In an article in the Ithaca Journal, Cool weather provides large, juicy berries at u-pick farms, Department of Horticulture chair Marvin Pritts (right) explains why this year’s strawberry crop is so good:
‘It always comes down to weather. We had reasonable snow cover this winter, and we also had a fairly dry spring, so the bees were out and about flying around in pollination. Of course, we’ve had a bit of rain lately, which is not always the best thing, but as long as it’s not too much, it certainly helps the berries.
‘It’s been cool, which helps, too. When it gets really hot, strawberries ripen really quickly and don’t have a chance to get very large,” he continued. “But when it’s been cool like this, they slowly ripen and get really large, and they’re full of moisture and juicy.’
Looking for a berry farm? See this list of berry farms from the New York State Berry Growers’ Association.