Berry Fruits
There are a wide variety of berry fruits growing at the Farm. Strawberries are the main fruit available, either pick your own or ready-picked for your convenience. We have just over 7000 strawberry plants comprising eight different varieties to provide an extended fruiting period.
It can take 2-4 years for most berry plants to produce fruit so over the next few years more berries will be available for you to choose from.
Sweet and succulent, strawberries are a great source of vitamin C
and folate. Would you believe that despite their name, strawberries are not
berries at all – they actually belong to the rose family. Strawberries are
totally unique in that they are the only fruit with their seeds on the outside!
Strawberries are at their peak from November to February with a sweet, mouth-watering fragrance. Choose brightly coloured fruit with the stem and hull (calyx) still intact.
Store unwashed strawberries on a paper-lined plate covered with plastic wrap in the fridge. Hull and rinse strawberries under cold running water just before you are ready to use them. To hull a strawberry, angle a small sharp knife and cut in a circular motion around the green leafy top and into the flesh directly underneath. Remove the hull and discard.
Raspberries
are an excellent source of vitamin C and are at their peak from December to
February. Raspberries are delicious but delicate so be careful not to
squash them!
Store unwashed raspberries on a paper-lined plate covered with plastic wrap in the fridge. Use within 1-2 days of purchasing.
We are cultivating thornless blackberries to make them safer to
pick, however their native cousins are an invasive plant that for years choked
Resolution Creek and covered the banks surrounding the Farm. The berry itself
is a cluster of tiny, juicy, purple-black beads, rich in vitamin C, E and folate.
Blackberries are available throughout summer. Look for bright, dry and firm berries with no soft patches.
Store unwashed blackberries on a paper-lined plate covered with plastic wrap in the fridge. Use within 1-2 days of purchasing.
The
boysenberry is a cross between the loganberry, blackberry and
raspberry, having been developed in the 1930s by a Californian horticulturist
Rudolph Boysen.
High in vitamin C and fibre, the berries are available through summer and early autumn. Store unwashed boysenberries on a paper-lined plate covered with plastic wrap in the fridge. Use within 1-2 days of purchasing.
Originating from North America and eastern Asia, blueberries
belong to the Azalea family and require similar growing conditions. The
thornless shrubs can be either evergreen or deciduous, vary from I m to 3 m in
height, and can live for 30 years or more. The fruit is found in clusters on the
end of branches and has a waxy bloom, ripening from late summer through autumn.
Look for berries that are deep blue, firm and evenly shaped. Blueberries are delicious freshly picked, keep well in the fridge and are great to freeze as they retain their colour, shape and taste. Store unwashed blueberries on a paper-lined plate covered with plastic wrap in the fridge and use within a few days.
Youngberries were
named after B.M.Young, a 20th century fruit
grower. While they look very much like Boysenberries, they are actually a cross
between a blackberry and a dewberry. Youngberries are a vigorous, trailing bramble with sweet,
juicy, black-purple berries in Summer. They are excellent in cakes, desserts, pies,
sauces and tarts.
The
Jostaberry is a cross between the black currant and gooseberry, but is more
vigorous than either parent. It looks just
like a gooseberry until it turns nearly black and ripens.
The flavour is more like a black currant, although slightly
milder, but berry size is larger. Jostaberries contain
more vitamin C than gooseberries and are excellent for
eating fresh or as jam, juice, wine, and in cordials.