Growing pickles

Posted on April 16, 2012 by fmadmin

Yes, you read it right. Growing pickles. Parkesdale Farms is best known for growing strawberries, but did you know that we also grow pickles? Pickling cucumbers are grown by seed in the months shortly after strawberry season is over.

The picture above was taken approximately a month ago. About 50 acres have been planted and the fields are full of yellow little blooms waiting to grow into a “pickle”. If you look closely to the yellow flower on the left, you can see a little cucumber growing.
If you haven’t tried our homegrown pickles, you should. They are everything a cucumber should be. They have a fragrant scent, crunchy and crisp taste. Easy to eat just by itself, or sliced with homemade ranch dressing. That’s how Grandma Parke makes them. 🙂

Have you tried Parkesdale’s homegrown pickles yet?

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Strawberry Shortcake…everyone’s favorite dessert

Posted on April 9, 2012 by fmadmin

Our business is a seasonal business. But how can I say “seasonal” when the market is open year around? Well, as the largest strawberry and citrus market in Florida, our market is busiest during strawberry season. In the month of October, the farm gets millions of bare root strawberry plants to be planted in our fields. (Yes, you can purchase bare root strawberry plants in bunches at our market). Then we wait. And the phones will start ringing: “Are you serving Strawberry Shortcake yet?”. Sadly, we’ll respond not yet. Strawberry Shortcake season has always been January thru mid April, which follows the winter season of Florida strawberries.

For the past few years, we’ve been able to start our World Famous Strawberry Shortcakes in December. People from all over the world continue to enjoy our fresh Strawberry Shortcakes in our garden every year.

Another common question we get, is how many berries do we go through in a day. That’s a tough one. Some days we’ll go through one pallet filled with full flats, other days we’ll go through two pallets. This past season from December 2011 to March 2012, 44 tons of fresh Florida Strawberries were used to make strawberry shortcakes and milkshakes. Forty Four tons! That’s two dump trucks filled with fresh Florida Strawberries.

So, now comes the sad part…April brings warmer temperatures, which means the berries will not be able to withstand the Florida heat. This season’s last day of Strawberry Shortcake will be April 22, 2012. And why you ask? The answer is simple, you need fresh Florida strawberries to make the best Strawberry Shortcake in the world. Our beloved Strawberry Shortcake will disappear from our menu for a few months. Although, to some customers it may seem like an eternity. Our Summer menu, will bring back fruit filled milkshakes, our tangerine-vanilla swirl ice cream and the Parkesdale Banana Split. But even as tempting as those may sound, we can’t deny we’ll be missing our Strawberry Shortcake.

What’s your favorite Parkesdale treat? Strawberry Shortcake, Strawberry Milkshake or both?

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Spring is here…or is it summer already?

Posted on March 30, 2012 by fmadmin

Florida weather has never been very predictable.  We have a few cool, breezy days in a row; then the mercury shoots right back up past 90 degrees  in the blink of an eye.  I know my calendar says we just had the first day of spring, but seriously, its starting to feel more like summer each day.

Another sign of spring at Parkesdale Market is the greenhouses.  At this time of year, our greenhouses are filled with Gerber Daisies, Ground Orchids, Gazanias, Sunflowers, Amaryllis and the most fragrant Hybrid Roses you can imagine.  I dare you to walk by them and not stop to “smell the roses”.  This is usually one of the things I do every morning.  I can’t help myself.  I debate which ones I would like to bring home, meaning I’d like to bring one of each color!

Last year I finally decided to give roses a try.  Mind you, I don’t consider myself a gardener by any means.  I brought home three different types of Roses: a lilac rose tree, a peach drift rose and two Knock Out Roses (a yellow and a red).  I can proudly say my garden only suffered one casualty.  The yellow Knock Out Rose did not make it.  Not sure why because it was planted next to the lilac Rose Tree, which has bloomed and re-bloomed despite my lack of constant care and attention.  The red Knock Out Rose has at least doubled in size if not tripled.  Now I undersand why Knock Out roses are so popular.  They are much easier to not take care.  The drift rose is still alive, but not as big as I would have hoped.  I understand this is normal as they are recommended as ground covers because they stay very low to the ground.

Given my odds from last year, 3 out of 4 is not bad, I decided to bring home two more hybrid roses: Granada and All American Magic.  Our backyard gets full sun, so I think I’ve found a good spot for them.  When I bring any plant home, I like to “test” their new home before putting them in the ground.  I’ve always heard about “right plant, right place”, but I never really understood it until I found hoe and shovel.  I haven’t met Meems yet, but I would love to.  Her garden, or better yet her desire for a front lawn without grass is very commendable.  Much like a lot of our produce, our roses are locally grown in Plant City by Mrs. Cruz from Cruz Nursery or the rose lady as I like to call her.  She recommended Bayer 2-in-1 Systemic Rose and Flower care.  It feeds and protects with one monthly application!  I sometimes remember to apply it.  When I do apply it regularly, I can see an improvement right away.  The blooms are plentiful and the plant itself looks so much more green.  Even with my sporadical use, I still get blooms and no bugs on my roses.

What are your thoughts on Roses?  Are roses really worth it?

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