Sunshine brings hope for Saskatoon berry growers after slow start

After weeks of rain and gloomy weather berry growers around Saskatoon are seeing the sun shine.

Weeks of cloudy weather have delayed berry crops around Saskatoon, but growers say a recent stretch of sunshine has them hopeful the harvest will soon catch up.

Peter Rhodes, 93, grows several varieties of berries at his orchard just south of Saskatoon. He said recent rainfall has helped produce a strong crop this year.

“It’s fantastic to have a good crop this year,” Rhodes said. “Just waiting for it to develop.”

While the rain has been beneficial, weeks of cloudy weather have slowed the development of his Saskatoon berries. Rhodes said the berries are about a week behind in ripening, but warm, sunny weather should help speed up the process.

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“Nature has a way of catching up. So, I suppose if we get some sunshine, they will come on quickly,” he said.

The Berry Barn, south of the city along Valley Road, said its Saskatoon berry crop is also running about seven to 10 days behind.

“With all the cloudy and cool weather and the late start to May, it’s been a really slow start,” said Grant Erlandson, co-owner of The Berry Barn.

The farm grows 18 acres of Saskatoon berries and typically harvests between 15,000 and 20,000 pounds each season. Erlandson said this year’s crop is still catching up.

“Usually at this time of year, we should be picking and probably getting into some good picking,” he said. “But every year is different in this business.”

The gloomy weather also slowed production of the farm’s greenhouse strawberries.

“We got the first flush and then we got into all that cloud in June. So, they’re just starting to come back now,” he said.

Just up Valley Road, Prairie Pathways said on social media that it’s not expecting a strawberry crop this year because of hail damage.

While the weather has created challenges for some berry producers, both Rhodes and Erlandson say the recent stretch of sunshine should help the crops catch up in the weeks ahead.