Shaping up to be a berry good season

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This article was published 25/06/2018 (2968 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Summertime means berry picking for many Manitobans.

Even though Mother Nature didn’t provide much insulating snow to cover Manitoba’s strawberry plants for the first part of last winter, things are looking good as this year’s picking season begins.

Angie and Darren Cormier, who run Cormier’s Berry Patch, on PR 247 two kilometres west of La Salle, always cover their plants with a layer of straw, but count on snowfall to help protect them from cold temperatures.

Despite their worries last winter, most of the plants were undamaged when they were uncovered in late April. The Cormiers were also able to transplant new plants on five acres. These plants will form part of next year’s U-pick acreage.

“We use a rotation so we’re always picking 10 acres,” Darren said.

Dry conditions early in the spring prompted the Cormiers to irrigate using water they draw from the adjacent La Salle River.

They primarily plant Kent strawberries, a variety popular with Manitoba growers, that they buy from a supplier in Nova Scotia. They are also testing Cabot, a variety that matures a bit later than Kent but yields large berries.

Maintaining strawberry fields is very labour-intensive. While Darren said their farm isn’t certified organic, they mainly control weeds around the growing berries by hand-pulling. They also pinch off blossoms on plants that are set to come into production next year to encourage the plants to set down strong roots.

The Cormiers work with an agronomist to improve their soil health by adding nutrients found in natural products, such as seaweed and worm casting. Darren said the calcium level in soil is important for producing firm berries.

While they’ve had some challenges arising from fruit fly varieties, their operation has remained relatively pest-free. Angie said they learned to decrease the width of their rows to cut back on fungus problems.

“It’s taken us five or six years to learn the basics, and now another five or six years to make improvements,” Darren said. “It’s trying to find and perfect the best practices.”

The Cormiers employ about 30 casual staff and try to give local teens a job. While they pick and sell baskets of berries, close to 90 per cent of their business comes from U-pickers.

“They get to taste the fresh fruit right off the plant,” Darren said. “It’s an excursion for your family.”

He added that many new Canadians living in Winnipeg come out to spend the day, bringing a picnic lunch.

The couple’s children — aged six, eight and ten years — try to help out as much as they can. With Darren working at a full-time job off-farm, the three or four weeks of picking season is busy.

When interviewed on June 18, the Cormiers weren’t yet certain as to when they’d be open for the year. They use their website at http://cormiersberrypatch.com, Facebook page and Instagram to notify customers about when they are open and for what hours. They can also sign up for an e-newsletter or call 204-688-0858.

“You should check before you come,” Angie advises.

Melanie Moran at Mayfair Farms said picking on the Portage la Prairie farm’s 25 acres of strawberries should also start around Canada Day.

“That’s an average start date for us,” she said.

Mayfair Farms sells pre-picked berries in its on-site market, but Moran said about 50 per cent of their business comes from U-pickers.

“The U-pick side has increased in the last few years,” she said.

Mayfair Farms’ raspberries should be ready by the second or third week of July. Check http://www.mayfairfarms.ca for more information.

Ernie Jeffries, who runs Jeffries Berry Patch with his brother Roland, agrees with the other strawberry growers’ forecast for berry ripening.

“Things are coming along nicely, We should open on July 1 or a few days before,” he said.
This will be the first year that the Jeffries open their 20 acres to U-pickers rather than just selling pre-picked berries from their stand next to Highway 1 about eight kilometres east of Portage la Prairie. Jeffries said they had more berries than customers last year so decided to offer the U-pick option this year.

The brothers grow six varieties in order to stretch the ripening season to about three and a half weeks as the various types ripen at different times.

Jeffries said the Cabot variety yields a huge berry almost the size of a crabapple. “It’s just massive so people don’t think that it grew here. They have to try one first.”

Information on Jeffries Berry Patch is available on the Prairie Fruit Growers Associations’ website at http://pfga.com/farm/jeffries-berry-patch

Purple Berry Orchard’s owner Brent Wolfe said his Saskatoon crop looks good this year, and the berries should ripen by mid-July.

Purple Berry Orchard is located one kilometre south of the junction of the Perimeter Highway and Rosser Road in the RM of Rosser. The family-owned business started about 10 years ago, with 10 acres now planted in Saskatoon bushes. As well as being available for U-pickers, berries are machine harvested and frozen for sale later in the year.

Wolfe said the popularity of Saskatoons seems to be increasing.

“We get a lot of people not necessarily familiar with the berries, but the word is spreading.”

More information on Purple Berry Orchard is available at http://purpleberryorchard.com