“Sweet, sweet, sweet,” is what Florala resident Brenda Wagner had to say about this year’s strawberries at Edmondson Farms.

Wagner was among the handful of people out recenlyt, taking advantage of the bountiful berry crop.

“Strawberry season doesn’t seem to last very long and these are so good and so good for you, I couldn’t wait any long to come out here,” Wagner said of her trip.

“The berries are wonderful this year,” she said. “There are no marks on them, and they are as sweet as sugar. You can eat them right off the vine.”

Edmondson Farms’ owner Glenene Edmondson said it is a bumper crop for strawberries.

“I can’t tell you why,” she said. “Every year we ask God and say, ‘Lord, let us prosper. Please,’ and He has.

“These are some of the prettiest berries I’ve ever seen,” she said.

The one-acre site features 19 rows of strawberry plants. Edmondson’s daughter, Shalona Kilpatrick, helps with running the stand and also in the field.

Wednesday, Kilpatrick said she picked 369 pounds of strawberries.

“That’s 96 flats if you’re wondering,” she said.

Crestview, Fla., resident Bob Bigford was caught “red-handed” picking up some of the berries for what he called a “bartering trip.”

His daughter-in-law, Hope Bigford of Andalusia, had promised to help him with his cell phone, he said.

“What she didn’t know is that I’m going to pay her in strawberries,” he said. “I’m hoping I can get a strawberry shortcake out of the deal. Hers is so good.”

Edmondson said travelers as far away as Kentucky and Indiana stop each year “on the way to the beach.”

“Some we get coming and going,” she said.

Edmondson Farms is located on Racetrack Road, off Covington County Road 4. It is open Monday through Saturday from 8 a.m. to “5-ish,” Edmondson said.

Cost is $20 per flat; $11 for ½ flat; $1.25 a pound if you pick; $3.50 a quart and $1.75 a pint. Also available is homemade strawberry jelly for $3.50 a pint and $5 a quart.

-Stephanie Nelson/Star-News