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Brian Wilson at his strawberry farm. Photo by Brian Larsen
With apologies to the Beatles, the strawberry fields at the Wilson farm in Hovland seem to go forever.
Many people know Brian Wilson, not the leader of the Beach Boys, but the produce manager at the Cook County Whole Foods Co-op, but you might not know that Brian and his family also own and operate a strawberry farm on their Hovland property.
Actually, it’s a strawberry, asparagus, and small Honey berry farm, but strawberries are currently the main crop. Brian, his wife Laura and two sons Jack and Beck all help on the 10 acre farm.
“The boys were born in a strawberry patch,” quipped Brian with a smile.
Brian spent some time on Saturday, July 3, answering questions about the operation. He noted they have also built an 18-hole frisbee golf course around the farm. “It’s a lot of fun and a great way to relax,” he said of playing Frisbee golf.
This spring the family planted 2,500 bare root strawberry plants which will yield fruit summer of 2022.
Nothing tastes better than ripe strawberries. Well, that’s if you are a berry lover. Staff photos Brian Larsen
“Usually, we plant 5,000 to 10,000 strawberry plants but this year we were tired of the winter kill and all of the work it takes to take care of so many plants, so we didn’t plant as many,” Brian said.
But there is another force of nature the Wilson’s have to contend with. One that is constant. It’s strawberry loving deer.
The first year the Wilsons planted strawberries in Hovland ended in a berryfest for the deer, who ate the plants down to the nubbins, said Brian. “If we ever quit this business, it will be because of the deer,” he added.
Today there is a seven string electric fence that guards the strawberry fields. “I think it’s ugly and it does little to stop the deer,” Wilson said. “It (the fence) doesn’t slow them down one bit. They go up and over it or go straight through it. The fence doesn’t seem to do much good when it comes to keeping the deer away. During the spring and fall the kids sleep in the camper at the end of the field in the hopes that having people around will scare some of the deer off. I’m not sure if that helps and I’m up in the air about the way that I really feel. After all, we are living on land that belongs to the deer.”
The only thing that beats berries on the vine are berries picked cleanly in the pail.
A drip irrigation system keeps the plants watered and wood chips between the rows helps to keep the weeds down, but as Brian noted, “There are a lot of daisies and weeds that come up, too many to operate a ‘pick your own’ farm.”
This time of the year the Wilsons spend considerable amounts of time on their knees, filling plastic Kemp’s ice cream gallon buckets with strawberries. “Lily Jewel and Theresa Schmidt (sister-in-law) also help us pick,” Brian said.
As the berries ripen, the family’s workload increases.
“We will be real busy picking for the next three weeks,” he added.
Down over a little hill Laura and son Jack were busy filling their gallon buckets with berries. Strangely, mom’s bucket was filling much faster than Jack’s bucket. “Jack eats a lot of berries as he picks,” quipped Brian, shrugging his shoulders as he added, “He’s at that age where he’s always hungry.”
Honey berries grow on tall bushes and are a delectable treat. They make great pies and preserves.
Stopping for a moment, Laura talked about the hours of labor it takes to harvest berries. “The boys and I usually pick from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. every day of the week. Each gallon bucket contains four to five pounds of strawberries.” And then there is the two or so hours of labor to “tin” up the berries for sale.
On Friday, July 2 the family harvested 132 pounds of ripe strawberries. On this following Saturday—a warm day—Laura said they were hoping to pick 200 pounds of berries. And that was without Beck, who was in town visiting his grandmother.
Most of the crop is sold through the Cook County Whole Food’s Co-op and Thursday evening famer’s market at the Cook County Community Center in Grand Marais. But Brian said one restaurant, The Angry Trout, is interested in buying berries from the farm.
Jack is ahead of his mom going up the row but if you look closely, you will note that Laura, Jack’s mother, has considerably more berries in her pail. Hmmm, someone was eating as they were picking…
Before moving to Cook County nine years ago, the Wilson’s lived in Alexandria, Minnesota, where they operated Minnesota’s first pick-your-own organic strawberry farm. They’ve been in the strawberry business since 2002.
Looking at his wife and son toil away in the hot sun, Brian said the family was considering a big change to the way they have been doing business.
“Because this is so hard on the knees and so labor intensive, we are thinking about starting a hydroponic indoor pick-your-own center that could operate year-round.”
That would save on the knees and wear and tear on the body, but there are many hurdles to jump over before that type of operation can be built.
While the Wilson’s know plenty about growing plants, setting up a new business model is something they need help with. To that end, they have reached out to Small Business Development Center Consultant Pat Campanaro, who Brian and Laura hope to meet with in the near future.
The Wilson’s aren’t alone. Big helpers on the farm include Lily, Blueberry, Huckleberry and Chunk, the family’s four dogs. Two horses, Artax and Sweetheart are also part of the mix.
As for honey berries, they grow on a bush and are easy to pick.
Honey berries are fairly new to the farm. Four years ago, the Wilson’s planted 100 bushes and 70 of them have survived. “We sold some of the berries last year, said Brian.”
Honey berries are oblong, somewhat sweet but can also taste tart. They come from Siberia and are high in antioxidants. “They grow really well around here. They make good pies and preserves,” said Brian, adding they are also good to snack on.
“We planted 1,000 asparagus plants but we will replant asparagus in a better spot next time,” said Brian. Sales of asparagus have been mainly through the Farmer’s Market.
“We’re pretty passionate about fruits and vegetables here on the farm,” he added.
The Wilson farm, full of good vibrations and nothing to get hung about.
“We are glad we moved here. We couldn’t be in a better place,” Brian said as he surveyed the farm and woods just beyond.
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