STAWBERRIES: COME ONE, COME ALL!

Protected in their straw beds, strawberry plants rest through the cold months, waiting until nature initiates a risky dance with spring frost.

Come May, the sweet fruits of the gardener's and farmer's labors are revealed. For a few weeks, red, ripe strawberries hunker beneath green foliage, just waiting to be plucked and savored.

Strawberry picking takes ample measures of patience and effort, but the results are sweet.

"We encourage people to carefully part the leaves and look," said Joan Illers of Illers Berry Farm near Jackson. Ripe delicacies are often hidden by the dense greenery.

Mid-America Teen Challenge will celebrate this special rite of spring with its annual strawberry festival Saturday. From 9 a.m. until 2 p.m., visitors can tour the center and enjoy fresh-picked treats from the three acres of strawberries the students tend.

"A lot of people know we exist but don't know exactly what we do," said Jack Smart, executive director of the center that rests among gently rolling hills just off County Road 621. Through the strawberry festival, "we get a chance to meet some folks, and some folks get a chance to see us, sometimes for the first time."

Mid-America Teen Challenge is a Christian program that ministers to men of all ages who have problems, Smart explained. "Our goal is to help them find a new way of life through faith in Jesus Christ."

The berry project was initiated several years ago as part of a general work experience program.

And, while the fruit will already have been picked, many activities in keeping with the festive theme are planned, like mini-concerts by the Teen Challenge Choir and puppet shows. The new chapel will be open for tours.

Plus, there'll be free strawberry shortcake, lunch available for purchase and some country fun. "We'll provide wagon rides for people down to the strawberry fields," Smart said.

Many berry enthusiasts have already made at least one trip to area strawberry fields. Unpredictable thunder clouds last week kept berry pickers scrambling in and out of the patches.

But despite the rain, J. E. Deevers said, this year's strawberry crop is looking good. "We figure we should be picking yet the 5th of June," he estimated. "We have had people to think it was over with before it was."

Deevers and his wife, Sally, grow two acres of several varieties of strawberries on their Cape Girardeau farm. "We're at least 90 percent you-pick," Deevers said of their strawberry operation.

Rosie Stadelbacher, who with her husband, Charles, operates Blueberry Hill Farm in Cobden, Ill., said a little time in a strawberry patch can result in more than baskets of tasty berries. "It makes for a nice family outing," she said. "Here, we say, 'Come one, come all.'"

Of course, the quest for the freshest fruit available is a real attraction. When people pick their own strawberries, "they know it's fresh and the quality's there," Stadelbacher said.

Illers Berry Farm also emphasizes the you-pick opportunity with their six acres of strawberries. However, Joan Illers has noticed an increase in another service the family business offers. "The ready-pick is on the upswing," she said.

The Illers, Don, Joan and son, Chris, also accept orders for strawberries. It's a service that keeps the telephone ringing into the night throughout the season.

But an exhausting schedule is just what berry farmers anticipate, and in fact, hope for. Even when the plants cease to bear and the crowds wane, the work isn't over. Naturally, practices and schedules vary somewhat from farm to farm.

"There's not but about three months out of the total year that we're not doing something in the strawberries," Illers said.

"You've got to take care of them, keep them weed-free all the time," Deevers said. "You have to keep cultivating every two weeks during the growing season."

Illers said that at her family's farm, "we put them to bed in November, usually. The straw is taken off about the third week of March."

By early to mid-May, some varieties start bearing berries. "There's a few days variation between the ripening on the different varieties," Illers said, adding that this year, "the berries have taken a long time to bloom, we think it will be a long season."

"We've got a fantastic crop," she said.

Strawberries planted in the spring will bear the following spring. The Illers usually replant about every four years, saying: "You don't replant in the same field."

The Illers will soon be switching to completely different strawberry fields. The Illers Berry Farm operation will be in Millersville in 1996 on land that has been in her family since 1850, Illers said. Besides expanded facilities, including a parking lot, the Illers will be adding different varieties of berries, though it will be two to three years before the blueberries and blackberries are ready for picking. Strawberries have been planted in anticipation of the move.

Though immersed in the strawberry season, the Stadlebachers anticipate the fruitful changes the coming weeks will bring. "We start off with strawberries, then we go into blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, plums, then we sell a variety of vegetables at the shed," Rosie Stadlebacher said.

The Stadelbachers' Blueberry Hill Farm, including their 10 acres of strawberries, is eight miles north of Anna on Route 51.

Signs lead the way to Deevers Farm off Cape Rock Drive onto County Road 635 and then right on County Road 646 to Teton Lane.

Follow the signs to Illers Berry Farm from either Route K west of Cape Girardeau or from Highway 25 between Jackson and Gordonville. The farm rests beside County Road 316.

Strawberry Facts

From University of Missouri Cooperative Extension Service

-- Strawberries are highly perishable. If not using immediately, remove berries from containers right after picking or purchasing. Arrange in a single layer in a shallow container; loosely cover and refrigerate.

-- Size of the berries does not affect flavor or quality.

-- Ordinarily, one crate (16 quarts) yields nearly 24 pints frozen. Two quarts of fresh berries will yield 6 cups of preserves or 11 glasses of jam. One quart will yield 5 half-cup servings.

-- Strawberries are low in calories -- only 56 per cup before sugar and cream are added.

-- Strawberries do not ripen more after being picked. Berries with white tips are under-ripe and will have a more tart flavor.