BY DAVID ECK
Enquirer Contributor
Eb Johnson of Middletown and Michael Buchler of Centerville pick their own at Hidden Valley.
(Dick Swaim photo)
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LEBANON -- Strawberries are the highlight of Bob Ullrich's weekend.
The owner of Hidden Valley Fruit Farm in Lebanon is hosting Strawberry Spectacular today and Sunday, an annual event celebrating the harvest of the red berries popular in shortcake and pie.
Through the weekend, the working fruit farm on Ohio 48 features baked goods, jellies and jams, honey, butter, syrups, toppings and ice cream -- all made of strawberries.
"It's serious strawberry food," said Mr. Ullrich, as he sold five quarts of fresh strawberries to a customer Friday morning. "That's what brings people out. We get a lot of people coming in from other states."
More than 4,000 are expected to attend the event, and some, undoubtedly, will head into the strawberry patch to pick their own berries.
Originally designed to highlight the strawberry picking season, the festival now focuses on bringing city people out to the farm for a taste of country culture.
"With the families . . . we try to show them what a working farm still does," Mr. Ullrich said. "They can see things they've never seen in their life. Things that are more than 100 years old, and they are not in a museum -- they're on the farm."
The strawberry bash is a "must do" and a boost to the county's tourism scene, said Robyn Lane, executive director of the Warren County Convention and Visitors Bureau.
This weekend, festival-goers should see plenty of berries, as many growers from the Tristate and throughout Ohio are reporting yields that are large, flavorful and plentiful.
"I think it's a better than average year," said Mr. Ullrich, who tends eight acres of strawberries.
At Valley Vineyards in Morrow, sales manager Gail Haines said crews have been gathering berries from their 5-acre patch for a month and expect to continue for at least another week. "It was beautiful," said Mrs. Haines. "The berries have been very nice and very sweet."
Near Wilmington, Dale Stokes grows six acres of strawberries. He, too, is pleased with this year's harvest.
"Production-wise, it will be one of the better years we've had," said Mr. Stokes, a past president of the Ohio Fruit Growers Society. "So far, it's been excellent."
Growers said the warm early spring and lots of rain provided good conditions.
Crews at Valley Vineyards are picking about 2,000 pounds of strawberries a day. Last year, when the farm lost about half its crop because of poor weather, crews picked for only six days. The picking season typically lasts 10 to 30 days.
"The early spring rains were excellent," Mrs. Haines said. "We really don't want those 90-degree temperatures because they are hard on the berries."
The Strawberry Spectacular runs noon-6 p.m. today and Sunday. Hidden Valley Fruit Farm is at 5474 N. Ohio 48, six miles north of downtown Lebanon.
