The ecological picking gardens in Wudi County, Shandong Province, are now entering peak harvest season as bright, plump strawberries ripen in succession, attracting numerous visitors for on-site picking experiences. The county’s specialty cultivation is adding new momentum to rural revitalization.

In the eco-picking gardens, rows of vines are dotted with vivid red strawberries—glossy in color and full in flesh. Visitors carry baskets through the beds to select, pick and taste the fruit, enjoying the pleasures of farm-to-table harvesting.

Three greenhouses at the garden focus on premium strawberry cultivation and follow a green, eco-friendly planting approach. From seedling propagation to field management, the operation implements refined, scientific controls throughout. To address the common problem in facility agriculture of “one season’s harvest followed by seasonal idleness,” the garden uses intercropping—planting figs inside the strawberry houses—to ensure staggered fruit availability and maximize land use, laying a foundation for year-round stable income. “This strawberry season ends after June 1; when strawberries finish, the figs will come into harvest. Right now we’re mainly doing pick-your-own—strawberries sell for about 20 yuan per jin, and each greenhouse earns around 40,000–50,000 yuan,” said Wang Ruixian, manager of the ecological picking garden.

The strawberries are currently in a critical second-crop growth stage. To ensure optimal fruit quality and flavor, Wang and the team enter the houses daily to carry out meticulous fieldwork—thinning blossoms and cutting leaves—so every berry receives ample light and accumulates sugars, guaranteeing that visitors pick fresh, high-quality fruit.

In recent years, Wudi County has leveraged local resource advantages to vigorously develop specialty planting, facility agriculture and leisure-picking industries. The county supports new business entities such as professional cooperatives and family farms, and promotes scale planting, standardized production and market-oriented sales to extend the agricultural value chain and raise industry returns. Small strawberries have thus become a sweet driver of household income, with specialty agriculture serving as a key pillar for boosting residents’ earnings and advancing rural revitalization—injecting stronger momentum into the county’s high-quality agricultural and rural development.