Fifers enjoying bumper early strawberry harvest - but 'wee shortage' of berries looms

The Courier

4 days ago

Nothing says summer like a punnet of strawberries – and our recent sunny weather has seen this year's crop start early and strong.
But the current bumper harvest could lead to a dip in supply later in June, according to one of north Fife's leading producers,
Fife farmer Keith Adamson owns 240 polytunnels, spanning some 40 acres in the north of the Kingdom.
The public have been able to purchase this fruit via his popular shop, The West Friarton Farm Strawberry Shed, since Monday May 19 with customers raving about the berries' exceptional size and flavour.
All told, Keith hopes to harvest approximately 400 tonnes of strawberries this year.
But his plants' early burst of productivity might come at a cost later this month when they could produce less fruit.
'There could be a wee shortage of strawberries come the middle of June,' Keith told me on a visit to West Friarton.
But strawberry fans shouldn't panic, he assures me. At least not yet. Read on find out why.
Keith sells most of his fruit to the supermarkets. The very best berries, however, are sold at the Strawberry Shed – at the Forgan Roundabout, off the A92 – which is open seven days a week, 10am to 7pm.
Thanks to being picked at the peak of their ripeness and sold on the same day, these strawberries are much more flavourful than those sold in the supermarkets.
'People always taste our strawberries, and their first reaction is: 'Man, this is what I remember as a child',' Keith says.
'You can't go into a supermarket and experience that.'
Although many customers don't realise it, they likely eat several strawberry varieties over the course of the summer.
'A strawberry is not good for the whole season,' Keith tells me.
For this reason, he grows several varieties on the farm, including magnum, favori and AVA. (He also grows a small number of white strawberries that always get customers talking.)
Each of the varieties taste slightly different. AVA has what most would deem a classic profile – sweet and with a fruity aroma. Magnum strawberries are even sweeter and are celebrated for their juiciness.
While Keith's personal favourite is Malling centenary, most of his customers are fond of AVA.
'People come in and ask for AVA,' Keith says.
'That's because AVA was the original strawberry we started with 20 years ago.'
Regardless of the variety, all of Keith's strawberries are picked by hand. They are also pollinated by British bees. A small hive, about the size of two shoeboxes, sits in every polytunnel.
'They love the strawberry flowers, and they pollinate everything – every flower becomes a strawberry, as long as it's pollinated,' Keith says.
The warm and sunny spring has caused strawberries across the country to fruit incredibly well during this early part of the season.
However, the plants' current productiveness could be an issue in the future.
Plug plants (those grown in a polytunnel) usually fruit for around six weeks. Because of this, farmers are in the habit of planting their strawberry crops at set intervals.
In normal conditions, this ensures one crop is coming in while the other is on the way out.
The warm, sunny weather has meant an intense early harvest. This threatens to throw this schedule out of sync.
This is slightly ironic given that last year it was cold weather that played havoc on the season.
On a positive note, the sunshine has meant that this year's crop is incredibly sweet.
During my visit to both the Strawberry Shed and West Friarton Farm, I have an opportunity to fact check this for myself.
After Keith shows me how to properly pick one – pinch the stalk between your thumbnail and forefinger – I quickly gorge myself on the vibrant fruit.
No matter how many I eat, each provides a wave of summer feeling that even a bout of rain fails to dampen.
With strawberries like these around, this summer can't fail to be a sweet one.
So my advice is get them before they're gone. Even living without them for a couple of weeks seems too much.