Features Fruit Production
Berry season looks sweet for P.E.I. producers

June
23, 2010, St. Eleanors, PEI – Strawberry producers on Prince Edward Island are
gearing up to break out the cartons and open their doors a little early this
year.

June
23, 2010, St. Eleanors, PEI – Strawberry producers on Prince Edward Island are
gearing up to break out the cartons and open their doors a little early this
year.

Ideal
weather conditions over the spring have resulted in berries ripening a week
earlier than they normally do.

Sheila
Compton, who owns Compton’s Vegetable Stand and Very Berry Patch in St.
Eleanors, says she expects to start picking by July 1.

It
was a much different situation last year.

Compton
says she was only able to pick for 10 days and her business couldn’t operate
its U-pick.

Her
farm also lost two of its seven hectares of berries due to above average
rainfall.

“I’m
just hoping for no extreme weather (this year),” she said.

An
automated phone message at Cackleberry Farms is also telling customers to
expect the harvest to start at the beginning of July.