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Goose Hill Farm in Franklin, above, reopened its strawberry field April 25.
By Bobbie Whitehead
Sweet, large and, in some cases, the size of plums or ping pong balls, area strawberries this year have come in packed with sweetness, some growers say.
The last week of April with its warm temperatures produced a strong crop for strawberry growers selling fresh berries at their pick-your-own fields or farmers markets.
Most strawberry fields opened at the end of April or are opening this week with high temperatures and steady crowds of customers – some stocking up to can their own jam or freeze their berries.
“Opening day was great,” Pam Oliver, who operates Oliver Farms LLC with husband Jimmy and reopened the field April 27. “I had somebody in my field all day long.”
Sweet, large and, in some cases, the size of plums or ping pong balls, area strawberries this year have come in packed with sweetness, some growers say.
The last week of April with its warm temperatures produced a strong crop for strawberry growers selling fresh berries at their pick-your-own fields or farmers markets.
Most strawberry fields opened at the end of April or are opening this week with high temperatures and steady crowds of customers – some stocking up to can their own jam or freeze their berries.
“Opening day was great,” Pam Oliver, who operates Oliver Farms LLC with husband Jimmy and reopened the field April 27. “I had somebody in my field all day long.”
Aside from strong crowds, Oliver said her strawberries this year are large.
“There are some out there that are the size of ping pong balls,” she said. “This year, the season is right on target.”
In 2008, strawberry growers began selling about 10 days earlier, though this year the temperatures were cooler during the early spring.
“This 90-degree weather we’ve had for the past three days has pushed the berries along,” Oliver said.
The Olivers plant new strawberry plants each year on their one-acre field, Oliver said.
“Fresh plants put off fresh, large berries because they were replanted,” Oliver said. “For each year you leave the plants in place, the berries grow smaller, and they also lose their flavor over the years.”
For that reason, the Olivers and other growers opt to replant their fields each year.
“We’ve just had a good first week, and we tell people to come out and see us,” Oliver said. “There’s plenty of room for everybody.”
The Olivers grow the Chandler and Camorosa varieties.
Over in Surry, College Run Farms, which also reopened its field this week, grows and sells the Sweet Charlie and the Chandler varieties, and this year, Owner Steve Berryman said they planted the Camarosa variety, which is an early variety.
“The hot weather moved them own up,” said Berryman, who owns and operates College Run Farms in Surry with his wife, Jordan. “It’s been a little slow but not too slow.”
In Franklin, Goose Hill Farm, owned and operated by Cobb Family Produce, reopened April 25 and had a usual, steady crowd of customers picking baskets of strawberries. Now in the third year, the Cobb family keeps its answering machine updated daily about the strawberry field schedule, so customers wanting to stop by and pick should call first.
A number of strawberry fields in Suffolk, too, reopened this week. Lilley Farms on Bennett’s Pasture Road in Suffolk reopened its field in Suffolk on May 2 and will reopen its second field just across the Suffolk border on Tyre Neck Road.
“It’s a nice family activity,” said Carolyn Lilley. “We try to promote the family, and we’ve had so many schools come out this year. They have a picnic out here.”
Lilley also sells a children’s basket that includes an activity book that has recipes and an explanation of how strawberries are grown.
“We have some of the best strawberries, and this year some are the size of plums,” Lilley said.
For folks wanting to celebrate strawberries and remember their visit, Lilley Farms has strawberry cutouts for adults and children to stick their heads and hands in to have their picture taken as a strawberry.
Greene’s Strawberry Farm will reopen Monday, said Karen Fecteau, manager of the field.
“The strawberries look good, and we are continuing to grow the Chandler variety because the customers like their flavor,” Fecteau said.
If you’re looking for a place to buy strawberries, here’s a list of some of the following in the area. Be sure to contact the fields for schedules ahead of time:
“There are some out there that are the size of ping pong balls,” she said. “This year, the season is right on target.”
In 2008, strawberry growers began selling about 10 days earlier, though this year the temperatures were cooler during the early spring.
“This 90-degree weather we’ve had for the past three days has pushed the berries along,” Oliver said.
The Olivers plant new strawberry plants each year on their one-acre field, Oliver said.
“Fresh plants put off fresh, large berries because they were replanted,” Oliver said. “For each year you leave the plants in place, the berries grow smaller, and they also lose their flavor over the years.”
For that reason, the Olivers and other growers opt to replant their fields each year.
“We’ve just had a good first week, and we tell people to come out and see us,” Oliver said. “There’s plenty of room for everybody.”
The Olivers grow the Chandler and Camorosa varieties.
Over in Surry, College Run Farms, which also reopened its field this week, grows and sells the Sweet Charlie and the Chandler varieties, and this year, Owner Steve Berryman said they planted the Camarosa variety, which is an early variety.
“The hot weather moved them own up,” said Berryman, who owns and operates College Run Farms in Surry with his wife, Jordan. “It’s been a little slow but not too slow.”
In Franklin, Goose Hill Farm, owned and operated by Cobb Family Produce, reopened April 25 and had a usual, steady crowd of customers picking baskets of strawberries. Now in the third year, the Cobb family keeps its answering machine updated daily about the strawberry field schedule, so customers wanting to stop by and pick should call first.
A number of strawberry fields in Suffolk, too, reopened this week. Lilley Farms on Bennett’s Pasture Road in Suffolk reopened its field in Suffolk on May 2 and will reopen its second field just across the Suffolk border on Tyre Neck Road.
“It’s a nice family activity,” said Carolyn Lilley. “We try to promote the family, and we’ve had so many schools come out this year. They have a picnic out here.”
Lilley also sells a children’s basket that includes an activity book that has recipes and an explanation of how strawberries are grown.
“We have some of the best strawberries, and this year some are the size of plums,” Lilley said.
For folks wanting to celebrate strawberries and remember their visit, Lilley Farms has strawberry cutouts for adults and children to stick their heads and hands in to have their picture taken as a strawberry.
Greene’s Strawberry Farm will reopen Monday, said Karen Fecteau, manager of the field.
“The strawberries look good, and we are continuing to grow the Chandler variety because the customers like their flavor,” Fecteau said.
If you’re looking for a place to buy strawberries, here’s a list of some of the following in the area. Be sure to contact the fields for schedules ahead of time:
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1.
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Oliver Farms LLC, 18222 Longview Drive, Smithfield, pick your own and prepicked, 255-4563
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2.
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College Run Farms, 2051 Alliance Rd., Surry, pick your own and prepicked, 294-3970;
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Horton Family Farm, 18598 Horton's Lane in Isle of Wight County, prepicked only, 377-8655
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4.
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Greene's Strawberry Farm, Raleigh Drive off Route 58, Suffolk, pick your own and prepicked, 539-8033
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5.
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Goose Hill Farm, 22090 Bethel Road, Franklin, pick your own and prepicked, 569-8453
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6.
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Faith Farms, 2170 Joshua Lane, Suffolk, pick your own and prepicked, Ryan Williams, 620-8677.
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7.
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Lilley Farms, fields on Bennett’s Pasture Road, Suffolk and on 2800 Tyre Neck Rd., Chesapeake, pick your own and prepicked, 483-9880;
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Area strawberry fields have reopened with red, plump fruit
