Food Sources: Berry farm keeps pace with new owners (with recipe)

You might have read about the results of the Blandin Foundation's Rural Pulse survey - it's sweet news about us and our neighbors. More than eight in 10 folks (84 percent) living in our part of rural Minnesota say they are able to make a positive impact in their community, and that the community works together effectively.

The transition of Doug and Diane's Finke's Berry Farm to Steve Schulstrom and Rita Vavrosky's Spectrum Farm Strawberries is evidence that these positive statistics reflect our world.

Steve and Rita told me all about their new adventure on a sunny afternoon a few days ago. Steve loves the berries in the morning when he sees "the perfect one with dew on it." Rita waits for the moment when the sun has warmed the strawberry and "the flavor and sugar become a burst of delight."

And they both adore their dear friends Doug and Diane, who whispered their plan to retire in the fall of 2016. Rita and Steve thought about it a long time, wanting to be sure they could maintain the quality Finke's is known for.

While they were deliberating, Doug and Diane invited Rita and Steve to help plant strawberries in the spring of 2017. They offered to work with Rita and Steve as they learned the new business, and in 2018 the deal was done.

"We've always looked up to Doug and Diane and now we have become really good friends," Rita said.

Steve appreciates the way the Finkes give their advice: The other day Doug asked him, "Are you happy with how the field looks?" Steve replied he was, and Doug said, "Then you're doing fine. You get to define your success."

Rita speaks fondly of her first visit to Finke's Berry Farm more than 20 years ago when she had four little girls in tow. She and her daughters were warmly welcomed to the very first row where people in strollers and wheelchairs could easily get to the berries. The Finkes were committed to making berry picking work for everybody.

When will the strawberries be ready to pick? The long slow spring means picking will be a little late this year, perhaps the second week of July. The season usually goes about three weeks, depending on whether we get a lot of hot days. There will be two fields of berries available for picking.

In order to grow berries without pesticides or herbicides, Steve follows a three-year rotation cycle. Steve and Rita and their crew uncovered this year's plants, then planted the berries that will be ready to pick in 2020, and planted last year's fields in rye, a great cover crop.

"We will expand as quickly as we can to fulfill our customers' needs without sacrificing our mission," Steve said.

Now in their second year, Spectrum Farm Strawberries has found its rhythm. The crew is a seasoned group drawn from Rita's piano students and home-school friends, as well as a number of local high school students.

And what about the rainbow logo? Rita has always loved rainbows, and when they moved onto their farm in 2001, a beautiful one appeared just as they brought the last load from their old home. Steve decided right then and there it would be Spectrum Farm.

Life feels great to Rita and Steve. All six of their kids are doing well. Three of them are involved in farming: Maggie takes care of the frying chickens and pasture management; Sam manages the layers and the farm equipment; and Ed, the youngest, is lifeguarding at The Beach this summer when he's not weeding at the berry farm.

"Our neighbors feel like it's a party when they're here picking berries, and then all winter when they're eating jam, they're remembering the fun they had," they say.

Spectrum Farm Strawberries is about building our community. And it's incredibly satisfying, just like the Blandin Foundation study reports.

If you would like to tell your local food story, call Emily at Oldenburg House, 218-384-4835.

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Here is a great recipe from Steve and Rita. It's been a July tradition in their family for nearly 20 years. Rita says to be sure to look at a sample flag to make sure the stars and stripes are placed just right - and you know where to look for the strawberries!

Strawberry Flag Dessert

Crust:

20 double graham crackers, crushed

⅔ cup sugar

½ cup melted butter

Filling:

16 oz. cream cheese

4 eggs

1 cup sugar

2 tsp. Vanilla

Red sauce:

4 cups strawberries, cooked with

½ cup sugar and

¼ cup cornstarch, and cooled

Blue sauce:

1 cup blueberries, cooked with

¼ cup sugar and

2 Tbsp cornstarch, and cooled

Whipped cream:

1 cup heavy whipping cream, whipped with

1 Tbsp. sugar and

1 tsp. vanilla, placed into pastry bag or plastic bag with a corner cut off

Mix the crust ingredients together in the bottom of a 9" x13" pan. Pat into an even layer.

Mix the filling ingredients together and spread over the crust.

Bake at 350°F for about 15 minutes. Cool.

Spread the sauces over the filling, with the blue in one corner.

Pipe the whipped cream into 6 stripes across the red and 50 stars on the field of blue.