Strawberry season begins in Santa Maria with growers hoping for a bumper crop
SANTA MARIA, Calif. -- Strawberry season is now underway in the Santa Maria Valley with area growers optimistic the crop will yield a successful harvest in 2022.
After just a few weeks of growth, farmers say the season is off to a great start. Already, workers can been seen throughout the valley in local fields harvesting ripe fruit that will be shipped around the world.
"Right now, it looks great," said Tim Driscoll, West Coast Berry Farms grower/manager. "This will probably be the earliest that we have started historically."
Driscoll pointed out there are a few reasons why strawberry season seems to get longer and longer each year.
"A combination of good irrigation practices, a good nutrition program, and then of course, the boost that we get from mother nature from the sun and all the surrounding atmospheres," said Driscoll.
While a lack of rain is a concern, the dry weather has been a benefit at the same time.
Cold temperatures at night, followed by sunny, warm daytime weather has allowed strawberries to thrive during the early portion of the season.
Still, Driscoll and other area growers are keeping their fingers crossed for more precipitation.
"It helps develop the soil and maintain a temperature in the soil that's great for the plants," said Driscoll. "Establishing the plants early on, which normally is in the rainy time of year, is just great."
Just like nearly all businesses, growers will likely have to navigate through workforce challenges, potentially impacting operations, so they’re hoping that won’t be too big of an issue during the season.
"It's going to be competitive for sure," said Driscoll. "This valley has some really, really good growers, so competition will be fairly high, but I think the workers will make the choice on where they want to go, so we'll see how the labor force holds up once everybody starts to arrive after they leave their winter environments and come into the Salinas Valley or Santa Maria Valley and look for work."
As strawberries come out of the fields, local strawberry stands, a longtime Santa Maria tradition, are also starting to open for business.
At The Berry Stop, near the intersection of Stowell Road and Nicholson Ave., the stand has already been open for about a week.
"We are just excited that strawberry season is here," said Jamal Johnson of Nipomo, while purchasing strawberries at the stand Thursday afternoon. "We look forward to going to the different stands. We like to try different types, so we go to different stands."
With strawberries being harvested around the valley, customers should start seeing additional stands open in the near future.
"We come as long as their in the stands," said Johnson. "We just keep coming. Looking forward to it."
As for pricing Driscoll said he expects those to rise and fall during the year, with peak times around holidays. He added that should demand remain high as it was last year, prices will adjust accordingly.
