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 Dew Fresh Produce offers berry good time
By Greg Hunt
greg.hunt@ecm-inc.com
Nothing helps shake those last gloomy memories of a long Minnesota winter like the first hot days of summer or diving into a fresh pile of berries. On cue, those treats are upon us.
Nothing helps shake those last gloomy memories of a long Minnesota winter like the first hot days of summer or diving into a fresh pile of berries. On cue, those treats are upon us.
Dave Whitney
Dew Fresh Produce, just west of Grandy, can satisfy the berry craving when the strawberry season kicks off June 21. Several strawberry fields are spread across the sandy soil acreage which is lined by forest in a gorgeous section of Isanti County. Customers can either pick their own bucket fulls or purchase pre-picked amounts.
“We grow six different varieties of strawberries which bloom at different periods. So we have fresh fruit coming all through the season, really,” began Dave Whitney, owner of Dew Fresh Produce. “I think we will definitely have fruit right through the 14th or 20th of July– weather depending.”
Given a quick tour of the Dew Fresh land, one can see the work that the Whitney family has put into their farm these past 10 years. Irrigation runs to all the berry plots, and deer fencing is mandatory to protect the plants. Wild turkeys can be intrusive stinkers, too, when the berries come in.
“I’m so far into this, now I got to keep going!” laughed Whitney, when asked of his big motivation with the berry business. “I’m a grower. I love to grow things. I’ve been a gardener all my life. I took tomatoes to my first farmer’s market when I was 14. In Coon Rapids where I grew up, other kids were playing baseball, and I was growing tomatoes. It’s a family heritage– fruit and vegetable production.”
Dew Fresh Produce keeps to a family-friendly atmosphere, welcoming young children along with their parents.
“We got a line we use: ‘If we don’t plant some seeds, how are we going to grow some new pickers?’ We’re doing stuff that’s making memories and connections with families,” said Whitney. “I like my first strawberries with ice cream. I eat a lot of them in the field, too– that first week!”
Blueberries, raspberries are next
 Rows of blueberry bushes are already showing the fruit in a green berry stage. “Blueberries can be temperamental, depending on what we get for winter weather. Usually, the blueberries will be ripening at the tail end of the strawberry season, running four weeks through July,” explained Whitney.
The raspberries Dew Fresh Produce raises are fall-bearing, with the picking season running from Labor Day into October. “We like that variety because the berries are bigger, and they come at a time of the year when the picking is more comfortable– not so hot or buggy,” he continued.
Whitney also pointed out a row of black currant bushes he’s experimenting on, a favorite for Ukrainian immigrant customers.
Garlic fresh from the ground
The rows of garlic will be ready for sale around the 1st of August. Whitney chose a European type which picks up a distinct flavor from the Dew Fresh soil. On the day of the interview, the local youth hired to tend the fields were cutting off the seed heads to help the plant send growing energy into the bulb.
“Raising garlic is tricky. It’s a challenging crop to grow. Garlic is one of those plants that becomes acclimated to its environment, so it gets better living in Minnesota every year it’s grown. Within a reasonable amount of time, it develops a way to withstand winters and prosper during its growing periods,” explained Whitney.
Apples are the next frontier
The newest venture for Dew Fresh Produce is the Whitney’s son, Jacob, planting 500 to 700 apple trees for his Jake’s Apple Shack sideline. The orchard will feature the newly developed “SweeTango™” variety, U of M Horticulture’s hybrid mix of a Honeycrisp™ and Zestar™ apple.
If you go
Dew Fresh Produce is located 5 miles west of Grandy. Take Co. Rd. 6 west of Hwy. 65, turn north for 1.2 miles on Polk St. NE (hint- Grandy Nine Golf Course is south on Polk St.). Then take 375th Ave. west a half-mile to the farm. Picking time is 8 a.m. - 7 p.m., seven days a week through the season.
Call Dew Fresh Produce at 763-689-2282 before coming to check the updated answering machine on what the picking conditions are for the week.
More local homegrown destinations
• Anderson Berry Farm, between Isanti and St. Francis, 763-444-4231
• Green Barn Garden Center & Farm Market, Isanti, 763-444-5725
• Rod’s Berry Farm, North Branch Township, 651-674-4172
• J. Bird Winery (meads and fruit wines), Grandy, 763-689-3920
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