‘A very anxious time’: What a chilly May means for Ontario’s berry season

After a spring marked by unusually cool temperatures, Ontario berry farmers are anxiously holding onto a glimpse of hope for some warm sunshine.

After a spring marked by unusually cool temperatures, Ontario berry farmers are anxiously holding onto a glimpse of hope for some warm sunshine.

Ontario’s berry harvest is off slow start thanks to a colder-than-usual May that has come with temperatures not seen since 1967.

“We’re a little behind, but if we get a good June and July, we can catch up quick,” said Greg Downey, owner of Downey’s Farm in Caledon. “The earlier the season can get going, the better.”

While the conditions didn’t bring the kind of frost that can devastate early blossoms, growers said it did delay bloom and pollination, which pushed harvest timelines back by about a week or more in some areas.

Jeff Tichelaar of Tichelaar Berry Farms in the Niagara region said their strawberries, which are usually ready around Victoria Day, just become available this past Monday.

“We’re all a little later than normal, but some summer sunshine is just what we need,” he said. “The crop looks great. We just have to wait a little longer than usual.”

However, waiting is often the hardest part, Tichelaar added.

“You get anxious,” he said. “But at some point, you realize you can’t worry about what you can’t control. It always seems to work out”