Strawberry time at Jones in Shelton

Shelton, Connecticut (WTNH) - Warm and sunny spring days have been extra sweet for Connecticut strawberry crops.

Some in the business say their fruit has ripened early and there is plenty for the pickin'.

During this time of year, local strawberry fields are usually filled with white flowers, but at Jones Family Farms in Shelton, this year they're filled with berries.

The Jones family has been growing strawberries in the valley for more than 40 years, and they’ve never opened this early for picking this early. In fact, they could have opened earlier.

"If it wasn't Memorial Day weekend and staff had plans, we would have been open through the weekend. But it just kind of caught us off guard because we knew it was warm early on in March,” said Jamie Jones, of Jones Family Farms. “Then we got a cold spell and we thought, geez, things are gonna slow down a little bit. And then boom, we got that 90 degree weather again."

So the berries are ripe and ready. Now it's a matter of getting the word.

"It's really a function of temperature,” Jamie Jones explained. “But once they're nice and red, they've only got two or three days before they start going too far."

On this first full day of business for the season, there were people out picking and sampling.

"We had a whole lot of fun,” said a woman enjoying the day with her young child. “She loved the strawberries as you can see."

"We just picked strawberries for the pie,” Alena Trombetta, of Bridgeport, told News 8. “First we need the ingredients and a recipe card."

One thing not on the recipe card was the two-week early arrival. Despite the ups and downs of early spring, the crop is looking good.