Five-year-old Jemima Leitch was enjoying the pick-your-own-fruit option at Massey Gardens yesterday. Photo / Paul Estcourt
Orchards are bowing to popular demand and bringing back the pick-your-own-fruit tradition, which is enjoying a new surge in popularity as a family activity.
One grower said they received so many requests from the public wanting to harvest their own strawberries that they relaunched the scheme - and
were besieged by eager pickers.
Maree Marinovic, co-owner of Massey Gardens and Orchard, said after ongoing requests from the public, the business decided to make pick-your-own an option this year.
"We were getting so many people asking we thought we would give it a go. People are really enjoying it."
Mrs Marinovic said it was particularly attractive to families, with many parents saying they wanted their children to experience what they had done as kids.
"We have not really been advertising it but it has proven very popular. One person has been back four times."
Mrs Marinovic said there were not a lot of places near Auckland where people could pick their own fruit.
Some horticulturists did not like to offer pick-your-own fruit as it tended to be less profitable. Some people ate more than they picked and the public could damage irrigation pipes in the fields.
For the consumer it was a cheaper option. The strawberries at Massey were selling for $4.50 per kilo compared with $2.50 for a punnet or about $10 a kilogram at supermarket prices.
Clare Leitch, of Mt Eden, brought her young children to the gardens yesterday for an outing.
"It's a fun thing to do. I used to do it a lot when I lived in England."
Sandra Paul, of Dannemora, also brought her family along for a morning of strawberry picking, even though only she and her son actually liked strawberries.
Her daughter Caitlyn didn't eat one strawberry but announced it was the best thing she had ever done.
"I just like picking them."
Cindy Mulder, of Browns Bay, said it was her first time strawberry picking and the family were having a great time.
Her son Jonathon, aged three, was covered in strawberry juice as he managed to eat about as many as he picked.
