Strawberries are the only horticultural crop grown on this property. We used to also grow Cherries and did so for over 20 years. Strawberries proved to be a more reliable crop and a better use of valuable water assets.
We have grown the American Day Neutral Varieties for many years as they have generally given us better yields with high quality fruit going into the domestic market.
These varieties come in under the Plant Breeders Rights set of rules and are grown out in Toolangi in Victoria. The three main day neutral varieties currently grown here at Forest Hill Farms are San Andreas and Cabrillo. We have a number of trial sites this also testing newer varieties. All have excellent flavour with good shape and colour. They also have a pleasing aroma and no unpleasant after taste that was associated with some short day type varieties from a few years ago. All are excellent varieties and continue to please customers throughout WA.
Strawberries must be refrigerated between 0.5 – 2.0ºC at all times. Strawberries are often mishandled at the retail level where the temperature control is often inadequate and the fruit is often too warm. Once the temperature goes above 2 degrees the shelf life of the product will be affected. The higher the temperature, the shorter the shelf life. Ask your retailer to get your strawberries from their cool store if they have had them on the store floor at room temperature to get the maximum life from the produce.
Up until a few years ago chemical treatment was the only known way to deal with most issues that confronted strawberry producers. Strawberries have been known in the past as being amongst the most sprayed of crops along with a few others.
In 2006 we began to use Integrated Pest Management (IPM) systems in the management of our crops. This has significantly reduced the amount of sprays used on the crop. The bug used is the persimilus bug which is a voracious feeder of the two spotted mite or spider mite. This is a major pest of many crops throughout the World. The persimilis predator has effectively halved the use of chemicals here at Forest Hill Farms. We are not organic growers however we use a very limited spray program and only use a chemical when necessary. We will often leave a spray until there is more than an economic issue to address. This means that sometimes there will be very minor blemishes on the fruit as we limit the use of chemicals.
One of the bug men inspecting the site for good bugs that feed on the bad bugs. This is a perfect solution for some of the problem bugs.
Nutrition plays a big part in the management of these crops as well and while we might be spraying we might not be using a chemical but an enhancement “over the top” to improve the ability of the crop to thrive. Strawberries are a difficult crop to grow. They demand constant management of irrigation and nutrition and a fair bit of good luck from the weather to produce a viable crop.