Ready or Not, Here We Come 

Since we decided to start our blog towards the end of our strawberry season there is a lot to catch you up on! As most of you have heard from one source or another, most early crops all over the east coast came much, much earlier than growers are used to. Some of you might have even been out picking in our fields in the middle of March!

Usually the strawberry crop comes on mid to late April here in North Carolina. Strawberries are crops that overwinter. That means that they are transplanted into the field as small plants in the fall and sit dormant protected by cloth covers throughout the winter. Then when the temperatures rise and the sun comes out, they start to grow, produce blossoms, and eventually berries!

This year we had an unusually warm spell through most of February. Unfortunately for us, strawberry plants don’t know how to read a calendar… One agronomist that occasionally stops by said that you can argue and argue with the plants about when it’s time to grow but you rarely win. They decided to start their production cycle almost a month earlier than we were used to; and ready for!

A good question! Aside from having to wear a slightly heavier jacket to pick your strawberries, when the strawberries start producing in March, it means that winter isn’t quite over yet. Frost is a very real threat to strawberry blossoms and something that we farmers have nightmares over.

Frost can create icicles inside of the blossom and the expansion of the water can damage the part that makes strawberries. It will kill the blossom and prevent it from producing! To combat frost, we use heavy row covers that act as a blanket for our little strawberry plants. It takes a whole team of people to cover all those berries! Then we have to take them back off when the temperature rises again.

If a blossom gets damaged by frost there is a possibility it can still produce strawberries. If you stopped by our store or field earlier in the season you might have found some small or misshapen berries. Frost is most likely culprit. They still taste good; they just might not be as pretty.

Get to know your farm!

Blog by Cameron Ripley