Strawberry season springs early in York County

Spring has sprung with an early sesason for pick-your-own strawberries in York County.

Some York County growers with pick-your-own strawberry fields said their crops are ripe for picking. They include Springs Farm in Fort Mill, Bush-N-Vine near York and Kylies Strawberry Patch in Rock Hill.

Mark Kulpinski, owner of Kylies Strawberry Patch, said strawberries aren’t usually ripe for picking until mid to late April.

“It’s a lot earlier this year,” Kulpinski said. Last year, he said strawberry season opened April 5; this year he opened March 20.

“This year was even earlier because of the mild winter,” he said.

Kulpinski, who has 2 acres of berries, hopes there will be a longer strawberry season. He hopes for temperatures with highs in the 70s and evening lows in the 40s and 50s.

“If the weather cooperates, it could go into the first couple weeks of June,” he said. “As long as it doesn’t get too hot, up around 90.”

Ron Edwards, farm manager of Springs Farm, is hopeful, too. He said the farm lost about 80 percent of its peach crop due to a cold snap after a mild winter.

“We go started probably three weeks early,” he said. “There are a lot of berries, and we have a lot of blooms, which means we’ll have a lot more berries.”

He said Springs Farm has 24 acres of strawberries, and alternates two four-acre fields for customers to pick their own.

“It’s a big thing because people love to bring their children out to take pictures,” he said.

Bob Hall, co-owner of Bush-N-Vine, said they see large crowds on Saturdays as families come out.

“Picking is great; berries are great right now,” said Hall, who said they opened the pick-your-own season March 24.

“It’s early this year because of the warm weather in January and February,” he said. “The field looks like the end of April instead of the end of March. We’re running about a month ahead.”

Like Springs Farm, Hall said they’ll still have some peaches, but not the usual bounty.

“We need it,” he said of a longer strawberry season, “to make up for the loss of peaches. We’re thankful for excellent weather and excellent crop.”

Peak strawberry season is typically April through June, the growers said. Pre-picked strawberries also are available from all of the growers.

This story was originally published April 1, 2017 at 7:19 PM with the headline "Strawberry season springs early in York County."