Fresh and local
Strawberry season this year coming to a close, with many still enjoying getting out to pick their own
“I’m stealing one,” Elizabeth McGrath warned her grandson Riley as he came to the van with a box of fresh strawberries picked at MacLean’s Strawberries in Durham. “No you’re not!” he replied and scurried out of reach to eat his picking in peace. If there’s one thing the pair can agree on, there’s nothing better than the taste of fresh strawberries. Riley’s parents Jason Hunt and Lisa McGrath were visiting in Pictou County this week from Alberta and enjoyed getting out strawberry picking twice. “This is our second time in four days,” Hunt said. He was picking berries Wednesday to share with his grandmother in Newfoundland. “I grew up here, so we brought the grandkids back to visit,” Lisa said. Giving them a true taste of Pictou County, she brought the kids along to pick. “I like the fresh berries and the field,” she said. Elizabeth, who was helping out, said this is actually her fourth time out picking. While the season is starting to wind down, she said the berries were still pretty good. She enjoys making jam and eating them fresh. James and Helen McKay are staying at their cottage in Toney River. It’s become a tradition for them to pick fresh strawberries together. “We’re a little on the back side of picking, I guess the best picking is over now, but there’s a few yet,” he said as he picked Wednesday. “We can get strawberries from Florida and California, but they’re not quite the same. They look good, and it always surprises me that they can get them from so far away and they still look good, but you can’t beat them right off the vine,” he said. Helen says they usually pick about two to three dozen over the course of the summer. “I’ve always made jam,” she said. As for so many other people, it’s tradition for her. Peter MacLean, who owns the U-Pick and also sells berries commercially, said it was an average year overall. He said they had a good turnout at the U-Pick with many regular customers returning. “We hope it’s the quality of the berries (that keeps them coming back)” he said. “It’s certainly a lot cheaper than buying in the store.” And also there’s something to be said for being able to pick the berries yourself and get what you want, he said. “I think that more so than anything is the big deal.”