Much like other B.C. berries, the strawberry season is returning to a more anticipated harvest schedule. “We started three weeks earlier last year so the season will be the same length. We’re just starting later. The last two years were an anomaly, says Rhonda Driediger of Driediger Farms in Langley, B.C, who notes that this year, picking just began June 5th. “We have less than last year at the moment but we may be able to make the tonnage up with the later crop of Albion and other ever-bearing strawberries. Albion will finish in the fall depending on weather.”
Winter damage
The lower level of volume was due to the winter the province experienced this year. “We had winter damage that caused a 70 per cent loss in one field and the remainder of the fields had around 10 per cent loss,” she notes. The farm, which bookends its season with the Albion crops, also offers Puget, Chandler, Stella and Rainier varieties in between.
While supply is largely hailing from the Fraser Valley and Vancouver Island, competition comes from down south in California. Driediger Farms considers itself a local use supplier though with berries going out throughout B.C. and Alberta. Driediger also adds that the berries are priced at $2.75-$4.00/lb. depending on the quality.
For more information:
Rhonda Driediger
Driediger Farms
Tel: +1-(604)-888-1685
rhonda@driedigerfarms.com
http://driedigerfarms.com/