Sweet taste of strawberries

Mr Grillo said he had begun picking and performing general maintenance on his pesticide-free fruit.

“I'd just like the public to embrace the quality of the product we're growing; rarely do they break down after a week,” he said.

“We only grow one variety (Albion) and they're incredibly sweet.”

Mr Grillo has about 10,000 strawberry plants and is currently selling the berries through an honesty box system at 36 Kangan Rd, Koonoomoo and 36 Catona Cres, Cobram.

“It works well, you get about 98 per cent success rate,” he said.

Mr Grillo also recently returned to selling his produce at community markets in Wodonga, Myrtleford, Tallarook and Bendigo.

“The coronavirus has caused us to have a 30 to 40 per cent drop in business,” he said.

“People still come to the markets, but they aren’t coming out as much because it takes them an hour to get back home across the border.”

Mr Grillo has been involved in the industry since 1981, and was the Victorian Strawberry Growers Association president for four years.

“You get back what you put into it, I just enjoy growing strawberries,” he said.

The Big Strawberry owner Tarn Hayes said she had now opened up berry picking to the public.

“It is a good time of the year and lots of kids love berry picking — it’s a nice family activity to do,” she said.

“It's a quick education on paddock to plate, which is what we do here.”

The Big Strawberry has also started to welcome back more guests to its café as coronavirus restrictions ease.

“It’s a mixed feeling because we're allowed to have more people in the store — but you have to be able to count them,” she said.

“You can have 40 indoors, which includes seated customers and people who are walking around.

“We've educated our staff to do head counts but we’ve capped seating at about 25 people.

“It’s very time-consuming and at some points quite frustrating — but that’s what we have to do.”

She said business would not pick up until the state borders reopened.