BY STEPHEN H. COWLES/CONTRIBUTING WRITER
Playback58@gmail.com

FRANKLIN—Amp Cobb’s favorite ways to eat strawberries are on shortcake and in jam.

Cobb will have plenty to do both this spring with an earlier than normal crop at Goose Hill Farm at 22090 Bethel Road outside Franklin, where he has 1 ⅓ acres of strawberries planted.

The winter’s mild temperatures and early spring contributed to the strawberries ripening two weeks early.

“Normally, we have them from about April 20 to Memorial Day weekend,” he said. “But this year, they were two weeks earlier than normal. They were ready before I was ready.”

The cooler weather has kept pickers away.

“They want the warm weather,” Cobb said.

Cobb is not a fan of the berries’ taste now.

“I don’t like early strawberries,” he said, adding that warm — not hot — weather is best for them to mature. “It enhances their flavor. Give them time to ripen.”

Six years ago, he added the crop to his farm.

“We always had an interest,” said Cobb, “and just thought we’d try it.”

The usual times to pluck the berries are 8 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. Monday through Saturday.

People wanting to pick should call the day of their visit to ensure the farm will be open. Goose Hill Farm can be reached at 569-8453.