The Richmond Nursery Strawberry Farm is the oldest continuously operating strawberry field in the Ottawa Valley. It's our tradition.
The first berry field in the 1960's was located in Richmond near the end of Ottawa Street. Planted and maintained all by hand.
As one of the only fields in the area and no such thing as out-of-season strawberries, people came from far and wide to pick their own strawberries.
Fifty years ago, we didn't rely on food shipped in from around the world. People came with multiple buckets to collect in-season fruits and vegetables. They preserved their own food when it was abundant by making jam or freezing them.
It was just a field and a barn, but it was known far and wide as the best place to get strawberries. People lined up and couldn't wait for the taste of a fresh strawberry.
Today, many people pick a small baskets to snack on, while fifty years ago, buckets were the norm.
Eventually, the berry field was moved from the end of Ottawa Street to Barnsdale Road on a larger piece of land. Raspberries were also added to the pick-your-own lineup.
In the mid 1980's, the current field at the corner of Richmond Road and Fallowfield Road was purchased. It was a big risk at the time - a high price for farm land, and high interest rates. As George and Claudia always said: "We really couldn't afford to buy the land, but at the same time, we couldn't afford not to."
The Fallowfield Farm, our current home today, is the most we could hope for in a berry field. The gentle slope allows for excellent drainage, a pond for water, and nearly always a breeze making for comfortable picking. Of course, it also has risks from the wind, and heavy rains, but we just take the good with the bad.
There is nothing like seeing the smile on the face of the next generation getting their first taste of a real home-grown strawberry.