Emma Lea Farms — Attraction in Delta

Emma Lea farms has the best 😍 u-pick blueberries 🫐 I know of and by far: stronger taste and sweeter (but not the crunchiest).

The downside if you care: more expensive (this year, lots of farms are at or under $2/pound) you have to fill your container to the top and above, or you might feel like you're losing money... I used to like that system, now I really don't. If they didn't have that system, I'd buy or bring 8L buckets and pick 6 to 7L of berries. Instead, I buy their 5L bucket each time (I do like their buckets, I never have enough of them 😅) and try to fill it to the top and then have to be super careful when walking back... Pretty annoying. 😵‍💫 Even more so when it's hot 🥵 crazy dusty this year, I guess it's because of the lack of rain? Or maybe it was always that dusty... bushes are not very high (compared to some other farms), so there's barely any shade when you're picking...

I would still pick ELF as the winner, even if it was even more expensive. Lots of farms advertise "huge/big/large berries" but actually have super tiny berries on average... just a few large ones, less than 1%. (I prefer larger blueberries because otherwise I feel like I'm mostly eating blueberry skin and seeds 😕...) ELF blueberries have a good size on average and there's lots and lots of large ones (but not a lot of huge ones, those are maybe one in a thousand, or less). 🙂

Yesterday (20 July 2023) we tried J.S. DHALIWAL FARMS in Delta. They're only $2/pound. Huge fields. Very tall bushes. But I was painful to get to just 2.5 pounds, and the berries have a super mild taste. Average size on the bushes is just super tiny. After paying just $5 for 2.5 pounds, we went to have lunch... and then ended up at ELF to pick 16 pounds (2 buckets of 5L)🥵. It was so hot, and some blueberries were so hot I was surprised they weren't cooked 🤣

Regarding u-pick strawberries: In 2021, the best strawberries I've ever u-picked, but before the heat wave (after the heat wave, it was awful). We had tried Krause Berry Farms in Langley as our first u-pick ever, about a week before our first time at ELF. Kraus Berry strawberries were awful. Barely edible strawberries. They were OK once turned into jam. Second time was less than an hour before going to ELF: we tried Birak farms in Richmond. We had found only a single strawberry that looked decent enough (however they have several locations, maybe we picked the "wrong" one). We left for ELF. In 2022, about 90% of the strawberries we picked were way too sour. We blamed the rainy spring for that. In 2023, last month (June), strawberries looked good but had an awful bitter taste. I guess it was some fungus. I thought it was the dirt from the fields that coated the strawberries and gave them a bitter taste, but even after washing, and even after cooking the strawberries, the bitter taste remained. Worst strawberries ever.

Regarding tayberries upick: done that in 2021 only. It was good. But we're not huge fans of tayberries. We can eat maybe 1 or 2 pounds but not much more. Not worth the trouble of upick.

We have not tried other upick berries at ELF. They have blackcurrant, which is great, but it's too much trouble to pick (very low bushes, tiny fruits) and then cook them (can't eat a lot of those raw, it's too sour, you'd lose...

I do both pros and cons because that’s only fair, but the overall experience is only 1/5 because of terrible service in the market.

Pros! The staff at the entry/bucket purchase, bucket hut, and exit gate were polite, organized, and efficient. They told us there were only strawberries available and when we walked by the exit gate just to take a look at how massive their fields were, the lady at the exit gate told us to start from the back rows because they will be less picked. That was really nice of her and she was right! Everyone complimented my sister and I on being able to find big berries. When we exited, I was carrying the bucket in my arms and the girl at the exit was nice enough to help me rotate the bucket to mark my sticker.

We realized after we needed to split our bucket because we are taking separate cars home. We went into the market and asked for bags, they gave us 3 and didn’t charge us, it was perfect.

Cons: Why 1 star? After splitting our berries, we went back into the market because we thought it’d be nice to support them further and get local produce. We waited in line for 5 minutes to buy strawberry jam and warba potatoes.

After talking to the cashier and paying, who was super nice to us and gave us the tip to follow Instagram for updates, a brunette came out of nowhere and accused me of stealing the bags of strawberries I was holding. Why would I wait in line to pay for jam and potatoes, but steal strawberries? And how would I have them in bags that are only available from behind your counter? AND, my sister was clearly holding a huge bucket that looks half empty, that we paid for, and was marked by the girl at the exit gate. She was rude and said, “you’re telling me, those ALL fit in the bucket?”. Obviously, what do you think, I stuffed them in my bra but then took them out to put in YOUR bags AND still decided to come in the market and wait in line to pay for jam and potatoes???

She rolled her eyes when I told her that I paid for this bucket, how else would they let me in or out of the fields, obviously these berries all fit in there before we split them, you gave us these 3 bags to begin with, and we also have videos AND photos from our last hour here filling up this bucket. She walked away as soon as I mentioned we have video and photo evidence. I was so embarrassed and she was so unprofessional. My sister walked away carrying her bucket and asked me if the girl was racist and picked on us because we were Asian. I had to convince her no, that wouldn’t happen here, but inside I had to suppress the thought it might be her unconscious bias picking on us and accusing us out of EVERYONE else also carrying buckets and food. Again, why would I wait in line to pay for overpriced jam and potatoes but steal strawberries. She should work in the US if she is so bothered by the sight of people who don’t look like herself.

There were a ton of other girls at the counter that can corroborate this encounter, it occurred on Sunday June 15...

Well, a must-go farm!

On weekends, its super crowded. Lots of parking lot is available, so don’t worry for that.

🌳 The farm is huge and you’ll experience a real farm with many lovely berries. 🤹 There is a well-equipped playground so you wouldn’t be worried about children. 🍦 Famous and delicious ice creams can be bought from ice cream shop (soft & hard options). 🥦 You can buy all the berries and some vegetables from their small store which is really nice.

A guide to visiting the farm: 🏕 At entrance, you pay for different sizes of paper or plastic containers. There are 2 sizes of paper container and 3 sizes of plastic one. The small plastic container is $25 and its a decent size as it becomes heavy enough. You can mix all berries in one container.

Walking down the fields (in order): 🌻 1- Sunflowers on your right 2- Raspberry on your left 🍓 3- Strawberry on your right 4- Blackberry, Tayberry, & Boysenberry on your left 🫐 5- Blueberry fields on your right and at the end of farm

Recommendations: Don’t miss the Raspberry field as its almost hidden and hard to find. For Sunflowers you have to be there end of summer. Strawberries taste like heaven. Sure you won’t believe unless you try them. Don’t expect something like fake strawberries in Save on Foods, Super Store, Walmart, Costco, IGA, or any other store. Its like nothing else. ‼️Dont miss it! Going into Black, Tay, and Boysen berries, you experience different berries. Definitely, ❗️try Tayberry. Its a mix of blackberry and raspberry. Sourness and sweetness have made a unique concoction. Boysenberry ⭕️ was something like a mix of every berry together. Don’t miss that one also!

Blueberry field is the majority of the field and cherrypicking is really joyful. You can fill your container in less than 10 minutes. So, relax and take your time. 😁

Visit Emma Lea Farms and enjoy real nature with a taste of berries and their ice...