Farmers say rainy days lead to good fruit

Despite a rainy season, apples, berries and peaches are growing well this year.
By NANCY TULLIS
VINDICATOR SALEM BUREAU
The Huffman family says the fruit-growing is good this year.
And it should know: The family has been growing peaches, apples and other fruits in Green Township since 1922.
So far, in spite of the wet spring, this growing season looks good.
Workers are picking strawberries this week, and will follow soon with raspberries, now nearly ripe, said John Huffman. The family's main crops include tree fruits such as plums, peaches and several varieties of apples.
Protecting apples, peaches and plums from pests that like wet weather has been a challenge this year; with so much rain, the ground is soft, making it difficult to maneuver spraying equipment between the rows of trees. But Huffman added the pests haven't caused that much damage.
Some varieties of apples will be ripe in mid-July, but the peak season for most is September and October, he said. Most peaches will ripen in mid-July as well, he said.
Meanwhile, Huffman said, he's still hoping to plant sweet corn, but the ground is too wet. Tomatoes and green pepper plants already in the ground don't care much for the soggy soil, he noted. They may rot because there's too much water.
At Dillon's Fruit Farm near Lisbon, Karen Dillon said their berries and tree fruits are all doing well. They'll have blueberries, red and black raspberries, blackberries and elderberries over the next several weeks, then it will be time for apples and peaches.
Berries are planted so that two or three kinds are ripe at the same time. That's important when customers buy from Dillon's on a pick-your-own basis, she said.
Peaches, apples and pears are growing well at Dillon's and without further problems they should see a good harvest, she said.
Lyle Johnston, owner of The Apple Castle north of New Castle, Pa., in Wilmington Township, said he was a bit glum because of all the wet weather, until he saw how his apples are growing.
"We're going to have big apples," he said. "They like the moisture, and we've definitely had that."
Stay on the lookout
Johnston said he and other growers keep an eye on the sky until harvest, because thunderstorms can produce damaging, even devastating hail.
"Sometimes growers think they're out of the woods if the trees survive frost," he said, "but five minutes of hail can put an end to everything."
Johnston is also watching the skies because he hopes he'll be able to plant sweet corn soon. He likes to plant several varieties of sweet corn, planting weekly to extend the season. He hasn't been able to do that this year, however, because the fields are soggy.
Some growers plan to have sweet corn to sell for the Fourth of July, but Johnston said he can't plant early enough for that. He said his ground is flat and his soil clay-based, so it doesn't drain well.
A later harvest can be a plus, however. Johnston said there have been many years when he was still picking sweet corn in October.
"It's good if people aren't tired of it by then," he said. "I have some customers who are die-hard sweet corn fans. They'd eat sweet corn through Christmas if I could give it to them."