Farming is hard work even under the best of circumstances.
If someone invented a remote control to program:
- when it was sunny,
- what temperature it is,
- what insects and pathogens were around, and
- when (and how much) it rained,
Then that person would be every farmers’ hero! Unfortunately, no such remote control exists, so farmers are subject to the whims of whatever nature throws their way in any given year, season, or day.
Since we work directly with local farmers, we get to experience the consequences (almost) firsthand. It makes us appreciate the food we eat…and our farmers even more!
Where did your strawberries come from? Hopefully, you’ll never look at a strawberry the same way once you read the story of the first local organic strawberries of the 2019 growing season here in San Diego.
The struggle of local organic strawberries
As you probably noticed, San Diego has been getting a lot of clouds and rain of late. It’s also been unseasonably cool.
This weather just so happens to coincide with the beginning of strawberry season for our local organic farmers. What does this weather mean for strawberry farmers?
It hasn’t been easy this year. Here’s why:
1. No Pollinators = reduced fruit to set
The strawberries’ flowers need the assistance of wind or pollinators (like bees) to transfer pollen that create the baby berries. Honeybees and most other pollinators are about as happy about cold, wet weather as you are.
In fact, bees only start becoming active when it’s over 57oF and they are unable to fly once the temperatures go below 55oF. No pollinators means drastically reduced or even no fruit being able to set.
2. No sunlight = strawberry fruit that can’t ripen
Strawberries are basically the “babies” of the strawberry plant (each strawberry fruit is covered with the plant’s seeds). As you probably know, it takes a lot of energy for any plant or animal to make babies.
How do plants make energy? They eat sunlight and CO2 and get other nutrients from the soil. Without abundant sunlight, strawberry plants have difficulty making sugar, and thus making ripe strawberries.
3. Too much rain = drowned fruit
Yes, plants need water, just like people do. Most health experts say you should drink about 2 liters of H2O per day. Now, imagine what would happen if you suddenly drank a bathtub full of water each day for a week? It wouldn’t go well!
Likewise, all the recent rain means that strawberry plants are drinking too much water, which can cause the water-engorged fruit to split or to melt right off the plants. All the water and plant stress also means the plants are more likely to encounter or be infected by various fungal diseases, which means more costs and less money for farmers.
But the last few days of sunshine mean…we have strawberries!
All of this information might be an interesting curiosity for you, but for local farmers who depend on their strawberry fields to produce actual strawberries (not bottled water), it can be the stuff of nightmares. That’s because in order for the farmers to stay in business, they still have to produce fruit. For those of us working in an office, we don’t really know what’s going on out there and wonder why; a. they’re really expensive, or b. they’re not available at the market.
Thankfully, the longer days and the welcome sunshine has made the strawberries…and the remarkable crew at Be Wise Farm…very happy! We’re always amazed at the resiliency and skill of the local farmers we work with who somehow manage to pull off the miracle of food production regardless of what nature throws at them.
The first local, organic strawberries of the 2019 season in San Diego!
This week, we proudly offer you the first organic strawberries of the season from Be Wise Organic Ranch. They’ve been pioneers in organic farming since the 1970’s.
We’ve tasted them (quite a few of them, in fact), and can assure you that they’re quite delicious. Our hats are off to the good folks at Be Wise Ranch for providing the miracle of farm-fresh, local organic strawberries.
For additional, interesting reading, we recommend you learn more about Be Wise Ranch and why they’re an organic farm. We also recommend that you read our strawberry facts article if you want to impress your friends with your encyclopedic strawberry knowledge.
Happy eating!
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