2020: A Spring Not Soon Forgotten

Spring is probably my favorite season. It brings such hope, renewal, and the joy of sunshine after what always feels a long gloomy winter. Strawberry season, even with the bustle of busy days and the stress of getting it all done, has long been my favorite weeks of not only the season, but the year. With everyone under lockdown with the COVID-19 pandemic, excitement has been at an all time high for the opportunity to soak up some sun and pick some sweetness from customers, picking crew, and an optimistic owner.

Which is what has made me dread this post.

I think … no actually… I KNOW… strawberry season 2020 will be a disappointment to all. We have weathered two separate freeze events. The first mid-April with two nights of temps in the lower to mid-20’s. The blooms took a major hit across all varieties. I had my moment of devastation amidst my rows of brown berry blooms. But then, my hopes were bolstered with the arrival of the second set of blooms in all their glory. The berry size would be smaller (the first blooms always give the biggest berries) and harvest would come all at once as the freeze took away my early, mid, and late season stagger….but I have the best picking crew ever and I knew we would make do. Baby green berries were setting. All looked well for a late-May start.

THEN, in a purely mean-spirited moment, Mother Nature swooped in with a frost/freeze on May 8. Um, excuse me Mother Nature, did you not get the memo that it was MAY? Last frost is usually late April here! Please check your calendar!! Gardeners/farmers across the county, state, entire eastern half of the country were dragging sheets, table cloths, buckets and anything that might work to cover plants. I was calculating the number of sheets a girl would need for nearly 2 acres (350 sets of full/queen size, just a few more than I have at my disposal), cost of last minute row cover options for local sources (cost prohibitive). I was simply at the mercy of Mother Nature. I awoke to a thermometer low reading of 32. Hey, hey! Maybe we weathered it! My newly planted asparagus bed was unharmed, little damaged noted on other sensitive species…
Sunday, May 10 - Mother’s Day - I did a check and my heart sank for what felt like the umpteenth time in 2020. My green baby berries had turned brown. Another setback. Another 2020 disappointment.
I do not know what exactly our season will be. I do plan to have my crew pick what we can. The last blooms are always smaller berries so I’m not sure what we will have. Only time will tell.

I think we’re going to go from early spring temps to summer in one day. The sun is shining with a high of 80 today. The summer garden will go in with green beans, beets, and other offerings this summer and will have opportunities to keep my picking crew busy! I have other exciting plans for 2021 which I look forward to posting about later this summer! So, while I still feel the twinge of disappointment with each message and phone call from eager customers, I feel confident that the sweetness will return!

I also promise to get back to blogging. Adventures abound around here, pandemic or not!

Frosted baby berries (brown), frosted bloom (brown center) amid a few hardy blooms (yellow centers).