This week, I went strawberry picking in a couple of places in New Zealand. The first was near Auckland in the north, while the second was at Napier, around the middle of the North island.
At Phil Greig Strawberry Gardens, near Auckland, it is near the end of the season. But, we still found more than 2kg of Strawberries. They were the best strawberries I remember picking- very highly flavored, with a dash of tart on top of the expected sweet flavor.
We also got boysenberry and strawberry ice cream which was very good.
The plants were well tended and had irrigation running under the black plastic.
Here’s a pic of 3 pretty berries and 2 not so pretty ones. I was surprised that the ugly ones tasted just as good as the pretty ones, if not better. I had to test several to convince myself 
At ‘Farm Fresh’ in Napier, it is closer to mid-season. The berries are bigger and more plentiful. I don’t think they had quite as much kick as the ones from near Auckland, but they were still very very good and much faster to pick.
These plants were also well tended and set up similarly to the first operation. One difference is that the mounds were higher, which did make them easier to pick.
This operation also had a number of other fruits and veggies. Some grown by them and others grown by neighbors. This area seems to be a real concentration of orchards. It is a little bit cooler than Auckland, but still appears to be at least zone 10, as I was told that they get a few degrees below freezing, maybe a dozen times each year.
I would have liked to buy some of this corn, as it looks good. But since I am now on the cruise, I don’t have the ability to cook anymore. The corn I got in Auckland was underwhelming- nowhere near as good as what I get during the (US) summer at the farmers market. And I’d like to see if it is better at the more rural market.
I think she isn’t as impressed with extra strong flavors. She said the second ones, the ones from Napier, were virtually perfect, I thought they were very good.
