While some say the darker the berry the sweeter the juice, others beg to differ. However, the herald can attest to the fact that this is true in every sense of the word.
This after a herald journalist was treated to a delicious berry smoothie during her visit to a local berry farm in the Bootha Plots area. The purpose of the visit was to profile the owner of Berry Farm Estates and talk about all things berry; specifically blackberry and raspberry – not to be confused with the well-known smartphone.
Claire Calvert took the herald on a tour of the farm she co-owns with her husband Byron Calvert. The young couple produces organic blackberries and raspberries for larger markets.
“My husband and I started this business in 2010 and we have not looked back since. We love what we do and we are grateful for the support we get from larger markets, especially the local ones,” says Calvert.
She explains that they decided to grow berries after noticing a gap in the market. “Prior to starting the business, my husband and I spent a weekend away on a pick-and-eat berry farm in Parys. That gave us the idea to start our own berry farm.
“We saw many people coming to that farm to pick as many berries as they wanted because they were free. That’s the precise moment we decided to start our own berry farm because most of the berries on our markets either are imported or transported from Cape Town and we wanted to change that,” says Calvert.
They grow the berries and package them themselves, and supply them to larger markets such as Fruit and Veg in Randfontein as well as the Johannesburg fruit and vegetable market. They also supply frozen berries to Juicedco to be processes into juice.
“I stopped teaching hairdressing last year to join my husband in the business. I can say that we are doing reasonably well with our berry farm and although we currently have only two tunnels where we grow our berries, we are planning more for the future. This also will help us to do our bit in creating employment,” says Calvert.
She says she likes using the berries to create mouth-watering smoothies and deserts as well as ice cream treats for her and her family. The herald journalist was treated to a raspberry smoothie and just in case anyone is wondering, it was delicious. I am tempted to drive back for seconds after submitting this article.
