Organic Wild Strawberry - Fragaria vesca

Fragaria vesca is a small wild plant, native to our regions. This perennial is renowned for the unique fragrance of its tiny strawberries. It is the origin of several varieties commonly cultivated in gardens. It spreads through numerous runners, forming ground cover in semi-shaded and slightly cool areas of the garden. The plant produces small white flowers, which are popular with pollinating insects. Small conical fruits then appear. They are dark red when ripe and extremely fragrant. It bears an abundance of fruits in spring, with a sporadic production from summer until autumn if the soil remains moist. This is a certified plant from Organic Agriculture.

Strawberries can be consumed in multiple ways: they can be eaten fresh with sugar and cream, or thinly sliced and dried before being incorporated into muesli or yogurt. If you have a bountiful harvest, consider making jams, coulis, pies, ice creams, or sorbets. You can also freeze strawberries.

There are three categories of varieties:

- Wild strawberries that bear small fruits from June to October

- Non-perpetual varieties with large fruits. They bloom once a year in spring, producing large fruits around June

- Perpetual varieties with large fruits. They bloom twice a year or continuously, producing large fruits from June to October

The wild strawberry or woodland strawberry, present in Roman times and the Middle Ages, was crossed in the 18th century with a species brought back from Chile. Through successive selections, this gave rise to different varieties with large fruits.

It is a hardy perennial belonging to the Rosaceae family. This variety has a stout habit, with evergreen trifoliate, ovate, and dentate leaves. It bears small white flowers with a golden heart that will transform into large red fruits. Botanically speaking, we refer to strawberries as pseudocarps, with the achenes (seeds) appearing on the surface of the epidermis.

For harvesting, pick the fruits as they ripen, every 2 or 3 days, ideally in the morning. Strawberries are delicate, so pick them with their calyx by pinching the stem 1 to 2cm (1in) above it. The texture of the fruit is a good indicator of its ripeness: it should be firm and yielding to the touch. Strawberries are rich in vitamins and minerals. They can cause urticating reactions in some people as they stimulate the release of histamine in the body.