It's June, and that means it's time for fresh strawberries in Connecticut. Strawberries are ripe for the picking, and there are strawberry festivals around the state.
This weekend alone, there are festivals in South Windsor, Orange, and Farmington.
The Cheshire Strawberry Festival and Craft Fair also takes place Saturday on Cheshire’s historic Church Green in the center of town. Zentek Farms, about two miles away, will supply the strawberries.
WNPR’s Diane Orson caught up with owner Ben Zentek during a break from the fields, where he’d been out picking.
Ben Zentek: Yeah, we’re actually picking for the festival. We started picking today.
WNPR's Diane Orson: Tell me about your farm there.
My farm has been in Cheshire for over 100 years now. I’m going to be the fourth generation taking over. Back in the '70s, my grandparents did strawberries as well, then we kind of faded out from that. But I thought it would be a good idea to try to get back into the strawberry industry again.
So what have you found its been like?
It's been really good so far. Typically, when people think about strawberries they think about California, Florida – you know the southern states or out west, but I would say Connecticut has good conditions for strawberries. Unlike other regions in the country, we can’t do it throughout the season -- usually from June until the middle of July, you can pick berries -- but besides that, it is good conditions for growing.
So tell me a little bit about your connection to the Cheshire Festival.
It's my second year supplying them, and after last season, they seemed very pleased with the strawberries, especially the fact they came from right in town.
To find out more about strawberry festivals around New England, visit freshnewengland.com.
