By Michael J Wellik from The Strawberry Store http://www.thestrawberrystore.com Over 20 years ago I operated commercial greenhouses and grew bedding plants, Easter flowers and many other standard ornamental crops. I was not happy with profitability and began searching for new crops to grow. I decided to trial a variety of strawberries called ‘Ruegen’. When I bought the plants, I didn’t even realize that this was not a standard garden strawberry. In fact, it was a different species, Fragaria vesca, which is also known as the wild strawberry, alpine strawberry or woodland strawberry. The size of the fruit was the first clue that I was dealing with the unknown. What attracted me and hooked me was not only the unique wild taste, but the incredible aroma. In the years since then I have collected over 40 varieties of this species from all over the world. I am fascinated with…
