I remember this beautiful woman as a young girl. Their family first came to Florence and placed their field on our Ratliff Family Land. That was the beginning of an adult lifelong friendship for our family with the Cottle Family.
I am so glad that they came into our lives. They brought such joy. My girls were raised playing in the strawberry fields with Joy's beautiful children. I had just put strawberry wallpaper in my new home on the property...You see that has always been my favorite fruit.
Joy has always had a head for business, a knack, a great ability to make something grand. I think maybe she inherited some of that ability from her Mom and Dad.
She has a field in Columbia, SC...Pay them a visit if you are nearby you won't regret it, if not near check out the websites. You will be sure to learn of new products coming onto the markets, because the Cottles are not idle people. You can bet some of the most new, innovating ideas and products come from their minds. The one thing they don't have to improve upon is their strawberry crop. The best in the world I stand by it, always will, because I have lived it!
Cottle Strawberry Farm
History
Her Story
The photo below is of Joy Cottle at her Mom and Dad's Strawberry Field in 1966. The lady in the background (with her hands on her hips) is Joy's Grandmother, Nettie Lee Carrol Cottle ... also known as Big Mamma.
Big Mamma is checking out the strawberry stand, while Joy gets a very early start in Strawberry
Field Management.
Your
local strawberry farm in Columbia is proudly owned and operated by Ms. Joy Dawn
Cottle. She is a third generation strawberry farmer and her father (Ned
Cottle) taught her everything she knows about growing great-tasting
strawberries. Ned
retired from the strawberry business in 2005 and Joy took over the
Columbia field to continue in her father's footsteps. Ned still keeps up with the day to day operations and he is always available with a helping hand or an encouraging word.
Ned Cottle in the News ... Friday April 21, 1967
The Cottle Brothers of Faison (Bobby, Will, and Ned) sold the first strawberries on the Mt. Olive Produce Market Tuesday. They sold five crates of strawberries for $6.25 a crate. The market will officially open Wednesday. Market President H.D. Andrews, Bobby Cottle, Les Ipock, Will Cottle, Ned Cottle and Market Secretary-Treasurer Harold Precythe, shown left to right, look at the first berries sold.
The Cottle Brothers of Faison (Bobby, Will, and Ned) sold the first strawberries on the Mt. Olive Produce Market Tuesday. They sold five crates of strawberries for $6.25 a crate. The market will officially open Wednesday. Market President H.D. Andrews, Bobby Cottle, Les Ipock, Will Cottle, Ned Cottle and Market Secretary-Treasurer Harold Precythe, shown left to right, look at the first berries sold.
CAROLINA STRAWBERRIES - Nothing could be finer
The season is in full swing. Stop by the fields or stands and buy some of the best strawberries you have ever put into your mouth.
Do they pay me to say that No....
I worked in the First Florence location over twenty years.
I know and love the people and their strawberries!
Cottle Strawberry Farm
2533 Trotter Rd
Columbia SC 29209
803-695-1714
You can call in season to find out the prices for each size.
U-Pick
1 qt strawberries
1 gallon strawberries
We-pick
1 qt strawberries
1 gallon strawberries
Fields in Faison NC, Goldsboro, NC, Fayetteville, GA, Stockbridge, GA,
Dothan, AL,
Our Local Florence, SC. Field
843 317-0031
Prices same as Columbia Field above
Ron Cottle
Faison, NC
Cottle Farms.com link below
Oh my, we're still a couple months away from strawberry season here in Canada. But the way the spring is going this year (very warm), we may have them earlier. Can't wait. Strawberry jam, strawberry pie, strawberries and ice cream. Strawberries picked and eaten in the field - my favourite. Enjoy the bounty.
ReplyDeleteThanks Heather, I sure will! I can tell that when yours come in you will be enjoying them too! Prince Edward Island is where Cottle Farms grows out their plants a very good disease free environment for the plants....So glad you stopped by..
DeleteThanks for sharing. We don't have large strawberry farmers here, but find them at local produce stands.
ReplyDelete