Every Driscoll’s berry begins life at the nursery. Each season’s seedlings are carefully packed at the nursery, then shipped to our coolers, where they are kept chilled so that the plants remain in hibernation. Our independent farmers pick up their seedlings just in time for planting.

The Nurseries

Driscoll’s nursery locations are carefully selected based on their geographic isolation, which keeps the soil free of pests and diseases. Our nurseries are designed to produce plants that are naturally identical, vigorous and as free of disease as possible. The “vigor” of the plants that come from the nurseries is critical to the performance of the plants in the fruiting field. Stronger plants are more resistant to disease, produce higher fruit quality, and naturally have a higher yield.

Cuttings are taken from an original selected seedling (see Research and Development to learn more about this process) and grown in the germ-free environment of Driscoll’s screen houses. From the screen houses, the seedlings are planted in nursery fields–a process which can take several years. By the time these plants leave Driscoll’s nurseries, a handful of these tiny plantlets have been multiplied into millions of naturally true-to-type berry plants that are ready for delivery to Driscoll’s independent farmers.

When the plants are ready, mowers cut the foliage from the plants. The plants are then dug up by the roots and excess dirt is removed. Once the plants have been cleaned, they are transported to one of our trim sheds, where workers trim off any remaining stems, leaves and runners. These plants are carefully packed, chilled to the perfect temperature to keep them in hibernation, and then stored at one of Driscoll’s cooler facilities until planting time.

The Farms

Berries are not produced in a factory; they are grown outside in a dynamic biological environment. The farmers’ challenge is to work with nature, using years of experience and know-how to get the very best out of each berry plant. Driscoll’s farmers have to understand how weather, soil, nourishment, pests and diseases affect each variety and each plant. The goal of every Driscoll’s farmer is to shape, rather than control, the biological diversity of their fields, with a minimum amount of agricultural inputs.

Planting is a delicate process and the correct timing is critical. Each row must be laid out so that it has exactly the right slope, to ensure that irrigation water will flow smoothly throughout the field. It’s a real engineering challenge to make sure the water pressure at the top of the field is the same as it is at the bottom. Otherwise, plants get an uneven amount of water and don’t grow properly.

The length of the growing season depends upon the berry type, the variety and the climate of each unique growing region. Strawberries take 30 days to mature from flower to fruit. The berries are picked every three days, and the fields must be re-planted every one to two years. Raspberry and blackberry plants do not require re-planting every two years. Blueberries are a deciduous fruiting plant, which means that they only produce fruit in season, but blueberry plants can live longer than 15 years before re-planting is necessary.

After the berries ripen, they are hand picked in the field and sent to a nearby Driscoll’s cooler. There they will be chilled to remove field heat, and prepared for immediate shipment to your local store.

When you meet the farmers who grow berries for Driscoll’s, you can’t help but be impressed by their skill, experience and dedication to farming. Every person who touches these plants shares a passion for growing the finest berries in the world.