Here’s why Ontario’s strawberry season seems to be getting longer | 24CA News
Have you observed that strawberry season in Ontario is longer than you may bear in mind as a child? There’s a purpose for that, and it has to do with the types of strawberries used and the best way they’re grown.
Strawberry season has begun in Ontario, and for some farmers, it should proceed till October, and in some circumstances, past that.
“Growers use a combination of early, mid, and late season June-bearing varieties that typically produce berries from early June to mid-July,” Connie Osborne, a spokesperson for the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (OMAFRA), mentioned in an e-mail assertion, providing some examples of rising strategies and varieties used.
“Growers will use row covers in the spring to advance the crop on some fields, by increasing the temperature and protecting the crops from frost, to extend the season.”
“Day-neutral strawberries form flower buds under any day length, and flower and fruit continuously through the season. They are grown on plastic mulch and will produce a crop the year they are planted, beginning from mid-July and continuing until October,” she added.
Osborne defined that rising can proceed past that when executed in greenhouses, and utilizing “vertically farmed strawberries.”
“With technology and research advancements producers can control the environment, such as incorporating misting systems for optimal humidity and temperature as well as using ultraviolet-C (UV-C) lights for management of pests such as powdery mildew,” she mentioned.
“These advancements allow people to enjoy Ontario strawberries throughout winter as well.”
This expanded strawberry season is one thing that Will Heeman of Heeman’s strawberry farm in Thorndale, Ont. has observed, and contributes to.
“When I was as old as my son is now, strawberry season was three weeks in a bad year and five weeks in a good year and now we pick strawberries for about five months.”
“So we’ve certainly changed and had some things adjusted to be able to kind of have a more consistent crop where people don’t have a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it strawberry season.”
They’re utilizing three completely different varieties so as to produce berries till October and even November.
“You’re always trying to find a new variety, and so we have some that are early and we have some that are really late,” he mentioned.
Different varieties, similar season
Murray Martin of Martin’s Strawberry Farm in Wallenstein, Ont. mentioned that they have not prolonged their strawberry season over the 12 years that he is been accountable for what was his spouse’s household farm. They farm different issues so that they restrict this specific season.
“It is possible to extend it with varieties, but we’re not interested,” he defined, including their strawberry season is about six weeks lengthy.
What has modified is the varieties that they farm. Right now, they’re utilizing 5 varieties in complete that assist them carry the strawberry season from June by most of July.
“We’ve been switching varieties,” he mentioned. “We’re kind of trying to find the ones we prefer.”
