GROWERS SAY BERRY PICKING WILL BE GOOD

It's strawberry picking time again, and area growers say this strawberry season should be one of the best in several years. It should last through mid-June if the weather continues to cooperate.

Growers said if the weather is good this weekend, they expect a large turnout of berry pickers in their strawberry patches.

J.E. Deevers and his wife, Missy, operate Deever's Strawberry Farm, located at 838 Teton Lane, off County Road 636, north of Cape Girardeau.

Deevers said picking started Monday and should continue through mid-June, as various varieties of strawberries ripen. The Deevers' berry patch opens at 8 a.m., daily.

JoAnn Illers, at Illers' Strawberry Patch, located south of Jackson, said picking is now under way from 7:30 a.m.-6 p.m. each day. Illers said, "For those who want to buy pre-picked berries, they can call ahead and pick them up between 4-7 p.m. at our strawberry stand, located at our home on Highway 25, south of Jackson, near the Grandview Acres subdivision."

Rosie Stadelbacher of Blueberry Hill Farm, on new Route 51, north of Anna, Ill., said the strawberries are plentiful this year. She said, "We started picking on Monday. We've really had some good growing weather. We're going to have at least a four-week picking season this year."

Jack Smart, director of Mid-America Teen Challenge Center, north of Cape Girardeau, said strawberry picking began on Monday.

"We'll start selling our berries at our retail sales stand on Independence, on the north side of the Town Plaza Shopping Center, from about 11 a.m.-6 p.m., or until we sell out each day," said Smart. "Later on, we'll also have some blueberries and blackberries for sale."

Deevers, a retired gasoline tanker truck driver, got into the strawberry growing business 25 years ago, when his family grew, picked and sold berries from their house in Cape Girardeau.

"Then we found out about U-pick, which is a lot easier than having to pick them yourself," he said.

This year, the Deevers have two acres of strawberry plants that are producing the Early and Late Glo and Cardinal varieties.

"The Early and Late Glo berries are the sweetest, and best for eating with ice cream or cereal, or for making strawberry preserves and jellies," said Deevers. "The Cardinals are good for freezing and for making jams and jellies."

Deevers said the secret to picking strawberries is to turn each berry over and examine it for color. He said, "If it's light to dark red, the berry is ripe and ready to pick. If there is green at the tip, or on the side of the berry, leave it and go on to another berry. It will ripen later on."

Deevers said many of his berry pickers arrive at opening time to pick berries before it warms up. Others come out after work to pick berries. "A good picker can pick a quart of berries in five minutes, if the plants have a lot of berries on them," he added.

Deevers explained that unlike other plants, such as tomatoes, strawberry plants only produce berries for a short time each year, in late spring.

He said the season can be full or short, depending on the weather before and during picking time. For example, last year, the strawberry season started out great, but the rains returned in late May and ended the season two weeks earlier than normal.