The first day of blueberry harvesting arrived later than expected on Sierra Cascade Blueberry Farm, in late June. During a break from picking, farmer Armen Carlon shares, “We had been crossing our fingers and kind of watching the weather. Every time it rains, we have to stop harvesting because we can’t pick and pack wet fruit. It just slows things down for us.”
Sierra Cascade’s blueberries have made it to the farmers market at last, but other farmers are still waiting on their summer crops to be ready for harvest. While you longingly search for your favorite seasonal highlights at the farmers market—sweet corn, melons, tomatoes—farmers are recouping crop and land losses from previous seasons and waiting for the unseasonably cold and wet spring to wrap up into an abundant summer.