Berry season kicks off

Berry season has arrived and it’s shaping up to be a bumper one, according to local growers.

Berry Lands on Appleby Highway, which is owned by Waimea Plains grower family, the Connings, officially opened for pick-your-own berries last Friday.

They grow raspberries, boysenberries, and karaka berries which are available for the public to pick, as well as gigantic strawberries.

This year they are only open for three weeks, until 8 January.

Manager Josh Koleff says they are on track for a good season if the sun makes an appearance over the next few weeks.

“The strawberries have been a bit slower than usual but once we get some more heat, they will be fine. The raspberries are on track and the crop looks good considering the weather that winter brought.”

Although it was a rainy start to the pick-your-own side of the business on their opening day, Josh expects the lead-up to Christmas to be “super busy”.

“It’s just another great season in Nelson and we’ve got a great group of staff.”

It’s also been a good start to the season for Tasman Bay Berries, who are preparing to open their roadside stall on Paton Rd to the public in time for Christmas.

Director of operations, Arianna Holland, says that the growing conditions have been amazing and once again there is “huge demand” as the season kicks off.

Boysenberries New Zealand managing director Julian Raine said their harvest in Nelson has just begun and it is going well so far.

They manage about 35ha of boysenberries and supply processing berries that go into foods such as ice cream and yoghurt.

“It was a very wet winter - we were the latest ever getting things tied up, but flowering has been quite good.”

He says the bushes have largely recovered after the extreme rain the region experienced over June, July, and August.

“They were a bit stressed coming out of winter, but boysenberries are a bit more tolerant of water.”

Meanwhile, Tony Mihaka-Rodda, chief grocer at Benge & Co Nelson has noticed a spike in customers shopping around for their fresh fruit - including berries.

He says prices are definitely going up, but he is confident of his strong customer base.  

His advice to shoppers in the lead-up to Christmas is “stick to a habit to save money on fruit and vegetables”.