It’s strawberry season in New Jersey: Get ’em while they last

It is strawberry season in New Jersey, and the operative words are "short" and "sweet."

Those strawberry fields in the state are more like strawberry patches of an acre or a half acre scattered around, according to state Agriculture Secretary Doug Fisher, who says the strawberries are the freshest of the Jersey Fresh right now.

"They are picked today and you can enjoy them today, and that is one of the big features of the Jersey strawberry. It will last for the next three or four weeks, and the part that really kicks off is now. You have seen them appear on stands just a little bit. But now you are going to see a much more plentiful supply."

There are about 600 acres of strawberries grown in Jersey.

According to Fisher, we have some of the greatest varieties around, "and they are grown, not so much to ship, but to be able to get picked at their peak."

"I can tell you that there were plenty of growers that were growing them under plastic, although it limited some of the production for them to be able to be very plentiful. We are going to have a warm weekend. They are going to be bursting on the scene everywhere, and they are going to be delicious. They are going to be fabulous."

New Jersey strawberry season is a short one, but Fisher says the good news is, everyone is reporting that they are really sweet this year.

Joe Cutter is the afternoon news anchor on New Jersey 101.5