Strawberries: First fruits of the season

This spring hasn't quite begun, it seems. The past couple days have been in the low teens (°C) and the forecast is rain and cold until mid-week. Although very cool, it hasn't dropped below freezing, so the plants in the veranda garden are pushing through.

It's been almost a week since I last blogged and there has been quite a bit of growth all around. The potatoes are growing like crazy, the broccoli is gaining height and new leaves are coming in, and most exciting is the tomato sprouts that have broken through the soil. I'll save those for another day when pictures are better.

Strawberries are looking great. There are lots of flowers this year, a stark contrast to last year when there were only a handful of flowers all season. I can't wait for fruiting season!

Speaking of fruiting...
Hid underneath a big leaf was a little strawberry just getting started! In this picture, the fruit is about 1cm from stem to tip. I've never measured how long it takes for my strawberries to ripen, but I'll definitely do it this time.

On another note, yesterday I bought some strawberry-specific fertilizer at the home center, but when I looked for it this morning it was nowhere to be found. I went back to the store to see if I might have left it at the register, but no one had turned it in to the lost & found. I'm bummed.