seascape have a much more intense strawberry aroma and are more sweet/tart. Gaviotas are sweeter, less tart. There’s no ‘right’ answer personally I will get seascapes 100% of the time given a choice but that’s just my preference. The tables at Harry’s Berries used to be split about 50-50 between the two varieties. Looks like they sell a lot more of the Gaviotas now -they are great berries.
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Yah, it’s all about preferences. Looking forward to trying the Seascapes again.
Speaking of Peach season. I’ve been meaning to post about my conversation with one of the Tenerelli farmers who said the Peaches matured late this year. That’s why we’re not getting a lot of the favorites yet. I think that’s serendipitous because a lot of the markets only started reopening a few weeks ago… we haven’t missed anything. I did get some sweet, juicy June Ladies (yellow) recently, but he said some of the really special White Peaches like the Sugar Giants won’t be ready until August.
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On one hand matured late means not here yet. On the other hand, matured late might mean they’re available later into the year? I think I’ll be making quite a few FM stops for Tenerelli peaches in the next few months… 
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There’s a definite silver lining here.
Hi @Chowseeker1999 -
I moved this over here to not derail the Republique thread with Strawberry talk.
This could be part of it as Tamai Strawberries are markedly less $. It could also be a matter of locale convenience for the chefs, as Republique seems to use a lot of produce from vendors at CCFM. But I thought of another possibility - Tamai Strawberries are firmer w/better shelf life. Harry’s Berries are left on the vine longer for more ripeness & sweetness while Tamai’s are probably picked earlier like conventionally grown Strawberries.
TheCookie, FTC Strawberry Investigator. 
Here are more photos of ones I previously posted about, but after more than a few days in the fridge. I bought so much produce that week and the Strawberries didn’t get eaten fast enough, so I decided to make compote again.
Tamai Farms - Albion Strawberries
Still firm & fresh tasting.
Harry’s Berries - Gaviota
There were some in good shape but most were too mushy. I was kinda’ over Harry’s at that point and tossed them all. We’re going to BHFM today and will talk to the worker about the bad experience.
I’m not trying to diss Harry’s in favor of Tamai’s. Just a little disappointed, right now. I do enjoy Tamai’s Strawberries but Harry’s Gaviotas are the superior Strawberry and their sweetness would probably be much better on the Passionfruit Cream Pie. I think the strategy to the new Harry’s rule of “Only Touch What You Purchase” is to have the worker pick a good batch for you. I’ll let you know how that goes…
Happy 
Eating!
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I like to store my Harry’s in-between layers of paper towels in some tupperware, I can usually get a week out of them that way.
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Great tip. That’s what the Harry’s Berries helper told us as well when we started buying from them. 
We do the same thing w/ our lettuce (FM or store-bought).
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Done… thanks for the tip! I wrap my cleaned vegetables & herbs in PT and change it when it gets moist. But I wasn’t sure if PT would make the delicate berries worse.
For the record, I didn’t have a big problem with the Gaviotas getting mushy. They were more than a few days old and I know it’s the nature of HB sweet, vine ripened Strawberries. My post was more about why the Manzkes might pick Tamai over HB. But! never again will I buy the Mara des Bois.
Here are my $4-off Gaviotas
A handful were too mushy, but much improved as a whole.
Harry’s Berries Strawberry Sorbet
It has a pure Strawberry flavor but a little too much lemon and not enough sweet for my taste. I cheated and mixed in some Strawberry Compote
Question: @Chowseeker1999 do the actual HB farmer/owners work the stands at the big markets like Hollywood & SM? I think we’re getting the B-Team at BHFM. Unlike Tenerelli’s stand which always has at least 2 Tenerelli’s and a farmer.
Happy Summer Fruit Seeking!
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Same here. They get a little wrinkled looking after 4-5 days but taste just fine
How did you get 4 dollars off the berries?
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Hi @TheCookie,
Glad this latest batch was much better. Yah for Mara de Bois variety, we’ve only bought them maybe ~3 - 5 times over the years? Gaviotas are still our favorite.
For Hollywood Farmers Market stand, we’ve never met Founder-Farmer Harry Iwamoto (I would’ve loved to have said “Hi” and thank him and his family for their hard work and amazing Strawberries!), nor his daughter and son-in-law (Molly and Rick Gean) who now run the farm.
But the main stand “manager” has been there for years and speaks about the crops pretty knowingly. I’ll have to ask her next time if she’s actually working on the farm itself. But yah at Hollywood, the team is nice and they happily obliged when we asked them to show us / pick out a good batch (lifting it up for us to inspect), etc.
Pre-pandemic, we would chat with them about how the crop was this week, the standout Cherry Tomato varieties for that week (and they would warn us if there were some that weren’t as standout (Juliets vs. Cherry vs. Grape Tomatoes, etc.).
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Hah! It was because they sold me some bad strawberries previously and I complained. Even then it was just a discount and not a comp. Definitely not because they give discounts… Ever. A group of people next to me asked for discounts for buying a large quantity. They got a firm No. When one asked “Wouldn’t it be better to sell for less than throw them away?“ The answer was “We don’t throw them away. We make sorbet.” My opinion is, ok understandable, but then they need to be making more sorbet, because they’re selling some soft-ass strawberries.
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This is good enough. They don’t need to work on the farm, just know the product and give a sh_t. 
I 
their little tomatoes!
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Glad at least you got some relief on your next batch. Sounds like they gotta start pushing more product. Bummed that I am missing this season’s ripest harry’s berries eat some more for me when you get a chance!
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Hang in there, babe!
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It’s not too bad for me just taking a sabbatical from LA for awhile. Stay safe!
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Has anyone ever seen or know of a good producer of dragon fruit at farmer’s markets?
I typically get some delicious dragon fruit through a family friend who has a tree at their home. However, with the pandemic and all, it seems unlikely that this connection will be pulling through. Light googling of dragon fruit shows that bland dragon fruit in the US might be a thing? This makes me cautious to just randomly go buy some and I’m wondering if anyone knows where some tasty versions of this fruit can be purchased. Thanks in advance!
I’ve never found dragonfruit particularly tasty no matter what continent I’m on, but the Cal Poly Pomona farm store often has it.
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