The worlds most decadent fruit is being grown on Ballito’s door step thanks to an ambitious entrepreneur with a vision to master the art of growing strawberries.
“People told me strawberries would never grow in Ballito,” said Xolani Gumede, CEO of Cappeny Estates, where strawberries are being grown commercially for the first time on the North Coast.
“Somebody told me it was a pipe dream, but strawberries respond to certain climatic conditions. The strawberries do not know they are in Ballito,” he said with a chuckle.
After producing around a quarter-ton of strawberries a day at the end of December, Cappeny Estates proved naysayers wrong.
After in depth research which started in 2010 and has taken him around the world, Gumede’s Cappeny Estates got to growing strawberries, having discovered that certain varieties were well suited to the temperate climate on the seventeen hectare piece of land Gumede had acquired in Compensation.
“We could have been sitting here talking about roses,” he said in an interview with the Courier.
“I looked at roses, foliage and strawberries, and found that strawberries were the best option.”
By using Hydroponics and tunnels, the farm is able to control conditions which are best suited for the fruit.
The hydroponic strawberries are not grown directly in the soil but in a substrate and the fruit is fed with the nutrients they need, making the process of growing much more controlled.
Grown in covered tunnels, 60 metres long and eight metres wide, the four hectare farm is able produce eight hectares worth of fruit.
Since planting began last October, loads of strawberries have gone to market, with local retailers buying consistently from the farm.
“We have fortunately never sat with stock. Everything we have had has been sold,” Gumede said.
The farm has 40 full time staff, with an additional 45 staff who work seasonally.
Ballito residents will be happy to know that the farm will have a ‘pick your own’ facility up and running later in the year, which Gumede believes is the best way to enjoy strawberries.
“They are best eaten straight away, ideally at room temperature,” he said.
In the meantime, strawberries are being sold at Cappeny Estates to the public at wholesale prices.
The farm is located just past Collisheen Estate.
Take the first right after the turnoff to the microlight airfield.
There are sign boards that lead you to the farm.
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