Students learn about strawberries through Farm From School – Texas Farm Bureau

By Shelby Shank
Field Editor

Texas students learned about strawberries through Texas Farm Bureau’s (TFB) Farm From School program.

Kindergarten through fifth-grade students across the Lone Star State virtually “meet” with a farmer or rancher once a month through Farm From School on a video conferencing app.

This month, Kylie Demases, a farmer in Pilot Point, gave students a tour of Pecan Creek Strawberry Farm and taught them all about strawberries.

“Texas students tuned into our April Farm From School visit to learn all about strawberries from Kylie,” Jordan Bartels, TFB associate director Organization Division, Educational Outreach, said. “Students asked Kylie many questions about growing and picking strawberries.”

During the 30-minute virtual session, Demases discussed how strawberries are grown, different strawberry varieties on their farm and taught students how to pick the best strawberries.

Demases has 90,000 strawberry plants on her farm that were planted by hand in two days.

“We plant strawberries in the fall because they like the cooler weather. A strawberry plant can handle the cold all the way down to zero degrees,” Demases said. “Once it’s above 90 degrees, the plant stops producing any more blooms because it’s too hot.”

Demases explained to students the different stages of growth for a strawberry. The berry’s first stage starts with a flower-like bloom. Over 28 days, the strawberry transforms from a flower to the familiar red, ripe fruit enjoyed by many.

A single plant can have multiple berries growing on it at different stages.

“Similar to how your elementary school is filled with different grade levels, a strawberry plant can have different berries at different stages on it,” Demases said.

Students asked many questions about strawberries and were curious about the plastic beds around the strawberries, called plasticulture.

“The plastic traps the moisture in the ground for the plant and protects the berries from unwanted weeds,” Demases said. “The plasticulture also helps us use less water because when the sun is on the plant, it can’t evaporate the moisture outside of the dirt.”

When the strawberries are fully ripe, they are ready to be picked and harvested.

“The better tasting strawberries are the really red ones. You only want to pick solid red strawberries,” Demases said. “When they’re green or little, that means they’re not ready to be picked. If you pick it too early, the strawberry won’t ripen or get sweeter. Once you pick that strawberry off the vine, it’s done growing.”

More information about Farm From School
The last session for the spring semester will focus on watermelons.

Sign up for the fall 2024 program will open later this summer.

Click here for more information about the Farm From School program.

Visit texasfarmbureau.org/aitc for more information and the latest announcements on TFB’s Ag in the Classroom activities.