Produce Insider || Perfection Fresh

Meet Our Grower - Di West

Written by Perfection Fresh | Jun 8, 2022 11:23:32 PM

At Perfection Fresh, we’re passionate about growing delicious seasonal produce. And we’ve harnessed Australia’s unique climate and diverse growing regions to make that happen.

Our Perfection Strawberries are harvested in both warm and cold climates, fast approaching is our warm climate crop which will be coming out of Queensland. Beginning in June and peaking in August-October look out for varities such as Renewel, Red Rhapsody and Sundrench.

Meet a grower

One of our growers gearing up for harvest is Di West from Suncoast Harvest.

Suncoast Harvest is a medium family run farm on the Sunshine Coast and have been growing strawberries for over ten years.  The farm is located 4km from the Pacific Ocean and has a strong focus on the natural environment, integrated pest management and sustainable farming systems.

What’s it like to grow Strawberries?

Strawberries are a challenging fruit to grow. All of our berries are handpicked and weighed, this means we require a large labour force. Strawberries are also a very perishable, delicate product that must be handled gently and with a strong focus on food safety and quality.  It takes a lot of people power to grow, pick and pack a punnet of strawberries.


How do you know when they’re ready to harvest?

At Sunshine Coast Farm we like to pick our strawberries at their peak ripeness. We start picking in late May and go through until early October, we like to leave each berry until they are full coloured and have maximum natural sweetness. 

Favourite way to eat Strawberries?

It is hard to pick one…. They are good any way, any time.  I do love delicate pink strawberry pancakes….

Berry Pikelet Sandwich