There bloomed the #strawberry of the wilderness; The trembling eyebright showed her sapphire blue, The thyme her purple, like the blush of Even; And if the breath of some to no caress Invited, forth they peeped so fair to view, All kinds alike seemed favourites of Heaven. The Agricultural Research Institute has described strawberries as a fruit that is difficult to grow, as it needs to be continually monitored for protection from diseases. Strawberries are grown in open fields and poly tunnels in the Nuwara Eliya District. Two of the most popular plantations are located in #Ambewela and #Ragala, both approximately 30 minutes drive from Spring Acre. A successful enterprise that has excelled in fruit cultivation is Ramya Horticulture (Pvt) Ltd, one of the pioneers in cultivation of strawberries. Their vegetable and strawberry farm is located in Ambewela - #Pattipola road on the way to #HortonPlains. A large hoarding at the road side just before Meepiliyama Reservoir leads through a bumpy road to the farm. A prominent landmark, which can be seen from a distance, is a windmill. The sales outlet is at the entrance of the farm. Fresh Strawberries and Strawberry Jam is available for sale there. The Vegetable farm is spreads over a very large area and it is impossible to walk through the farm due to the distance and steep roads.The farm management has arranged tours of the strawberry fields on an open trailer with seats, which is appropriately pulled by a tractor in this rough and bumpy terrain. On the trail you can see beautifully grown potatoes, carrot, cabbage and many vegetables. The trail stops at a big Green House, where you can get off and walk inside the green house to observe how the strawberries are cultivated. It's an amazing experience since strawberries are not a common fruit in #SriLanka. The company grows the #California and #Dutch varieties of strawberries that yield fruit of 40 mm in length. These take between 7 and 12 months to grow in the company's 7 poly tunnels.The first poly tunnel was built in 2001 and was initially used for high value vegetable cultivation. Ramya Horticulture has plans to build seven more poly tunnels. #SriLankaTrip (at Nuwara Eliya,Sri Lanka ''නුවර එලිය'')
