Berry season is underway, and there are many options across the region for people to satisfy their craving for all manner of berry varieties.
Differences in local weather and growing conditions means not all fruit is ready to pick at the same time. For example, some strawberry growers started picking earlier this month while others may not have been opening until this week.
On the Mini Acres farm run by Jake and Nettie Friesen south of Winkler, they are liking what they’re seeing with their strawberry crop in what is their 11th year of selling strawberries.
“Big juicy berries … it’s looking like a very good crop so far,” said Jake Friesen.
In their case, he doesn’t see that the recent rainy weather has had too much of a harmful impact.
“Two of our patches are actually on a little bit of a ridge, so they’ve been getting plenty of rain but they’re not getting swamped … I think it’s been just right,” he said. “I can imagine though if you’ve got your patch on a bit of a lower location, that wouldn’t be good.
Friesen said they generally have done quite well with their strawberry crop over the years.
“It’s been busy, especially during July obviously over the last 11 years. It’s been good,’ said Friesen.
“Over the years, we’ve had a little bit of challenges with drought and a little bit of hail here and there. We did get some hail this year as well, and we were expecting a little more damage than it had actually done to our crop. They were just blossoming when we got hail a couple times there. I’m surprised at how well they held up. It didn’t do too much damage.”
They began picking this year near the end of June with a limited number of berries at that point, but it quickly picked up pace.
“It always starts off slow, and you’ve got to pick off the ones that are ripe,” said Friesen, who sees the start of the season this year as being about average.
They offer both u-pick and pre-picked, and you can also find them at the local markets in Morden, Winkler, and Altona. You can also contact them by calling 204-331-4325 or e-mail to friesenminifarm@hotmail.com.
Maurice Gaultier, owner of NW27 Strawberry Farm and president of the PFGA, was also optimistic now with the weather having improved in recent weeks.
“Despite starting off dry, we’ve had more than adequate rainfall this spring and early summer,” he said. “The cooler weather slowed flowering and fruit development so picking will start a little later than normal, but the crop looks to be above average. Some sunshine and +20 to 25C days is all the crop needed to get us to picking.”
The following are estimated dates as to when fresh fruit will start to be ready for picking:
• Haskap: June 25 to July 2 and for three to four weeks.
• Strawberry: July 1 to 10 and for three to four weeks.
• Saskatoon : July 7 to 14 and for two to three weeks.
•Raspberries : July 10 to 18 and for two to three weeks.
• Sour cherries : July 10 to 18 and for two to three weeks.
Customers can visit the Prairie Fruit Growers Association website at www.pfga.com to find a farm close to you or the berry of your preference.
It is always suggested people double check with the farm before heading out. Local weather events or large volumes of customers can sometimes result in the farm having to change its plans and close last minute.
