Thanks to a mild spring and a hot summer, farmers and gardeners have been harvesting everything from beans to zucchini ahead of schedule.
Sweet corn was widely available before the end of July, and mature ears are now piled high in supermarket aisles and farm stand bins. It’s likely the cornfields will be empty long before they are touched by a hard frost. Even hay harvests have been running ahead of schedule.
Earlier this year, frigid temperatures in Florida sent tomato prices soaring. Now an abundant local crop makes the price of shipped tomatoes almost irrelevant.
Consumers should be aware that the blueberry season is passing swiftly and that peach and apple crops are also well ahead of schedule. An orchard in Wallingford, Conn., began picking Paula Red apples in the first week of August, the Associated Press reported this week.
Besides the mild spring and the sunny, hot summer, farmers have also benefited from the lack of rain, which has helped them avoid difficulties with insects and disease, the AP said.
Even a good growing season can lead to complications. Growers and sellers are wondering how to market pumpkins that will be ready long before anyone is thinking of Halloween, and a cranberry crop that could be ready by mid-September.
This year’s ideal growing weather is a sharp contrast to the cool wet summer that stunted yields last year. Cooperative extension service staff told the Sun Journal in Lewiston that the mild spring weather encouraged many to plant early ”“ a bet that generally worked out well.
Lovers of seasonal fruits and vegetables shouldn’t hesitate to enjoy them at their prime. As for apples, we’re looking forward to biting into a crisp, fresh McIntosh without well before the crisp air of fall arrives.
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