Kristen Yanarella, of Saco, passes a ripe strawberry to her son Luca, 4, at Maxwell’s Farm in Cape Elizabeth on Thursday — the farm’s opening day of the season. Ben McCanna/Staff Photographer CAPE ELIZABETH — The first day of pick-your-own strawberries at Maxwell’s Farm began with a line forming an hour before its 9 a.m.
opening Thursday. “At 8 a.m.
, there were people lined up all the way down the street,” Joy Twillmann, a ninth-generation member of the Maxwell family, said between helping customers Thursday morning. This week marks the opening of several pick-your-own strawberry farms in southern Maine, including Spiller Farm in Wells, which also opened Thursday, and Pineland Farms in New Gloucester, set to open Saturday. At Pineland, employees were feeling hopeful about the season ahead, especially compared to last year, when wet weather resulted in low sales.
“This year should be terrific compared to last year,” said David Handley, vegetable and small fruit specialist and professor of horticulture at the University of Maine. “It was a rainy year last year, and we had drought for three years before that.” The milder winter was also helpful for growing, he said.
Luca Yanarella, 4, of Saco, shows off the strawberries he picked at Maxwell’s Farm in Cape Elizabeth on Thursday. Ben McCanna/Staff Photographer “Hopefully the pickers are ready to go out and enjoy this crop,” he said. “It’s the best I’ve seen in quite some time.
” Last year, it rai.
