Keep B.C. in the Berry Business

Words by Michelle Vandermoor. Photos by Robyn Bessenger.
Of all the berries grown at Mandair Farms, raspberries have proven the trickiest. “It’s such a hard fruit to grow,” explains Ramneek Kingra, shown top right with Jasbir Mandair on the left.
Raspberries are a fragile fruit that must be picked immediately when ripe, handled carefully to avoid crushing and consumed within five days or risk becoming moldy.
While ripe blueberries can last a few days on the vine, raspberries demand urgent attention.
“When they turn ripe, we need to be in the field picking that day, otherwise they turn to mush,” says Ramneek.