Fredericton berry U-pick business busy despite spring frost damage

It’s the dog days of summer and the weather’s only around for a limited time.

The heat didn’t keep pickers away from the strawberry and raspberry patches at Sunset-U-Pick, a farm sitting on about 15-acres in Fredericton.

“Surprisingly people still continue to come all day, early in the season when we were having those 30, 32 degree days with humidexesof 35 to 40. We would shut down at noon and just pick in the morning,” said Dave Walker, the owner of Sunset-U-Pick.

Berries thrive off hot humid weather like what most of New Brunswick has been experiencing but that’s not the case this summer.

Strawberries are struggling, after crops were hit by a series of three different frosts in June, which killed off about 30 to 40 per cent of the crops.

“We had a phenomenal year last year and our total gross income this year will be about half of last year, so it’s a pretty serious hit,” said Walker.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "We had a phenomenal year last year and our total gross income this year will be about half of last year, so it's a pretty serious hit," said Walker.

On the bright side, the strawberry season has been extended about a week.