So, about the strawberries: As we mentioned before, a substantial amount of those we planted last fall didn't make it through the winter. Of those that did, so far only some of them are producing, and none of them are producing very much. For a while, we were harvesting just enough for Sonora to stuff herself full of strawberries each day; now it's just enough for a handful or two. Currently there are a good number of flowers, and we're still hopeful that we'll have our own berries for CSA or market this year, but it isn't looking particularly promising.

This was our first year for growing strawberries, and we're not sure exactly what happened – there are quite a lot of plants out there that look very healthy but just aren't making fruit. We've been told that hot weather can do that, and there was a late frost that zapped some of the early flowers. We're planning to let these plants go a second year and see if they improve.

We're bringing in berries from Jon at Wood's Market Garden for CSA this week, and doing some more research to figure out how to get a better yield in the future. We may plant more this fall – the causalities of the winter were divided pretty clearly between varieties, so we'll plant more of what did well and maybe try one or two new kinds as well. We're also considering some other perennial fruits to make use of some parts of our land that are too sloped or rocky for good vegetable production (and because fruits are delicious).

In the meantime, the carrots and broccoli are coming in, and new potatoes are almost ready! Potatoes may not be quite as exciting as strawberries, but they're still awfully good.

A couple years ago, some farming friends mentioned how much they liked their iceberg lettuce. "ICEBERG lettuce?" we scoffed. "Why would you grow iceberg lettuce?!" Their answer was something like, "Because it's great."

Many vegetables that are unexciting in their supermarket version can be awfully good when they are super fresh and have been grown well. Turns out that iceberg lettuce is one of them. (Also on that list: Potatoes, cucumbers, and actually, most vegetables.)

Is it still mostly water? Yes. Is it the darkest or most complexly flavored leafy green ever to grace a salad? No. Is it crispy, crunchy, juicy, and mild? Yes, yes it is. We grow nearly a dozen different kinds of lettuce, and all of them are at their best in June, but we find ourselves hunting around in the cooler for the icebergs more often than you might expect.

If you want to check it out for yourself, we just delivered some to the Middlebury Co-op and should have it at the farmers' market this weekend as well.