursday, 7 to 11 a.m. and 2 to 6 p.m., and Wednesday, Friday and Saturday, 7 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Smith Farm Stand
131 Kimball Hill Road, Hudson, 882-4032, smithfarmhudson.com
Cost: $8.50 per quart (pre-picked only)
Hours: Most weekdays, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Saturday, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., and Sunday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Spring Ledge Farm
37 Main St., New London, 526-6253, springledgefarm.com
Cost: $7 per quart (cash or check only)
Hours: Daily, 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. for pick-your-own. The farm stand is openMonday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., Tuesday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Saturday, 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., and Sunday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Sunnycrest Farm
59 High Range Road, Londonderry, 432-7753, sunnycrestfarmnh.com
Cost: $4.50 per pound for pick-your-own, or $8.99 per pre-picked quart
Hours: Most days, 7 a.m. to noon, for pick-your-own; call or visit the website for the most up-to-date details on picking conditions and times. The farm stand is open daily, from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Trombly Gardens
150 N. River Road, Milford, 673-0647, tromblygardens.net
Cost: $3.99 per pound for pick-your-own, or $8.50 per pre-picked quart
Hours: Days and times vary for pick-your-own and are regularly posted to social media. The farm stand’s summer hours are Sunday through Thursday, from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m., and Friday and Saturday, from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Featured photo: Photo courtesy of Trombly Gardens in Milford.
