We Believe in the Easter Berry

Maybe Mother Nature is working things out for herself. Last weekend’s rains pushed the just-beginning Northern California strawberry harvest back about a week and probably delivered most of the important Easter holiday sales to Southern California growers.

Those same growers, you may remember, missed the first couple of weeks of their season because of the Christmas freeze. This time, the weather was in their favor: The rain blew in and blew out quickly, not lingering on the sensitive berries.

“We’ve been lucky,” says Doug Circle, president of Anaheim-based Sunrise Growers. “The rain has not materialized to the scope or magnitude forecast.”

In fact, he says, the weather in Southern California has been perfect for strawberries. “The plants are real strong and the fruit is outstanding. These cool nights and warm days are perfect for strawberries. Quality is outstanding.”

Up north, the rain was worse and things aren’t nearly so happy, though they are far from disastrous. Light picking has started in the Santa Maria area, but major production probably won’t begin until the week after Easter. In Watsonville, the harvest will probably begin around the middle of April.

“This will give us an opportunity to supply strawberries pretty heavily for Easter and most of April,” says Circle, and you can almost hear him smile over the telephone.