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Berry blast forces farmer’s hand Workers say sunny spring has led to best ever crop of giant strawberries BY ALAN CAMPBELL
acampbell@richmond-news.com
JOHN CORREA/SPECIAL TO THE NEWS
No clownin’ around, Bill Zylmans said the secret to producing great strawberries every year is rotating the land as much as possible and using new plants.
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They’re “big, red, juicy and exciting,” almost two weeks early and they’re the best crop some of his long-serving workers have ever seen. Weeks of sustained spring sunshine has forced the large farmer’s hand of Bill Zylmans into opening up his W&A Farms’ strawberry U-pick at Westminster Highway and No. 8 Road this week. Zylmans was contemplating holding off for another week, but the strength and depth of a bumper crop and burgeoning demand meant he had to open the gates on Monday — at least a week ahead of schedule. “I opened U-pick today, but we’ve been selling to the stores for a week now,” said Zylmans. “I had so many enquiries, people coming in and the phones have been ringing off the hook, so I said, ‘to hell with it, let’s open her Scan page up.’ for video “It’s certainly come earlier than the last few years, that’s for sure. I’ll probably get about an extra two weeks out of this.” Despite this year’s strawberry season arriving a shade early, Zylmans recalls just a few years ago, when it was the norm to open up early in June. “It’s just the last few years that spring has been disappointing and we’ve had to wait,” he added. “We haven’t had really hot weather, it’s been ideal for the strawberries; in the high teens to low 20s is perfect. If it’s too hot, they ripen too quickly without really growing.” Zylmans said his secret, if you can call it that, is to rotate the land being used. “Using new plants as much as possible also helps,” he said. “I know some people use the same plants year after year, but they just don’t produce the same kind of berry as this.” Last year, one of Zylmans’ rivals, Ravinder Gill, of Birak Berry Farms, ceremoniously dumped tons of unwanted local strawberries onto the highway in protest over the crippling low prices being paid by Abbotsford-based processors in favour of the cheaper, Californian import. And, although the processors are paying 50 cents per pound — double that of last year — Zylmans said it’s still not worth it, as it costs him 42 cents per pound to harvest. “Some folks have been flooding the market (with strawberries), but they’re still using old plants and they’re produc-
JOHN CORREA/SPECIAL TO THE NEWS
LIfe-long farmer Bill Zylmans, of W&A Farms, shows off some of his berries at his U-pick on Westminster Highway and No. 8 Road.
ing these small berries,” said Zylmans. “People want the big berries, the same size as the Californian ones, but with proper colour right through and the taste — the taste is everything. “I’m good with the local market and the U-pick, as I’m giving people quality and they come back for more.” As for the science of the U-pick, Zylmans isn’t too fussy about when he picks them, they’re all great he beamed, unabashed. “Ah, early in the morning, they might not be as flavourful as when the sun gets on them,” he mused. “It doesn’t matter much, they’re way better than those Californian ones with the white insides.”
STRAWBERRY FACTS AND TIPS
! Mid-season local strawberries tend to be red right through ! Choose fully ripe strawberries, they will not ripen after picking. ! Buy only what you plan to eat or freeze within 48 hours. ! One cup of strawberries contains less than 50 calories. ! 150 grams of strawberries contain 150 per cent of your daily requirement of vitamin C. ! To avoid adding calories via sugar, macerate strawberries with balsamic vinegar, black pepper, mint leaves or basil leaves.
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