"There's plenty of red out there, and some green that will ripen up later," she says, assessing the pick-your-own strawberry season at her family's 150-acre farm in northern Burlington County.

"Since it's been cooler at night, the berries are ripening up nice and slowly," she says. "It's looking like a very good crop this year."

Throughout New Jersey and Pennsylvania, farmers who are eager to provide the public with a taste of what they do are gearing up for their busiest "u-pick-'em" season, when customers enter the fields and pick whatever fruit or vegetable is in season, starting with lettuce and asparagus in May, strawberries and peas in June, blackberries and raspberries in July, followed by blueberries, peaches, tomatoes, peppers, squash, and corn in late summer, and finally apples and pumpkins in the fall.

But for many, picking strawberries marks the start of harvest season.

"People are anxious to buy something fresh, something that tells people it's summertime, and that's strawberries," says Kathy Demchak, senior extension associate in berry production at Pennsylvania State University.

Statewide, Pennsylvania last year had 1,300 acres of strawberry fields, which yielded a crop worth $11.5 million.

Pick-your-own plays a big role in the state's strawberry production, Demchak said. After a dropoff in interest five or six years ago, Demchak said, berry farmers have reported a renewed interest.

"People are becoming more aware of local produce, and as they become more aware, they start looking for local sources, and if they can go pick it, so much the better," Demchak says.

There are approximately 300 pick-your-own farms in New Jersey, 50 of which offer strawberries, New Jersey Department of Agriculture spokesman Jeff Beach said. As part of a growing "agritourism" business in the state, farmers are finding that adding a pick-your-own element to their operations helps not only economically, but also in binding them to the community.

"A lot of these people have never stepped foot on a farm, and they come out to pick and suddenly they create a connection," Beach said. "It helps in that people then want locally grown produce, and the desire to preserve farmland."

The Russos had already been picking strawberries to sell at their farm stand on Extonville Road and at the Trenton Farmers Market, grown in beds lined in black plastic tarp to speed up the growing cycle. But the pick-your-own strawberry season, which normally runs from Memorial Day to Father's Day, had to wait out this spring's unseasonably cool weather.

Hellerick's Family Farm in Doylestown and Springdale Farms in Cherry Hill both opened their popular u-pick-'em strawberry fields over Memorial Day weekend. As the last functioning farm in what was once a thriving agricultural community in South Jersey, Springdale Farms has had public strawberry-picking for the last 30 years.

"During the week we get moms and kids, on the weekends we get whole families," said co-owner John Ebert, who expects the picking season to last three or four weeks.

"It's nice. They're getting back to nature, seeing the stuff actually growing in the fields, and picking the stuff they're buying. It's not preselected for them."

The appeals of pick-your- own fruit are numerous. For one thing, fresh-picked strawberries are far tastier than anything you'll find in the supermarket, most of which is shipped from California. Second, there are big savings in doing the work yourself.

Fresh strawberries at local farmers markets and roadside stands this year are going for $5 to $6 a quart, with a quart equaling about 11/2 pounds of berries, while pick-your-own prices range from $1.25 to $2 a pound. Last year, New Jersey farms produced 1.4 million pounds of strawberries, valued at $3 million, according to the state Department of Agriculture.

For many families, u-pick-'em farms offer a fun weekend outing. However, there are still those diehards who pick many pounds of vegetables or fruit that they then can, freeze, or turn into preserves. I fall somewhere in between, having taken my daughters strawberry-picking at Russo's Farm when they were just toddlers, and continuing to take them as teens to the organic farm on the banks of the Delaware River in Cinnaminson each summer to pick blackberries and tomatoes. With such enthusiastic pickers, we always end up with more produce than we can consume. So out comes the jam-making equipment.

Pickling vegetables and putting up preserves may seem like something best left to your grandmother's generation, but in truth, making jam couldn't be easier - or more satisfying. The basic formula calls for approximately equal parts fruit to sugar (four cups of berries and 3 to 4 cups of sugar), plus 1 to 2 cups of liquid (a mix of water and lemon juice) depending on the juiciness and sweetness of the fruit and the amount of preserves you are making. Some recipes call for adding liquid pectin, a natural by-product of fruit that helps jell the jam. All the ingredients are placed in a heavy saucepan, and brought to a rapid boil. The mixture continues simmering at a low boil for about 15 to 20 minutes until it reaches a jamlike consistency. The hot jam is then poured into sterilized jars.

If you are not into preserving, there are many other ways to enjoy those fresh-picked strawberries. The Butter Cake With Strawberry and Rhubarb Compote from Trish Deseine's Nobody Does It Better (Kyle Books, 2007) is a rich and satisfying dessert, or, in the case of my family, breakfast. We were too full after a recent Saturday dinner out, but the next morning, we polished off the French-inspired cake in no time. Using egg whites and strawberry yogurt, Art Smith offers a lighter dessert alternative with his Strawberry Souffle in Back to the Family. The strawberry sauce used to make the souffle is a great stand-alone treat, poured on top of fresh berries or ice cream.