Fruit lovers can once again pick their own strawberries on the Sunshine Coast, with a new attraction planting roots after the closure of the region’s last public pick-your-own operation last year.
The opening of Glass House Tropical Fruits comes after the end of an era when McMartin’s Strawberry Farm closed its gates to the public after decades of welcoming families, leaving a gap for those seeking a hands-on farm experience.
Set on a 65-acre property in the Glass House Mountains, the farm was purchased about a year ago by owner and farmer Glen Austin after it had sat dormant as a former pineapple farm with little more than grass where crops once grew. Mr Austin comes from an agricultural family which produces lychees in the Yandina region.
Farm representative Edwin Mens said the vision was never simply to sell strawberries, but to give people an authentic farm experience.
“What Glen envisaged was to give people in South-East Queensland the experience to not only see where it’s grown, but to also pick their own fruit,” he said.
“In the supermarket you don’t get a choice of what you actually want to consume. You get a bunch of strawberries, but you may want bigger ones or riper ones.
“He wanted to allow people to pick on the farm on their own and get a whole farm life experience.”
The property currently has about 50,000 strawberry plants, along with potatoes and pumpkins, while young lychee trees planted late last year are expected to provide future harvests once they mature in several years.
“That sounds like a lot of plants but it’s actually quite small for a strawberry farm,” Mr Mens said.
The pick-your-own concept has already proven popular, with the first weekend selling out.
“There was an incredible turnout on the first day and the second day,” he said.
“We had roughly 100 cars over the day.”
Mr Mens said supply was limited at the start of the season because strawberry production naturally increased as the days became longer, with August and September expected to be the peak months.
He acknowledged some people had questioned the current price of $15 for 500 grams, but said it reflected the limited supply, and would reduce as production increased.
“As the season gets here, the price will go down to what the more normal market rate is.”
He said the experience offered far more than simply purchasing a punnet from a shop.
“The answer is quite easy. They can go 100 metres down the road and buy a 500-gram punnet of strawberries from the local fruit shop without any experience,” he said.
“The results speak for themselves.”
Local journalists supporting local people. Help keep independent and fair Sunshine Coast news coming by subscribing to our FREE daily news feed. All it requires is your email at the bottom of this article.
Mr Mens said one of the biggest challenges in establishing the venture was obtaining affordable public liability insurance.
“You can get public liability insurance, but it’s very expensive,” he said.
“All those costs feed into the price of the fruit.”
He also believed operating a pick-your-own farm involved significantly more work than supplying wholesale markets.
“It’s actually a lot of work dealing with the public,” he said.
“Everyone’s got different questions and different expectations.”
The response from visitors, however, has reinforced why the farm was created.
“The most beautiful thing to see is a family arrive with younger children and the excitement in their eyes,” Mr Mens said.
“It’s a nice family time. It doesn’t involve screen time. There’s no iPads involved.
“The main focus is to show people how things are grown and allow them to pick straight off the plant rather than going to a supermarket where you don’t have that choice.
“It’s more of a service than anything. It’s definitely not about profit because once you add up all the costs, there’s not a lot left.”
Glass House Tropical Fruits is located at 894 Steve Irwin Way, Glass House Mountains, and is currently open Saturdays and Sundays from 8am until fruit is sold out. Additional weekday openings are expected as supply increases. Visitors are encouraged to check the farm’s Facebook page for updates before travelling.
