Windermere Berry Farm is best-known for its strawberries.
Windermere Berry Farm is best-known for its strawberries.
Berry season is up and running with fruit arriving at supermarkets and greengrocers. Windermere Berry Farm has its open sign proudly displayed as well.
With over 70 years of growing experience, Windermere Berry Farm is five minutes north of Whanganui and has 10 ha of fruit undercover.
Whanganui has the perfect climate for growing berries, with the right amount of sunshine.
Strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, and blueberries all bask under their specially designed covered roofs at Windermere Berry Farm, quietly growing in anticipation of the picking season, which runs from September to June.
Strawberries are the most popular, and being undercover extends the growing season from 10 weeks to nine months.
Raspberries are also especially suited to the climate in Whanganui.
They are the second-most popular berry fruit in the world with a memorably unique flavour and texture, rich in vitamin C and dietary fibre, low in cholesterol and fat, and a high source of antioxidants.
Staff at Windermere Berry Farm are busy into the picking season now.
Windermere director Tony Boswell said that with so many berries to pick, the farm had a system for sourcing staff.
“We are able to ensure enough pickers for the season by having returnees, advertising on Facebook, our website, MSD, Pick NZ, Student Job Search, and RSE scheme Samoa.”
Windermere Berry Farm grows strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, and blueberries.
Boswell said that, even though they’d been growing berries for years at Windermere, they were always looking to improve the quality and flavour of the berries so trailing new cultivars was always on the radar.
“We are presently trailing three new strawberry cultivars along with a new raspberry and blackberry cultivar.”
Out of season, frozen berries are available.
These are so popular that locally, they make their way from Auckland to Invercargill, and are exported to Malaysia, Indonesia, Dubai, Vietnam, Thailand, Hong Kong and Singapore.
Fresh export berries are sent at 75% ripe and finish reddening up in the receiving country.
Putting the finishing touches on a plate of pancakes at Windermere Berry Farms, Whanganui. Photo / Lewis Gardner
Windermere also offers wine, liqueur, jam, real fruit ice cream, and bottles of Blackberry Nip.
Buttermilk pancakes are a highlight, served with crispy bacon and caramelised banana, drizzled with maple syrup and berry fruit sauce, and topped with plenty of fresh berries and a dollop of cream or yoghurt.
With berries now available and summer on the way, it’s a good time to dust off cookbooks and start planning how to use them.
