Summer fruit is coming in and berry season is here. Our friends had told us about a young man who is growing and selling the most superb organic raspberries, and so it is to his farm in Abbotsford that we’re headed.

Collin Regehr, who is twenty six, decided to follow his father into farming about six years ago. While his father has experimented with growing raspberries, they’re currently the main focus of Collin’s ventures. With two acres planted with two varieties of raspberries, the crop can vary from 5,000 to 15,000 lbs in a season.

Our first visit is on a grey, overcast day in mid-July.

The plants are laden with ripe fruit, the air cool and delicately scented with rose and honeysuckle. The soil between the rows of plants is dark and very soft from the excess rain.

Too much rain shortens the shelf life of the raspberries, and that means reducing the time between harvesting and delivery is even more critical. Collin is hard at work, collecting, sorting and weighing the berries in preparation for various orders.

He supplies raspberries to big retailers and also sells to individuals like us who happen by. He tells us that his advertising is limited to word of mouth. After eating a few of the berries off the canes, I can see why that would serve him very well – the raspberries are gorgeous!

We visit again the following week for another variety of raspberries and  we get lucky – the same scene plays out in brilliant sunshine. That floral scent in the air is more intense and raspberries the size of quarters hang like rosy glass baubles on the bushes. Collin’s sister, Alison and their cousin Kirsten, have joined in the task of cleaning, sorting and packing the berries.

They work in a quiet, relaxed fashion, sorting rapidly but handling the fruit with a delicate touch. I ask what it is they like most about being on the farm, and they all agree it is that they love to work outdoors. There is winter out there somewhere, with the work of weeding and pruning, followed by mulching to be done in spring in preparation for this harvest in July. But on a day like this, with warm sunshine and the gentle hum of bees somewhere off in the scented raspberry bushes, it’s idyllic.

Collin works in the family owned poultry farm during the winter months. He has plans to expand the planted area on his farm in the future, to meet increasing demand.

Raspberries loaded into the car, we drive through the Fraser Valley en route to  Ridgedale Organics in Mission.

We’re going to meet two more young farmers, Damon Warkentin and his friend Trina, who farm 5 acres of a leased property.

It’s a scenic setting, the Coast Mountains visible in the distance with last winter’s snow still clinging to some peaks. When we arrive, Trina’s working her way through the strawberry beds, checking on the progress of the fruit and flowers.

Unfortunately, they’re not fruiting as well as expected, but the few we do get to taste are excellent. Damon and Trina began work on the property only five years ago, so most of the plants here are very young. They now have 3 acres planted with blueberries and another 2 acres with a mix of strawberries, blackcurrants and blackberries.They’re also experimenting with growing goji berries. Besides increasing the acreage  under fruit, Damon plans to have some produce like leeks and garlic and hopes to eventually practice mixed farming here.

The blackcurrant bushes are laden with ripe fruit, the berries  clustered together tightly. We do some picking, and of course, some sampling! Straight off the bush, the blackcurrants taste a little like sour-sweet grapes, but with a peppery, refreshing astringency.

The early crop of blueberries makes a pretty picture in shades of mauve, lilac and indigo. They’re some of the largest I’ve seen. Sweet and juicy, they burst with a deeply satisfying pop of flavour in the mouth!

Once we’re done, Trina helps us pack our haul of berries of the day.

We’ve got a fragrant car load of berries that need to be attended to before they spoil, so we head home. What berries we didn’t eat out of hand get turned into preserves to be enjoyed in the months ahead.

These raspberries were made into jam, while the blackcurrants were turned into some intense and delicious jelly.