The Dutch farm store, 't Keetje, focuses on regional produce from the region. This winter, they offered F1 'Soraya' strawberries. These come from Vertify's demo greenhouse in nearby Zwaagdijk. This winter, ABZ Seeds showed glasshouse growers the possibilities of lit cultivation with this seed-propagated everbearing strawberry.
Regional product
"We have many regional products in our store," says Jan de Boer, who owns 't Keetje. He also has a fruit and care farm. "That makes it a true farm store, and that's what customers want. I didn't have strawberries in the winter. But I didn't want any imported ones, which I don't really like either. Then the Soraya strawberry, a delicious, locally grown winter strawberry, came along."
"It fitted in well with our range. We let shoppers taste this strawberry and won them over, with some even coming back for Soraya every week." Strawberry sales continued well through the winter, peaking around Christmas and Valentine's Day. The consumer test has now been completed to the satisfaction of both ABZ Seeds and 't Keetje.
Ilona Smith of ABZ Seeds and Jan Boer of ‘t Keetje
"True ever bearer"
Cor Slagter is Verify's farm manager and is in charge of the F1 Soraya trial. "This variety is a true perennial ever bearer. You can harvest it throughout the winter, twice a week, and the strawberries remain nicely sized," he says.
The trial began in the second half of September; harvesting started in late October, and now, in late February, it is beginning to decline. Cor is satisfied with how the trial went. "This variety held up well for a long time: the plant grew gradually, and the fruit was well visible. Production is now noticeably falling."
Cor Slagter with F1 Soraya at Vertify.
Nice, local strawberry
This variety does not only grow well in the winter, though. "It performs well in summer greenhouse cultivation, too, which we've tested extensively. So Soraya can be grown year-round, although we recommend a crop change in September and April," says ABZ Seeds' Ilona Smith. ABZ Seeds' perennial varieties are grown from seed.
"You could decide to set up a winter greenhouse crop with Soraya in early July. We sow for the winter crop then, and you can begin harvesting in late October. As Cor has said, that continues until at least the end of February. If there's enough sunlight, even until late March. You can, thus, ensure you can deliver delicious, local strawberries even in the darker months," she concludes.
For more information:
Ilona Smith
ABZ Seeds
Tel: +31 (0) 228 515 280
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.abz-strawberry.com
't Keetje
Website: www.hetkeetje.nl
