As summer tip-toes back into our lives, there are plenty of delicious fruits and vegetables being cultivated right here in our beautiful mountain region!
Vecinos visited Darnell Farms in Bryson City, North Carolina to check out some beautiful, red and plumpy strawberries being picked by an incredible team of farmworkers!
Emmanuel, one of the farmworkers, told us all about strawberries! He said they plant the strawberries in September and are taken care of for about 6 months until they start producing the juicy fruit! During the cold, and sometimes frozen, winter months the workers must make sure the plants are receiving enough water as well as protection from the cold. The plants are covered by a black tarp-like sheet to protect the plant from the chilly temperatures.
Emmanuel says the process is different depending on the region and climate. For example, he says in Florida the plant will normally only take 2 months to start producing the fruit!
In the mountains, harvesting starts around April and goes through until late June or early July! One plant can produce up to 100 strawberries or more!
Learn how you can support farmworkers like Emmanuel and Maria (photographed above) by visiting: https://vecinos.org/get-involved/
