Rick Bishop & The Evolution of the Tri-star Strawberry

If you’ve ever walked through the Union Square Greenmarket early on a summer morning, you’ve probably seen the long lines snaking in front of Rick Bishop’s stand. Lines are not uncommon anytime of year, but in the summer months Rick’s Mountain Sweet Berry Farm sells something so unique and so flavorful, it has New Yorkers of all stripes scrambling to get their hands on it: the Tri-star Strawberry.

Since its introduction to the Greenmarket in the mid 1980s, the Tri-star has helped Rick Bishop achieve rockstar status with Greenmarket shoppers and chefs alike. Always looking for new and interesting varieties to grow (chefs have been known to bring seeds to Rick from far off places, some of which he’s grown into his top selling crops) Rick stumbled across the Tri-star strawberry when he was studying at Cornell University and the rest is history. And while we would be remiss for not mentioning his penchant for growing peculiar potatoes, tender baby lettuces, heirloom Italian beans and hard to find peppers, it is the tiny strawberry with a super sweet punch that we will forever be grateful for.

From the Greenmarket archives, here is the evolution of the Tri-star strawberry told by the man himself: