by Kristina Gabalski
Lora Partyka and Rebecca Gates of Partyka Farms in Kendall sell their home-grown fruits and vegetables at the Genesee Country Farmer’s Market in Batavia, the Farmers Market at North Chili Methodist Church on Saturday mornings and at the Brockport Farmers Market on Sunday mornings.This growing season has provided many challenges for local farmers – from late winter warmth followed by hard spring freezes to drought conditions in June and July.
Roger Rouse at Honqualac Haven in Bergen says he’s currently harvesting beets, leeks, Swiss chard, basil and, “a little bit of lettuce.” He’s also starting his tomato harvest.
“The first part of the season for us was real good, but the drought is changing everything,” he says. Later season plantings have had difficulty germinating and, “may be OK come fall, depending on how the weather goes.”
Rouse says overall, vegetables have done better than fruit. Fruit prices, he says, are higher because of the losses in stone fruit crops.
“People don’t understand the cost to maintain a peach tree is the same no matter if the weather is good or bad.”
Drought conditions this summer in the Midwest will eventually mean higher overall food prices, as well, he says.
Locally, conditions have meant that “overall, crops are way ahead,” Rouse explains. “Strawberries were done early, blueberries will be done early. Normally they’re available until the end of August with no problem. It’s caught some customers off-guard.”
At Partyka Farms in Kendall, Lora Partyka says the quality of produce is very good.
“We have excellent sweet corn, beautiful beans and cucumbers,” she says. “The fruit is light but what there is, is good.”
Partyka called the losses in the local fruit crop “heartbreaking,” and adds, “the drought did affect things.”
She, too, notes that the seasons for local produce have been shorter this year. “It’s going faster,” she says.
Linda Kirby at Kirby’s Farm Market in Brockport says “if you can irrigate, you can farm this year.”
She says the soil near the market on Rt. 104 is sandy so they’ve had to irrigate on a daily basis crops that they want to harvest.
She has also heard that some farmers have actually had difficulty getting tomatoes to ripen because of the intense heat, although Kirby’s has not had that problem.
“It’s the peak of the season for peaches and cantaloupes,” she says. “The sweet corn is wonderful. The sun has made everything so sweet. Everything is at the peak of the season.”
The plums this year are the sweetest she’s ever tasted, Kirby adds.
Regarding apples, Kirby says some varieties have more fruit than expected in the wake of the spring freezes.
There are Jonagolds and the Honeycrisp are OK, she says. Jersey Macs are the first apples that are being harvested.
She adds that Kirby’s has been growing cut flowers this season and is selling bouquets. “The girls have been putting together sunflowers,” she notes, “ beautiful zinnias and glads” – summer’s bounty in a different form.
