A prolific author, Darrow wrote over 230 research or review articles, bulletins, and book chapters; a majority were USDA publications and reports.

Another accomplishment that made a profound impression on small fruit scientists was Darrow's establishment of a foundation of genetic material that would figure prominently in breeding new strawberry varieties.

Darrow is predominantly known for strawberry breeding and research, but he worked with all small fruits, including blackberries, raspberries, and blueberries.

In the late 1920s, Darrow began tracking down reports of a large, reddish-purple berry that had been grown on the northern California farm of a man named Rudolph Boysen.

Undaunted, Darrow and Knott headed out to Boysen's old farm, on which they found several frail vines surviving in a field choked with weeds.

In 1954 Darrow received the USDA Distinguished Service Award, "For leadership and research contributions to the breeding and improvement of small fruits, thereby providing more dependable, productive, and better quality varieties of value to both the producer and consumer."