By Shelby Shank
Field Editor
When you think of cantaloupe, you think of Pecos. You think of peaches, you think of Fredericksburg. But if somebody says strawberries, you think of Poteet.
Strawberries are the heart of 4G Reyes Farms where David Reyes and Joel Garcia carry on their family’s tradition of growing tasty red berries in Poteet.
The family began farming strawberries in the late ’70s and ’80s when Reyes’ and Garcia’s grandfather and uncles started growing the berries for the Poteet Strawberry Festival Association. Throughout generations, many cousins and other family members have continued the farming tradition, and in 2010, Reyes and Garcia partnered together to form 4G Reyes Farms.
“I’ve been involved in farming since I was a kid. My father was a farmer. My uncles and my grandfather were farmers,” Reyes said. “In 2010, Joel and I wanted to try things differently and compete with my father and our uncles at the local strawberry festival.”
Reyes and Garcia are the fourth generation of Reyes’ on the farm, which is how they came up with the name 4G Reyes Farms. But the family’s legacy in agriculture doesn’t begin there. The land was purchased six generations ago under the Riojas family that later became the Reyes.
“We continue that legacy in our name because of the tradition and pride in knowing we have owned, operated and continue to farm on existing family farmland since 1868,” Garcia said. “We have over 150 years of farming and only 50 years of our family growing strawberries, but we hope to continue that history.”
Growing strawberries is a labor-intensive crop.
The process begins in late August to early September. Once the soil is prepared, the plastic-mulch is down and irrigation lines are set up, almost everything else is done by hand. By the first week of October, the strawberries are planted one by one in rows. Harvest occurs as early as Valentine’s Day and carries out through the end of May.
Strawberries are sensitive to rises or drops in temperature, humidity and other weather conditions. The red berries prefer a sandier, mildly loam soil that can be found in South Texas. The sandy soil allows farmers to control the amount of water that is consumed by the plant, preventing the berries from getting waterlogged.
“The advantage of farming on plastic mulch with a drip line is a lot less water is needed,” Reyes said. “It helps in cultivation of the strawberry, and you have fewer weeds to pick. The rainwater can run off the plastic and gives you a better chance of having a better tasting strawberry.”
Strawberries are in the ground for 10 months, and the production cycle of the berries is 10 weeks. From flower to strawberry, it takes about 21 to 28 days for it to ripen on the bush.
“You can tell a strawberry is ready to be picked when it is 100% red from the bottom to the top of the stem, and that’s going to be the biggest difference between a Poteet strawberry and something you find in a store,” Reyes said. “Poteet strawberries are picked vine ripe and made for somebody to purchase and eat that day. If you pick a strawberry with it being fully red up to the stem, it has reached maximum sugar content and is going to be very sweet.”
4G Reyes Farms hand picks 500 to 600 pounds of strawberries each day.
Reyes and Garcia grow 73,000 strawberry plants a year on their seven-acre farm. The Reyes family is well known in Poteet and have a large following of local consumers who come back year after year for their strawberries.
Today, their strawberries also are sold wholesale to distributors in San Antonio and throughout Texas.
Reyes was named Grand Champion Strawberry Entry at this year’s 76th annual Poteet Strawberry Festival. The festival began as a way to entice World War II soldiers to come back to the farm and grow strawberries rather than moving to the city. The strawberry festival now brings in many civic organizations together to celebrate the history and tradition of strawberry farming in Poteet. The festival is also a way for community members to give back by offering scholarships to high schoolers, farmers, non-profits and small businesses.
The red berries have a longtime tradition and history behind them, and it’s something Reyes and Garcia plan to continue.
“The most rewarding part about growing strawberries is knowing that I’m continuing a family tradition that has been established decades ago,” Garcia said. “It’s part of a bigger picture. It’s a part of the Poteet strawberry that everybody knows. I get to be a part of something that was started decades ago to get farmers back into farming and into production. It brings me joy knowing that I’m doing what my ancestors before me did.”
Leave A Comment