Some fresh-picked strawberry dessert recipes

Every June, Martha’s sun-drenched strawberry patch explodes with fruit. She shares sea sonedgrowing advice — and her triedand-true dessert recipes.

One of my great joys each June is watching mytwoyounggr andchildren, Jude and Truman, searching rows of brightgreen plants in my garden to find sweet, red strawberries hiding among the leaves. Their squeals of delight — and the ensu

ing silence as they gobble up what they have found — are worth every bit of effort that goes into tending a sizable patch.

But there are many other reasons to grow this seasonal delicacy at home. You can choose your favorite varieties, from tiny, flavor-packed alpines to large, j uicyclassic ones. You can extend

the season by planting early, midseason and latebearing cultivars. And most important, you can cultivate them organically. Strawberries top the Environmental Working Group’s Dirty Dozen list of conventional produce

containing the most pesticides.

I grow them in raised rows about 20 inches

apart, mulched with straw so the fruit can ripen on a nice, clean bed. I also fertilize and add compost annually, to maintain a healthy and bountiful harvest. To keep production up, every two years or so I refresh the beds by adding sucker plants I’ve propagated, or newly pur

chased seedlings. While my grandchildren and I love to eat the berries right off the stems, there are always plenty more to tu rnintod elicious summer desserts, such as these favorites.