Cold causes strawberry crop delay

In recent years, strawberry fans in Louisiana have been spoiled by the sustained availability of plump berries not just in spring, but in winter as well. The “plug planting” technique, which got off the ground in the state in 2009, has allowed strawberries to get to market about two months earlier than usual. But this year is going to feel like old times because thanks to the cold, strawberries won’t emerge in large supply until March.

According to the LSU AgCenter, the regional strawberry harvest will be temporarily delayed because of the sustained cold in the state throughout December. Tangipahoa Parish agent Sandra Benjamin says the bare-rooted crops planted in October and normally harvested now spent most of December under cover from the cold. The covering process knocked off their emerging blooms and green fruit.

Still, strawberries are resilient, according to Ponchatoula farmer and Red Stick Farmers Market vendor Eric Morrow, and it won’t take these same plants long to bounce back. Morrow says he expects March and April to be robust berry months. That’s just in time for the Ponchatoula Strawberry Festival, April 11-13. —Maggie Heyn Richardson