Are you ever tempted to buy those big red (tasteless) strawberries in the store because you want to eat healthy? They might not be as healthy as you think. Actually-- you will more than likely be adding more toxins to your body than what they are worth!!
Did you know that those store strawberries are loaded with chemicals? It's true! Strawberries are at the top of the twelve most contaminated fruits and vegetables list (or also known as "The Dirty Dozen" list) ---the items you should always try to eat organically. Strawberry growers everywhere use large amounts of pesticides and fungicides (fungicides can be sprayed on the berries before they are shipped to help keep them from molding so fast). The end result is a popular fruit that contains a myriad of toxic chemicals.
According to the EWG (Environmental Working Group) peaches had the most pesticides overall, with some combination of up to 53 different pesticides found on the samples tested, followed by apples with 50 pesticides and strawberries with 38. That's 38 different kinds of pesticides that have been detected on strawberries. Peaches and apples had the most pesticides detected on a single sample, with 9 pesticides on a single sample, followed by strawberries and imported grapes where 8 pesticides were found on a single sample of each fruit.
The methodology used in nearly all the studies used to create the list (based on an analysis of 87,000 tests for pesticides on these foods conducted from 2000 to 2007 by the USDA and the FDA), tested the produce after it had been rinsed or peeled. This is an even bigger problem as far as strawberries go because you can't wash (or wash it well) or peel a strawberry. All that is sprayed on a strawberry is soaked right into the berry itself; it is like a sponge.
We're not going to get into the effects that pesticides have on the body right now or the known higher nutritional value that organic has over nonorganic as there are many places to find that info. Our main objective here is to point out that the buyer needs to be aware of this pesticide problem. You need to know where your strawberries are coming from and that organic is the best choice if you really want to stay healthy.
And what about our strawberries? They are grown organically which, in part, means we use no pesticides, fungicides, herbicides (weed killers) or the like on them. They are safe and healthy to eat.....and extra yummy!
And as far as our 2009 berry season.......
We think it is going to be a slower than normal year as there is going to be a limited supply....especially at the beginning. The reason you ask.... as it has been a nice spring? Our older patches don't have as many in them as they use to and the new patches were taken over by weeds this past summer.
As a result, we will only be opening the berry stand on an as-needed-basis. We think we will only be able to do phone and email orders this year (no u-pick) but if we have extras, we will put them at the stand and open for business on a first-come-first-serve basis. But for right now, we can't say if or how long that will last so ordering is still your best bet. If we do get enough to start putting them at the stand, we will post that here at the blog as an update....so check back often if you were looking to get some that way.
So if you want some strawberries this season from us this year, please us the 'Contact Us' post under 'Labels' to get our phone and email info, if you don't have it already.
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