June is the season for strawberries in Vancouver. Nothing beats freshly picked strawberries from the farm. Arkensen loves strawberries and who can resist such sweet and juicy berries.
Strawberry is small plant of the rose family. Strawberries are not really “berries” or fruit in the botanical sense. The real fruit of the strawberry is the strawberry seeds on the outside of the strawberry or properly called “achenes”. The berry is actually the enlarged receptacle and is not reproductive material. That’s why strawberry has to be picked at full ripeness because they cant ripen once picked.
We live very near to some farm lands and the sign for U-Pick Strawberries was up last week.
Here is a list of U-Pick Strawberries farms in Richmond and other parts of Lower Mainland:
| Farm | Address | Phone | Notes |
| G.J. Farms | 11300 No.4 Road | 604-272-4033 | |
| Bob Featherstone Farm | #4 Road south of Steveston Hwy | 604-594-9518 | |
| W&A Farms | 17771 Westminster Hwy | 604-278-5667 | www.wafarms.ca |
| Birak Berry Farm | 4200 No. 6 Road | 604-339-9335 | bcstrawberries.com |
| Krause Berry Farm | 6179 248 St. Langley | 604-856-5757 | http://krauseberryfarms.com |
| Fraser Valley Strawberry Growers Association | www.bcstrawberries.com |
The U-Pick farm was opened on last Saturday. I went there around 10:00 a.m. and there were a crowd already.
The strawberries here are smaller but much sweeter than those imported from the United States which are commonly found in the groceries stores. Moreover, the labour of picking the berries makes them much sweeter.
I picked a full bucket of strawberries that morning.
It only costs …
… $1 for a pound and my full bucket costs $3.50.
I went back to the farm on Tuesday morning and it was closed already. I should have picked more on that day. The season for strawberries is short. So, enjoy them while you can. Here are some wonderful recipes with strawberries:
Interesting info on the strawberries! I love this time of year for all the fresh fruit!
Oh YUM!!
Wow…this bring back memories..LOL We used to go down south Sweden every year when I was a kid and pick buckets of strawberries. Even though me and my sis weren’t old enough to help out, we had loads of fun and ate way too much of these nice berries 🙂
Thanks for the memory.
I’ve never seen a real strawberry field. It must smell heavenly!
Hi Maritza,
It’s a great feeling picking your own berries but I must say that it’s a back breaking job as the strawberries shrubs grow very low the ground.
I don’t like the seeds in strawberries, but I love to cook with them and smell them. These are gorgeous!! WOW!
Can I share some resources with you?
Hi Felicitas: Sure you may share resources with us … kind of an odd question if you ask me. What do you have in mind?
heelo guys! i just posted my own strawberry pics. can you believe that i’m in winnipeg … i actually passed through vancouver on my way here! small small world! 🙂
Omg! I would love to pick strawberries and eat them. They are ther fruits of labour!
hi,
my name is ali noor and i was wondering if i could use your picture for my I.C.T coursework
your sincerly
Ali Noor
Hi!~
I Can’t find good strawberries this year.
I need 3-4 flats of very good straberries.
I am in Coquitlam.
I am in Vancouver this thursday after 4 pm.
I can get a friend to take me to you.
Where are you guys located?
Where near too?
Please call me at-604-461-1394
Stefanie. Thanks!
Apparently, one of the strawberry farms listed above (Bob Featherstone Farm at #4 Road south of Steveston Hwy; 604-594-9518), was being very racist to me today.
I will never ever go back to that farm. Highly recommended to visit other farms instead.
So what eaxctly happened? Give us more details so that we can judge for ourselves.
Ben
I dunno if u would call this racist, but I just felt it.
I was just trying to show my friends from Hong Kong to a strawberry farm. I mean, I personally haven’t been to a strawberry farm for at least 10 years, so I didn’t notice that we were supposed to bring our own bucket there.
After seeing the U-pick farm, we drove in and I walked to the booth. A guy was there and I asked if I can get a bucket to pick the berries. I remember back then the farms used to provide buckets. The staff just answered in a very unfriendly tone saying that we need to bring our own bucket. And that is totally fine. I mean different farms have different rules and policies, and I even said “okay, thanks”.
With that, I decided to bring my friends around the area, trying to show them the strawberries. We didn’t even walk up to the plants and try to pick them. That staff just suddenly said, you can’t go into the farm without a bucket. Okay, thats fine too, I mean it make sense if you are worried that we might pick and eat some without paying.
