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04/20/10 |
            
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We run a pretty tight ship. Believe it or not we know exactly how many berries are picked each day, which rows have been picked and who picked them! (U-pick or our staff) This means that each day we know how many rows can be picked. This means you will be guaranteed to have ripe berries on your section of row. UNLESS there was some poaching going on! This we have little control over! This also means you may arrive to find us closed for ripening. We do our best to update our website and phone message to prevent unnecessary fossil fuel wastage. There are no special requests taken. It is a strawberry lottery. You get the row you get when you arrive. We cannot guarantee that the strawberries will jump into your bucket! EVERY ROW IS DIFFERENT! So, when you arrive, if you have odd containers PLEASE head to the shop to have them weighed. A weight will be marked on them. IF you have ice cream buckets, we know the weight - head straight out to the straw boss. Next, you head out to the field to our "STRAW BOSS" The straw boss' job is to look at your containers and guesstimate how much of a row to give you. He/She knows how to do this because our pickers have been out in the morning, and we know how many pounds per row they got, and we know how many pounds fit in an ice cream bucket....... Please wait on the grass for the STRAW BOSS to assign you a section. We pick the fields every three days, we know where the berries are - you are being assigned an unpicked section. The straw boss gives you a section of the row, marks your section with a pole and instructs you to pick EVERY RED BERRY BIG AND SMALL AND UGLY and to help us out by picking off any damaged or rotting berries. Put these berries in the row on the straw behind you. This keeps fruit rot out of our patch, thank you! Your are responsible for both sides of your row, NOT AISLE. The straw boss does her best to give you what you need. Sometimes you may need more picking space, no problem! Sometimes, you may be told to do a better job (yes, it happens!) Please do not pick from areas/rows not assigned to you. We have rows closed for our staff. We have rows that were picked yesterday, we have rows to be picked by the next customers coming. If you pick from the row next to you or stand up and pick willy nilly someone else will get a section assigned to them that really does have no berries.....and I probably won't believe them. :) Most of the time when someone tells us there are "no berries" it means that the leaves haven't been picked up. From above YOU CANNOT SEE THE BERRIES! We actually have customers who like to go pick in picked areas and get the berries others have left behind. No Kidding! And they fill up their containers - fast. More berries ripen on one side of the rows earlier in the season and more berries are ripe on the other side of the row later in the season......again, that direct line to Mother Nature thing..... We do not have a direct line to Mother Nature. If you get a section with lots of unripe berries, don't complain, pick the ripe ones and ask for another section. Every row is different. It's one big strawberry lottery out there..... Quality control is ok (ie. a taste), a meal is not. :) I have heard on the field "I haven't had breakfast yet!" and "Here kids, sit here with your buckets and eat strawberries!" and "I know it's dinnertime and you're hungry, eat some berries....." (as teenager stuffs berries NONSTOP into his mouth for 2 hours......) and this story beats them all - a tween told me "Last time I was here I ate so many strawberries I threw up on the way home, it wasn't pretty...." Please remember we work EXTREMELY hard all year for a quick 3 - 4 week strawberry season and every berry not paid for counts towards our expenses.... When it is hot and busy, everyone has to be patient!! (I only lose my cool a couple of times a year......usually with complainers - have you noticed this page has turned into a bit of an anti-complainer rant??!!) Complaints are not allowed, we have an icy cold pond for dunking complainers! Anyone who complains that we are too controlling - please feel free visit a farm with no row control for your berry picking. Our system works - 99.9% of the people like the fact that they are the only ones to have picked an area that day. Please read our strawberry picking tips! 80% of berries are on the outside of the row, on the straw, you MUST look for them they are hiding!!!!!!!!!!!!! It drives us loony when people leave ripe berries on their section and ask for more. If you haven't lifted every leave and clump on both sides of your row you aren't done! If you only picked the large berries and left the rest you aren't done! If you picked one side of your row and not the other and your buckets are full......LET US KNOW.....you aren't done!!!A ripe berry left on the field is a bad berry in three days that affects everyone..... When you are done picking, head into the shop for the final weigh in. Keep in mind that your weight was stamped on your butt when you first left the shop, and we do charge for every berry you ate on the field! (tongue stuck firmly in cheek!) The shop can be crazy at our peak, the phone ringing, customers coming in and out, our pickers bringing berries in, our kids raising havok - Please be patient with everyone, we are doing our best. Remember the cashier is Cousin Daphne, order lady is Gramma Pam and they are cheap labour (read free) and they do this out of the goodness of their hearts....... The system works, if you have any suggestions/constructive criticism feel free to email us. We have extra containers in the shop if you need more. (Thank you Serious Coffee!) We have a scooter in the shop for anyone who can't quite make it out to the far field and pick - it's a long walk! Please ask for assistance. If you have seen Seinfeld's Soup Kitchen episode, keep it in mind. I reserve the right to boot people off my farm who are rude to me! (NO FRUIT FOR YOU!) I have been VERY close a couple of times this year. People, this is supposed to be fun. Please remember it is incredibly busy sometimes (thank you!) and we are doing OUR BEST to make sure everyone gets to pick ripe berries in an organized manner. Don and Louisa McClellan, and staff!
RIPE BERRIES: We do NOT expect anyone to pick a berry that is not ripe RIGHT TO THE VERY TIP. Those berries should be left on until the next go thru the field. Berries on the field do not all ripen at once, so we must pick systematically (Believe me I wish I had a direct line to Mother Nature!). This means sometimes you get a row that has fewer ripe berries. NO WORRIES. If you need more picking space, we will give you more. PLEASE DON'T THINK YOU HAVE TO PICK AND LEAVE HERE WITH UNRIPE BERRIES. At the start of the season, we have lots of berries to come, so everyone will get their winter supply! Pre-ordered Berries: Many, including ourselves are very confused by our system. The farm used to sell a 6 box flat of berries. 5 years ago, we could only get cardboard flats that size. NOW, most cardboard flats we pick up from Thrifty's (Thanx Thrifty's!) are 4 box flats. We like to take orders in increments of 10 lbs now.
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This site was last updated 07/13/09