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Farms Don't Mind Being Picked On

Tribune photo by JIM REED

Followed by his children, Ron Bogus of Orlando carries trays of strawberries to his waiting car at a U-pick strawberry field at Favorite Farms Inc. on McIntosh Road, north of Interstate 4.

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GEORGE H. NEWMAN

gnewman@tampatrib.com

Published: April 1, 2009

PLANT CITY - Red, ripe strawberries are not just a historic crop in eastern Hillsborough County; toward the middle of March they become deliciously affordable as market prices drop, shipping becomes expensive and U-fields open in the Plant City area.

Visitors from out of state and outside the county join locals at U-pick strawberry fields surrounding Plant City to gather their fill of the popular fruit.

For the most part, U-pick fields remain open to the public for another three to four weeks, if the weather stays cool and dry, growers said. One grower, using hydroponic technology, remains open for U-pick until June or July.

To the northwest, visitors can go to Favorite Farms, owned by Linda and Marvin Brown, off McIntosh Road, north of Interstate 4.

Lisa Brown Fox, the owners' daughter, took over the family business when her parents retired several years ago.

"Depending on the weather, we expect to stay open for another four weeks or so," Fox said. "We aren't doing a spring crop this year, so we can leave the strawberries in the ground until the crop gives out."

That means 55 acres of festival variety strawberries will be ripe for the picking, 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. every day. Some strawberry lovers have already found the picking at Favorite Farms to be rewarding.

Kathleen and Paul Foster, transplants from upstate New York to the Haines City area, have visited Favorite Farms before.

"The trick is to drive into the farm as deep as you can," said Kathleen Foster. "Most people stay near the main road when they U-pick. They miss a lot of berries that way."

Paul Foster said they picked 26 quarts of berries in about 30 minutes.

"This is the perfect day for picking," he said. "There was a light rain this morning that kept the dust down. The temperature stayed cool, and there is just a light breeze. That and a field full of ripe berries is a great combination."

The Fosters plan to freeze most of the strawberries to use as an ice cream topping during the summer.

"We'll also dip fresh berries in chocolate and give some to friends," Paul Foster said. "This is part of our living out our dreams."

Another family that is a frequent visitor to Favorite Farms drives from Conway, near Orlando.

Ron Bogus, 44, his wife, Lynda, and their children Jesse, 3, Alexis, 5, and Elliott, 9, spent several hours in the field, eating and picking berries.

"My wife loves to come here," Bogus said. "Our kids are homeschooled, so this is an agricultural field trip for them. We had a light rain earlier today, but that didn't stop us. We picked 72 quarts, and we aren't done yet."

Bogus sounded like a professional when he talked about the weather during the last three strawberry seasons and its effect on the crop.

"This year was perfect," he said. "It is like taking strawberries from a cooler and placing them in your car. They are perfect."

Spivey Farms is located in the Hopewell area, south of State Road 60.

Owned by Dennis and Linda Spivey, the farm is a family affair with their son, David, and his wife, Lisa, among others helping in the daily operation.

"Our family has been in farming for 25 to 30 years," David Spivey said. "We grow tomatoes, strawberries and onions, among others, but primarily strawberries during the winter season."

Spivey Farms has about 50 acres in production, with 40 acres dedicated to three popular varieties of strawberries.

"We grow treasure, festival and camarosa," Spivey said. "We put the plants in the ground beginning in October. Our earliest variety harvested is long gone, now."

That variety, the treasure, is a bright red, large berry that hits the market first. At most Plant City area farms, festival is the most abundant variety, growers said.

"Festivals are a big shipper," Spivey said. "They are a sweet berry that maintains its firm texture. The camarosa also has good size and flavor. Those are the ones you often see dipped in chocolate."

U-pick enthusiasts Ted and Sis Jellison were at Spivey Farms last week. They said they often winter in the Plant City area, visiting the area from Mt. Pleasant, Pa.

"We have been coming to Plant City for the last 12 years," Jellison said. "We come out here and U-pick strawberries every year. We bought a 5-cubic-foot freezer that we fill up with what we picked to bring back to the grandkids in Pennsylvania each summer."

Sis Jellison says she also freezes strawberry milkshakes from Parkesdale Farm Market to take north with them.

Another longtime strawberry picker at Spivey Farms is Helen Edy Barnett, 64, who, at age 5, picked her first berries at a Lithia farm owned by Burton Allen.

"I was out here on Monday and picked 30 quarts," Barnett said. "I gave away 22 quarts to family and friends. Now I'm going for another 30 quarts."

Barnett's hands are almost a blur as she separates the ripe strawberries from the plant. She moves down the row, dragging her rapidly filling container.

"I picked in the field for 15 years," she said. "We picked watermelons, black-eyed peas, oranges, okra, grapefruit, butterbeans, cabbage and strawberries. After that I took a job at a canning plant in Highland City," she said. "Once the canning plant slowed down I found myself back in the field, trying to make a living."

Barnett was with her friend Kitty McArthur, 83, a former Tampa Cigar employee who also worked at the Highland City plant. Barnett and McArthur said they pick strawberries for fun and give away what they don't freeze.

The Parke Family HydroFarms offers U-pick strawberries from October through into July. The hydroponic technology allows owner Gary Parke to harvest strawberries and a wide variety of vegetables in vertically stacked rows of lightweight, cone-shaped containers.

"Our crops are grown in a mixture of perlite and vermiculite," Parke said. "The mixture does not contain any dirt or pesticides. This is a soilless mix that absorbs and holds moisture and nutrients without adding toxins to the plant." he said. "Perlite and vermiculite have been used for years for hydroponic growing and water conservation."

Parke said his half-acre hydroponic farm provides the same yields as a traditional strawberry farm of 30 acres. They have a continuous supply of festival, treasure, albion, camarosa and camino real strawberries ready to pick.

"We often have 800 customers on Saturday," Parke said. "But it's not all strawberries. We sell 50 varieties of vegetables, too."

"A farm with the same output of strawberries using conventional methods would require much larger amounts of water and nutrients than we do," Parke said. "We feed each plant only 4.8 ounces of water and nutrient each day."

Parke sells his produce by weight on a sliding scale. The more you buy, the lower the cost per pound. A single pound of anything costs $3.50, but, upon reaching 25 pounds, the per-pound cost drops to $1 - for the entire purchase.

IF YOU GO

Here are farms with open fields. Customers are expected to bring their own containers.

HARRELL'S FARM: on Varn Road about 1 1/2 miles west of Paul Buchman Highway (State Road 39). Berries are 2 quarts for $1 (hours of operation unavailable)

FAVORITE FARMS: on McIntosh Road 1 1/2 miles north of Interstate 4; two quarts for $1. Hours 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily.

SPIVEY FARMS: 6101 S. County Road 39, south of State Road 60; two quarts for $1. Call (813) 650-8999 for information. Hours 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Saturday, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday.

THE PARKE FAMILY HYDROFARMS: 3715 Tanner Road, Dover, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday, 1 to 5 p.m. Sunday. Call (813) 927-4049 for information.

Reporter George H. Newman can be reached at (813) 865-4451.

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