Having this mild winter season gives us the chance to supply strawberries to all states of Australia. Piñata strawberries are also exported overseas, to countries such as Russia, New Zealand, Singapore, Hong Kong, China and Dubai.

In the 2005 season, Piñata has grown 700,000 plants. This will produce 2.8 million 250gram punnets of juicy red strawberries – which equates to 43 million individual strawberries!

Piñata strawberries are grown at Wamuran, 1hour north of Brisbane, and we are now one of Australia’s largest growers of strawberries. Piñata’s products can be purchased from leading supermarkets and other retailers.

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How do strawberries get from the farm to your tummy?

1. Crop Preparation

Preparation for growing strawberries is a long process that begins months before planting. In October, the Piñata strawberry crop season finishes and any plants are destroyed to make way for the next season’s crop. Strawberry plants are prolific and will keep growing uncontrollably if they remain in the soil.
Once the ground is clear, the soil is cultivated and planted with a cover crop (usually sorghum). This increases the organic matter in the soil to ensure it is suitable to grow top quality produce.

2. Planting

In April the following year, planting begins across 12.5 hectares of land at our Wamuran property. Strawberries come from strawberry plants called ‘runners’. These are strawberry stalks with potential roots that are looking for soil. Piñata buys runners from regions that grow the especially such as South West Queensland and Victoria. This year (2005), 700,000 runners were planted.

Runners are planted on raised beds, which are 1.3m wide. These beds can stretch up to 300 metres long. A walkway separates each bed to allow access to the plants. Black plastic sheets with holes are laid under the runners to trap moisture and reduce evaporation from the soil.

3. Fruit appears

Six to eight weeks after planting, we will harvest the first strawberries. Firstly, the plant flowers, then a green berry forms, which eventually becomes a red strawberry that is ready to be eaten and enjoyed. At any time, each plant can have flowers, as well as green and red berries. These red berries are picked every three to four days. There are around 50 strawberry pickers using large trolleys that search the crops each day for red berries. The time from flowering to picking is four weeks.

4. Picking and Packing

At Piñata, we harvest the ripest berries we can find, as these are the most flavoursome and sweet. Of course, picking such delicate fruit requires special processes, so all Piñata employees treat each berry with the utmost care.
’re harvested, the strawberries are taken to cool rooms to keep them fresh. There are sixty people who work as packers to place the fruit in punnets ready to consumption. Piñata strawberries are packed into four different sizes (small, medium, large and extra large berries) in 250gram punnets. Each punnet is plastic and has a lid, with holes to allow for breathing. There is a special way to pack a punnet of strawberries to ensure minimal bruising.

5. Quality is a priority

Quality control is paramount at Piñata. In fact, there are three quality control measures in place to monitor every strawberry:

• Firstly, the pickers eliminate any strawberries that are not first grade.
  
• Then, the packers discard any lower – quality fruit that they come across.
  
• Finally, there are quality control personnel who inspect every punnet before transportation to retailers.

In addition to these processes, Piñata’s ‘Enjoyometer’ keeps a close eye on how enjoyable each strawberry is. We continually monitor sugar and acid levels in the fruit, as well as their texture, shape and flavour.
Our goal is to make every Piñata strawberry a 10/10 on our ‘Enjoyometer’!!

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Recipes

Hot Tips

• When selecting strawberries, check they are firm, plump, mould-free and shiny with their green leaves (called the calyx) still on. When buying Piñata strawberries however, you can be sure of the quality and flavour of the fruit.
  
• Piñata packs its strawberries very carefully to avoid bruising and crushing. It’s best to keep them in their punnet to retain freshness and quality.
  
• Strawberries can be refrigerated, but they are also very flavoursome when they’re eaten at room temperature.
  
• If you are freezing strawberries, add a little lemon juice so they keep their colour.
  
• To preserve their flavour, it is best to wash and cut your strawberries only moments before serving.
  
• Remember the Piñata three steps
  1. Keep me in the fridge
  2. Wash me but only just before use
  3. Eat me now at room temperature for best flavour
  4. The best place to store Piñata strawberries is in your tummy!!

Interesting Facts

• Strawberries date back to the Roman era, where they were considered to be a wild plant. It was only until the 18th Century that they became widely appreciated and enjoyed.
  
• In medieval times, strawberries were highly regarded for their medicinal purposes and at special occasions, a soup made from strawberries and sour cream was served.
  
• Strawberries are a member of the rose family.
  
• The name ‘strawberries’ comes from the way this fruit used to be grown – among straw to keep the fruit off the soil so they were clean.
  
• The Belgian’s love their strawberries so much, there is a museum just for strawberries!
  
• Each strawberry is home to 200 seeds – the only fruit with external seeds.
  
• Strawberries are an excellent source of vitamin C, are fat-free and have very low salt levels. In fact, strawberries have more vitamin C than any citrus fruits.
  
• They also contain fibre, folic acid and potassium, all essential for good health.
  
• One cup of strawberries has just 55 calories.
  
• Strawberries have very high levels of antioxidants, which neutralise the negative impact of free radicals in the body.
  
• They are a global fruit, produce in North America, Japan, Italy, New Zealand and Australia (of course!) to name a few.