Late strawberry season now bearing fruit

What goes around, comes around, farmers in Maine say, especially when it comes to the weather.

That’s why it’s no surprise that the more than two consecutive weeks of cold, rainy weather that delayed Maine’s strawberry season were followed by record-breaking heat.

The berries, farmers are reporting, were plumped from the rain and are now ripe and ready, and farmers are hoping that customers don’t stop picking after the Fourth of July, when a traditional harvest would be finished.

“Our phone has been ringing off the hook. A lot of people are thinking they have missed the season,” said Earlene Chasse of Silveridge Farm in Bucksport.

Berries are ripening so fast that calling a farm, such as Ireland Farms in Lincoln, often yields a recording: “Leave a message. We are out picking berries.”

Sharon Langley at Langley’s Strawberries in Hermon said the berries have ripened much more slowly than usual but are coming along beautifully. “They are really sweet,” she said Friday.

“They have ripened up great,” said Beverly Tate of Corinth. Tate and her family have been growing strawberries for more than 45 years on Puddledock Road.

“They are late,” she admitted. But the heat that kept pickers from the fields has subsided, Tate said. “The last two days have been overcast and cooler,” providing perfect picking conditions.

At Silveridge Farm, picking may not begin until Sunday or Monday, said Chasse, who has been growing berries for 27 years. “This is the latest they have ever been, ever,” she said.

Chasse said berries at inland farms ripen quicker than those along the coast. “We get a sea breeze every afternoon,” she said. “That makes it really nice for the pickers.”

John Harker of the state Department of Agriculture said this week that despite the rain delay, he is pleased with this year’s crop.

“What strawberries I’ve seen look really good,” he said. “They had adequate moisture and the temperatures have been good for them.”

The agriculture department provides a listing of pick-your-own farm operations at www.getrealmaine.com.