Walkers
Own Produce features the finest and freshest fruit in Western
Canada with a 30 year reputation of excellence. The main
produce we sell can be found directly below, to see our
full list of locations please view our home page.
Apples
An apple
is a round tree fruit which has crisp white flesh, with
red veins. The skin colour of an apple can vary from yellow
to green to red. An apple is a pome fruit, as is a pear.
A pome fruit has multiple seeds protected by a core. There
are over 100 varieties of apples grown in North America.
The varieties grown for BC's production are Red and Gold
Delicious, McIntosh and Spartan. Newer varieties now being
widely planted include Jonagold, Gala, Braeburn, Fuji,
Ambrosia and Honey Crisp .
Area
Blossom
Time (Average)
Harvest
Time (Average)
Osoyoos
Late April
August - Late
October
Central Okanagan
Late April - Early
May
September - Late
October
North Okanagan
Mid May
September - Late
October
Creston
Early - Mid May
Mid September
- Mid October
-
Apricots
Apricots
are a part of the tree fruit industry. They are known
as stone fruits because they have a single seed in a
hard shell. They are also called soft fruit as opposed
to hard fruits such as apples and pears. The fruit is
a light yellow colour on some varieties to a strong
orange to orange-red on others. It is not fuzzy like
a peach, but some varieties have a pebbled appearance.
Area
Blossom
Time (Average)
Harvest
Time (Average)
Osoyoos
Early April
Mid July - Early
August
Central &
North Okanagan
Mid April
Late July -
Early August
Creston
Mid April
Early August
Cherries
The cherry
is the fruit of many plants of the genus Prunus, and is
a fleshy stone fruit. The cherry fruits of commerce are
usually obtained from a limited number of species, including
especially cultivars of the wild cherry, Prunus avium.
The name 'cherry', often as the compound term 'cherry
tree', may also be applied to many other members of the
genus Prunus, or to all members of the genus as a collective
term.
Area
AreaBlossom
Time (Average)
Harvest
Time (Average)
Osoyoos
Mid April
Late June - Late
July
Central Okanagan
Late April
Early July - Early
August
North Okanagan
Late April
Early July -
Early August
Creston
Late April
Mid July - Mid
August
Peaches
The peach is
a round juicy stone fruit with a fuzzy cream or yellow
skin flushed with red. A stone fruit is a single seed
enclosed in a protective layer called a pit. The flesh
that we eat is the pulp that protects and nurtures the
young seed. One of the most popular types of peaches is
the Freestone peach, so named as the flesh easily separates
from the pit. The most widely grown variety in BC is Redhaven.
Area
Blossom
Time (Average)
Harvest
Time (Average)
Osoyoos
Mid April
Mid July - Early
August
Central &
North Okanagan
Late April
Late July - Early
August
Creston
Mid May
Mid August -
Mid September
Pears
A pear
is a fruit that varies from apple shaped to teardrop shaped.
Its skin colour ranges from light yellow through red and
brown. The flesh of pears is juicy and in some varieties,
such as Asian pears, almost translucent. Pears are grown
in the Okanagan, Similkameen and Kootenay valleys. Pears
grow best on heavy soils. This limits the areas where
they can be grown.
Area
AreaBlossom
Time (Average)
Harvest
Time (Average)
Osoyoos
Mid April
August - September
Central Okanagan
Late April
Mid August - Mid
September
North Okanagan
Late April - Early
May
Mid August -
Mid September
Creston
Mid May
Mid August - Mid
September
Plums
A plum
is a smooth skinned elliptical, heart-shaped, oblong or
round fruit with a flat seed. Prune plums are dark blue
in colour with yellow flesh. Other plums have red, golden
or black skins with red or yellow flesh. Plums are grown
in the Okanagan, Similkameen, and Kootenay Valleys.BC
produces about 2 million kilograms of plums, including
about one-half of the Canadian prune plum crop.
Area
Blossom
Time (Average)
Harvest
Time (Average)
Osoyoos
Mid April
Mid August - Mid
September
Creston
Late April
September
Nectarines
The fruit we call nectarines
is virtually identical to the fruit we call peaches, except
for one noticeable feature. The skin of most peaches contains
fuzz, while the skin of nectarines is smooth. The same
mutation responsible for the smooth skin is also responsible
for the spicier taste and slightly smaller size of nectarines.
Nectarines and peaches both grow from the same parent
peach trees, which have been known to produce examples
of both fruits at the same time. Essentially there are
no nectarine trees, only peach trees with a genetic mutation.
Area
Blossom
Time (Average)
Harvest
Time (Average)
Osoyoos
Mid April
Mid July - Early
August
Central &
North Okanagan
Late April
Late July - Early
August
Creston
Mid May
Mid August -
Mid September
Blackberries
Blackberries
have always been known as a wild berry, picked late in
summer when they're juicy and sweet. Now we have domestic
varieties with that same wild taste and appeal. They are
often used for jams and jellies, but are also delicious
in any recipe calling for fresh summer berries.
Berries are in
season from July to the end of September but can go longer
depending on weather.
Blueberries
Blueberries
are small, round dark blue berries. A berry is a small
juicy fruit without a stone.
99% of BC blueberries are grown in the Fraser Valley in
Richmond, Pitt Meadows, Matsqui Prairie and Surrey.BC
produces about 95% of the Canadian production of cultivated
blueberries. This is about 9 million kilograms per year.
About 70% of these are processed; the others are bought
fresh for export and local consumption through stores
and farmgate outlets. In BC, about 2045 ha are farmed
by over 450 farm families.
Berries are in
season from July to the end of September but can go longer
depending on weather.
Raspberries
Raspberries
are a perennial bush-type plant that produces fruit on
woody stems or canes. The fruit may be red, yellow, black
or purple, but only the red raspberry is important in
BC and world-wide it is the most popular form. Raspberries
are an aggregate fruit. Each raspberry is a fruit cluster
with many bead-like fruits called druplets clustered around
a core or receptacle. Each druplet contains one seed and
a well developed berry generally has 100 to 120 seeds.
When the berry is picked the receptacle remains on the
bush and the berry resembles a hollow cone.
Berries are in
season from July to the end of September but can go longer
depending on weather.
Strawberries
Strawberries
are red cone-shaped fruit with a seed-studded surface.
Each berry is an aggregate fruit comprised of approximately
100 single seeded fruit. Each seed on the outside of a
strawberry is technically a fruit and must be pollinated
separately. The red fleshy part we eat is the swollen
central part of the flower or the peduncle to which the
seeds are attached.
Berries are in
season from June to August but can go longer depending
on weather.
Freshly grown Alberta and B.C. vegetables, available
at our Bearspaw and Symons Valley Markets locations only.