The epitaph I wrote last week for the Strawberries appears to have been premature. They made it through last week’s wind and what turned out to be a five-day stretch of 100 degree temperatures. If they make it through the rest of June, they will officially snatch the title of “Longest Berry Season Ever” from the current record holder 2025.
Other than the strawberries, though, we are in full “summer harvest” mode here — roughly a week ahead of schedule. Once that switch is flipped, the crops and the weather are in complete control. Vegetables like corn, tomatoes, zucchini, green beans, and cucumbers must be picked when they are ready, not when you’re ready to pick them. They have a window of 24-28 hours in which they go from immature to overripe, depending on the day and nighttime temperatures.
Hot weather can make all this quite challenging. We start work at first light when it’s usually still cool, and quit work once it gets too hot. “Too hot” is different for strawberries than it is for tomatoes. And it’s different for human beings early in the summer than it is later on when folks have become acclimatized to it. But fresh produce that is harvested when it’s “too hot” will go bad faster after it’s picked. And working when it’s too hot is both a waste of time — due to the increased effort it takes and the increase in the number of mistakes you make — and dangerous.
We are very lucky to farm in an area where most of the time, the nights cool down dramatically. This gives both the plants and the humans an opportunity to recover overnight and start the next day somewhat refreshed. It’s starting to feel like it’s going to be one of those long, hot summers so we’ll need all the cooling we can get.
Thanks,