Sun Valley Orchards expecting full crop of asparagus
Sun Valley Orchards expecting full crop of asparagus
SWEDESBORO, NJ — Sun Valley Orchards, which planted its first asparagus ever a few years ago, is expecting a full crop of asparagus this season, according to Joe Marino, one of the owners of the company.
“This is probably our first full season on all the asparagus acreage, so we expect a full crop from all the acreage,” Marino told The Produce News the first week in May.
The company, a grower-shipper based here in southern New Jersey, has about 120 acres of asparagus, one of the state’s key spring items. Sun Valley packs all of its asparagus in plastic containers of 28 pounds each, and all of it is packed in the “Sun Valley Orchards” label.
The 2013-14 winter was especially harsh in New Jersey, as it was in most areas of the eastern United States. As a result, items across the board are later than normal. Asparagus is no exception.
“It got a late start. Early varieties are off by a good two weeks,” said Marino. “Last year we cut [asparagus] by around April 11. This year we didn’t start until the end of the month.” He added, “Volume should kick in the first week in May with good volume into June.”
Although the grass is later than normal, the timing has not affected quality. “The quality’s great,” declared Marino. “The asparagus is really nice.”
In addition to its asparagus, Sun Valley Orchards for many years has been well known for peaches, peppers, cucumbers, green squash, eggplant and pickles. Asked how the long, cold winter would affect timing of those items, Marino said that he expected cukes, zucchini squash and pickles to start around the second week in June.
That would be “a good week late,” he noted, depending on how warm it gets during the rest of May. As he put it, “It’s been really cold. You need heat in the ground to get things to grow.”
In addition to his responsibilities at the family farm, Marino served as president of the Vegetable Growers Association of New Jersey for the past three years, stepping down in March.
And even after completing his three-year term, he still attends the meetings as a county director and past president. “It was good to be around so many people in the industry,” he said proudly of his service with the association, which is working to “revitalize its position in the state as a thriving organization.”