So, I just told me friends that we’ll take some pictures and then we’ll leave. It could still be a nice visit to a strawberry farm. We didn’t even enter the actual plant area and the staff yelled out again, “no pictures in the farm.” Then I asked, “can’t even take a picture?” He said, “If you want a picture I will charge u $3 a picture!”
I mean, the whole thing just seems to me that I was not welcomed into the farm. I honestly did not do any actions that made me and my friends seem like we were there trying to steal strawberries or anything. I know in the Chinese culture, some people might like to pick the berries/fruits off and eat them, but this doesn’t mean that every singly Chinese do that. In addition, as I mentioned before, we didn’t do any actions that imply that we will pick the berries and not pay. We did not even enter the berries area after he said no entrance without a bucket. We followed everything he said and at the end I just want a picture so that my friends from Hong Kong can have a picture at the strawberry farm.
What is wrong with that? I know owners of a property have the rights to disallow picture taking (ex. I have been warmed before at a mall saying that we are not supposed to take pictures in the mall because the X’mas decorations at the Santa Picture booth are copyrighted). However, in this situation, what is copyrighted? I mean it is a farm and how else can I copy the look of the farm? Just a picture won’t hurt does it? You can argue that the farm can be a piece of artistic work but it is a “U-PICK Farm” after-all. I don’t think people are there to look at the artist work there but to pick fresh berries. We are trying to promote tourism in BC and Richmond has some good strawberry and blueberry farms. I’m just trying to bring some visitors around … What did I do wrong?
Thanks Frank for the detailed explanation. That helps.
There appears to be a lack of understanding of the word “racist”. At what point did he make any claim that you couldn’t go on the farm because you were a particular race? They didn’t say “No white people” or “No mexicans”.
At worst, it just sounds like he was rude. Consider their perspective.
1. You admitted that you came unprepared and didn’t know what was going on. If you owned a “Bring your own bucket, U-pick” farm, and people kept coming in with no clue what was going on, perhaps you’d be frustrated too.
2. You appeared creepy by sticking around taking pictures of their farm and snooping about. You are within your rights to stand on the roadside and do so, but you chose to do it on their property without stating your purpose. Reverse the roles and see what you’d do if someone was snooping around your business or your house.
People are so quick to point the finger, because they think they’re always right. Try looking at your own actions first.
Hi I believe that is racist.I have a lawyer buddy at the BC Human rights Commission.He tells me that you can complain and they will investigate,no cost to you but a minimum of couple thousand dollars in legal fees to the farm.just a thought from somebody who works in the legal area
I still dont understand how this is racist. I am completely in agreement with the farm. It is a business and they would not want loitering in the field while they are running the business. This farm is VERY popular and very busy. During peak time, they can have 100 cars in the parking lots with several hundred people in the field. I have been to this field a couple times every season for the past 15 years. They have wonderful customer service skills and fantastic field control as they assign specific rows to pick. Any other fields just send you out in the field for a “free for all”. The one time I forgot my containers, they had baskets there that I purchased for 25 cents. Very accomodating. Wonderful berries and great service, highly recommended.
I should also mention that because I have been going there for years, I have gotten to know the Featherstone family and you should probably know that it is a mixed race family as Bob Featherstone has chinese grandkids who also work on the farm. So the racist comment is completely incorrect.
Frank, I am the guy from the booth. That is what our rules are. Doesnt matter if I am in the booth or my cousin or my niece or my aunt, those are the rules of the farm. If I dont follow them, then I get into trouble. Trust me I didnt follow them before and I got into trouble. We are not racist especially since my niece is Chinese culture.
Thanks Jim for coming in and commenting to present your point of view. It is good to hear it from all sides. Ben
Im just lettting everyone know that im stepping down as the cashier this year. I ve given the job to my niece. If u do see me doing cashier im just filling in for whoever is supposed to be there that day.
Hey Jim: Retiring huh? So when is the U-Pick Strawberry season starting this year? Ben
Unfortunately I couldnt leave it was too hard so I was out there again this year but because of an issue with someone I had to take over the ready pick shed on Steveston Highway. The days I am not doing my new job I will be out there but probably at the ready pick shed on Steveston Highway. The upick will be moved again this year behind the ready pick shed which will be across from the address of 8311 Steveston Highway. I will let u know when U-pick be open this year on here.
the strawberry season starts Saturday June 15th on Steveston Highway between No 3 Rd and No 4 Rd. Saturday we will be selling ready pick strawberries at the shed then our upick strawberries will be open on Sunday. For more information go to http://www.freewebs.com/bobfeatherstonefarms. Also missing in action this season will be myself as I am now a Loss Prevention Officer. So I wont be around this season.
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