In season: strawberries

“We have about an acre and a half of certified organic garden. Besides the usual spring stuff like lettuce, greens, cabbage, onions, carrots and turnips, we’re growing strawberries. They’re our big spring crop,” said Dove.

The Doves grow their strawberries in Hydro-Stackers, a vertical hydroponic gardening system that allows them to grow 20 plants in a unit that’s about 5 feet tall and takes up about one-and-a-half square feet of floor space. They have 30 units planted with “Chandler” and 30 units planted with “Sweet Charlie” strawberries.

“The containers stack up on a pole and a watering system automatically supplies water three times a day. The system conserves water and keeps the plants off the ground so there’s less fungus and fewer pests. We can grow more plants in a smaller space, and we don’t have to bend to pick the berries,” said Dove.

Cutting down on fungus is an important consideration when growing strawberries organically. “A lot of places run fungicide continuously on their plants because the fungus causes such a problem. If you eat a lot of strawberries, you don’t want to be eating all that fungicide,” she said.

Strawberries are perennial plants that send off runners called “babies.”

“At the end of the season, the mother plant dies back, and we pull it out. We clean the container, putting in a fresh growing mixture of vermiculite, perlite and soil to keep down the fungus, and plant the babies,” said Dove.

She hopes to have strawberries available through May and into June. The berries are so popular with her customers that she’s learned if she wants any, she has to keep the first ones and sell the rest. “I put them in the freezer whole and then use them for smoothies or daiquiri mix. You don’t have to wash them before you freeze them, just rinse them when you take them out,” she said.

When you get your strawberries home, sort through them and discard, or use right away, any that are overripe. Then store the berries with the hulls on and rinse just before ready to use.

Really fresh strawberries will keep about a week in the refrigerator. They’re best stored in a container like a colander that will allow air to circulate around the berries. Left on the counter they begin to soften quickly but they’re certainly convenient for easy snacking.

At local farmers markets

Opening this week:

4-8 p.m. Thursday, April 3. Tucker Farmers Market, Tucker.

8:30 a.m.-noon Saturday, April 5. Peachtree Road Farmers Market, Atlanta. www.peachtreeroadfarmersmarket.com

Cooking demos:

9 a.m. Saturday, April 5. Chef Ron Eyester of Rosebud, Family Dog and Timone’s, working with green strawberries. Morningside Farmers Market, Atlanta. www.morningsidemarket.com

10 a.m. Saturday, April 5. Chef Dave Larkworthy of Five Seasons Brewing. Peachtree Road Farmers Market, Atlanta. www.peachtreeroadfarmersmarket.com

For sale at local farmers markets

Vegetables and fruit: artichokes, arugula and arugula blossoms, Asian greens, beets, broccoli, cabbage, carrots, chard, collards, escarole, frisee, herbs, kale and kale florets, kohlrabi, leeks, lettuce, mushrooms, mustard greens, Napa cabbage, pea tendrils, radicchio, radishes, rutabaga, sorrel, spinach, spring onions, strawberries, sweet potatoes, turnips.

From local reports

Nana’s Strawberry Pie from MetroFresh

Hands on: 20 minutes

Total time: 20 minutes, plus time to bake crust

Serves: 10

MetroFresh chef and owner Mitchell Anderson created this recipe to mark the start of Georgia’s strawberry season. It’s his take on the pie his grandmother made. For a limited time, the Midtown restaurant will offer this pie as a special menu item.

“One of the joys of my childhood was strawberry season. Strawberries came in around the end of June and lasted throughout July when the days were warm but the nights were still cool. We ate strawberries almost every single day when they were in season. My nana, from whom I learned that cooking is a joy and not a chore, made the most amazing fresh strawberry pie. It’s super easy and delicious,” said Anderson.

He notes that the recipe uses cornstarch and not gelatin, so you can expect that each slice won’t necessarily hold together perfectly. “Don’t fret. Summer is fun and messy your strawberry pie can be too!” he added. For the crust, make your own, or Mitchell finds Pillsbury refrigerated pie crusts are good and easy to use. Follow the directions on the package for prebaking the crust. If you wish, garnish the pie with whipped cream and a sprig of mint.

A pie with fresh berries will be perfect for up to one day and then the berries begin to release their juices and that can make for soggy pastry. Best to enjoy this pie right away.

1 9-inch pie crust, baked and cooled

3 pints strawberries, rinsed, hulled, quartered, divided

1 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup cornstarch

1/2 cup water

1 teaspoon lemon juice

Fill cooled pie crust with enough strawberry quarters to make a nice mound, but not overflowing.

In a medium saucepan, combine remaining strawberries with sugar and cornstarch. Toss thoroughly, then stir in water and lemon juice and mash berries with potato masher until mixture is soupy. Turn heat to medium-low and cook mixture, stirring frequently, 10 minutes, or until liquid has turned a deep red. Pour warm mixture over berries in pie crust, using a fork to be sure mixture coats all berries. Refrigerate at least 2 hours.

Per serving: 209 calories (percent of calories from fat, 22), 2 grams protein, 40 grams carbohydrates, 2 grams fiber, 5 grams fat (1 gram saturated), no cholesterol, 118 milligrams sodium.