Weather conditions not conducive to growing fresh produce on what is Mother Nature’s normal pattern seems to have followed growers up the East Coast since the season got underway. The Carolinas have been hammered with rain since around April 1.

On May 6, Calvert Cullen, president of Northampton Growers, headquartered in Cheriton, VA, said the region had received as much as three to four inches of rain nearly every day since early April, which is highly unusual this time of year.

“We were late going into Georgia, and we’ll be late getting into and out of the Carolinas,” said Cullen. “At this point we are anticipating being about a week late in the Carolinas. Most growers in the area are reporting the same thing. We just could not get into the field to get planted.”

The up side of the delayed crop is that everyone up and down the East Coast has had weather issues this spring, and that will likely result in everyone having a window that doesn’t overlap with other regions.

“I don’t think that anyone will jump over anyone else’s window this year because even New Jersey, which typically tries to get out of the gate early, is also running late,” explained Cullen. “We’re hearing that they’ll also be about a week late, and some may be even later than that.”

He also noted that there may be a decrease in acreage planted this season because growers couldn’t get into the fields.

“We were fortunate,” said Cullen. “Northampton will finish planting this week. But others aren’t so lucky. The weather forecast is showing the rest of the week will bring beautiful weather, and that will help give the plants a nice spring jump and speed things up a little. Then we’ll be able to get back in the fields and do some fertilizing and other necessities.”

In early May, Cullen said the company’s Carolina crops were scheduled to start harvesting between June 3 and June 5. The company begins there with cabbage, beans and squash, which is its typical crop start.

“We try to stay on a tight schedule to avoid overlapping because that doesn’t do anyone any good,” he added. “If too much product comes on at the same time it drives the markets down and no one wants to be in that position.”

Cullen also anticipated that Georgia will go through to about July 4, noting that crops there were also a week to two late, and some growers were reporting being as much as three weeks late.

“One of my neighbors in Georgia, for example, lost part of their crop because planting was delayed and they missed a part of their window,” he said.

Northampton Growers ships its fresh produce under the “Plantation” brand in Georgia and Virginia. In North Carolina it uses the “Mattanuskeett” label — after its namesake lake — on product from the Fairfield, NC, area. The company ships its product throughout the eastern U.S., the Midwest and into Canada.

Cullen’s partner is Steve McCready, who is also the company’s comptroller. Founded in 1959, the company has evolved from a two-person operation to a staff of 30 full-time in-house employees.

Competition to fill in potential Eastern gaps this season could come from California, but growers there could also have their problems.

“Freight from out West is always a consideration,” Cullen said. “And while everything in California is irrigated, a continued drought could have some bad effects on crops there. If the drought continues and they run out of water in those reservoirs, they’ll have a pile of problems.”

Another upside of the somewhat odd season is that tighter supplies could mean higher market prices.

“That’s what we’re hoping for,” said Cullen. “It’s at least somewhat of a compensation. We’re always happy to just stay status quo.”