This morning Austin, my 4 year old son, took the first box of strawberries to his preschool class on their last day of school. He was so excited to be carrying the first box of strawberries and he couldn’t wait to show them to his class. It some ways it is hard to believe that strawberries are already here and in other ways it seems like I have been waiting forever! Every year I get suckered into buying some of those strawberries in the grocery store that are from California and you always end up disappointed when you are finished. Even though these are the first berries and are not as sweet as the later varieties the difference between these strawberries and the ones from down south is unbelievable. If you are looking to put some strawberries in the freezer or make jam then I would wait until some of the later varieties are ready (totems, shucksans, and bentons), which will be about two weeks. But for now we have some delicious strawberries that are ready to eat.

Out in the nursery people are always asking us for hardy perennials that are guaranteed to come back next year and take very little maintenance. This year I think we found the perfect plants to fit that description. They are called Corydalis and many of them were developed in Canby Oregon by a company called Terra Nova Nurseries. My favorite of these varieties is pictured to the side here and is called Canary Feathers. This particular Corydalis has beautiful yellow flower spikes that bloom all summer and needs very little water or maintenance. I didn’t realize how little water it needs until I check on a planter on my front porch the other day. Every morning I walk by this planter and the Canary Feathers look beautiful and I haven’t been watering it much but I figured it would start dropping when it needs more water. Well yesterday I took a closer look at the pot and noticed that some of the other plants in the pot had almost completely wilted but the Canary Feathers was still beautiful. While I was disappointed about the other plants I was very happy to see how well the Canary Feathers had done with such little care. I took out the other plants and now the Canary Feathers is in the planter all by itself and it looks amazing.

With the issue of organic versus farm fresh fruits and vegetables becoming more of a heated topic as of late we wanted to do our best to let our customers know the extreme lengths that we go through to make sure that our produce is of high quality and safe for the whole family. We are taking food safety to a new level this year with our ’Certifree’ program. ’Certifree’ plants and produce are free of any pesticide residues. Our goal is to grow products using organic pesticides or without the use of any pesticides at all. Even though we try not to use any sprays unless we have to, there are times when it is necessary. To maintain food quality and safety we will look to a solution that won’t leave any harmful pesticide residues behind. This results in safer fruits & vegetables for your table. Enjoy!!

It is a great time of the year when every day brings something new up from the fields and nursery. We are just getting started and there are already so many wonderful things it makes you excited for the coming weeks. We will have strawberries for the next 3 to 4 weeks. While that seems like a long time it will go by quickly. By the end of next week we should start getting in a good supply of strawberries and that would be a good time to start thinking about freezing and making jam. Even though Mother’s Day has come and gone we still have a great supply of plants out in the nursery and my favorite right now is that Corydalis. They are a fabulous plant for any shade garden or shady patio. Do remember as we go through the summer that we are committed to bringing your family high quality products and plants that are safe for your family. If you have any questions regarding any of our products do hesitate to ask and we would be happy to help. Enjoy our beautiful weather and the many things that we are very lucky to be able to grow right in our backyard.