New Jersey fall season should see good volume, despite early August hail
New Jersey fall season should see good volume, despite early August hail
The 2008 fall produce season is underway and should be highlighted by good quantities of high-quality produce, even though some scattered areas around south Jersey, where the majority of the state's commercial crops are grown, received significant hail damage Aug. 10 to crops at certain farms.
Even so, the state still has seen generally good growing conditions this year and is well represented in the marketplace with ample quantities of fruits and vegetables available for wholesale and retail purchase. Some crops, though, such as peaches, tomatoes, peppers, pickles, cucumbers and squash, were particularly hard hit with the marketplace seeing 30 percent less of those fall crops.
As September began, New Jersey growers were still harvesting declining volumes of summer produce items such as sweet corn, peppers, tomatoes, eggplant, peaches, Zucchini and yellow squash. Warm-season herbs such as basil and mint also were finishing. All of these products will be done at frost, around mid-October.
New Jersey growers harvest cooler-season vegetables in the spring and fall. The fall-season harvests of spinach, escarole-endive, lettuces, turnips, radishes, white potatoes and sweet potatoes will start about the third week of September. Other vegetables which prefer somewhat cooler temperatures but can survive the summer heat in less quantity, such as cabbage, collards, kale, beets, swiss chard, pickles, cucumbers, radishes, Butternut squash and Acorn squash, and herbs such as parsley, dill, coriander, arugula and cilantro, are harvesting very well.
Almost all of New Jersey's apples are sold soon after harvest and are not stored over time in controlled atmosphere conditions like Western apples. Jersey apples begin their harvest in mid-September with the Jonathan and Courtland varieties, followed by Red Delicious, Empire, Jonagold and McCoun later in the month. Golden Delicious, Rome and Stayman Winesap start harvesting in early October. Braeburn, Fuji and Granny Smith will start in mid- to late October.
New Jersey enjoys good productivity for a diverse array of fruits and vegetables due to its moderate climate and inherent qualities. New Jersey's 11 principal fresh-market vegetables are tomatoes, sweet corn, peppers, cabbage, cucumbers, lettuce, spinach, eggplant, escarole, snap beans and asparagus. The five principal fresh-market fruits are strawberries, blueberries, peaches, apples and cranberries.
For more on the New Jersey fall produce deal, see the Sept. 15 issue of The Produce News.
(Bill Walker is an agricultural marketing specialist at the New Jersey Department of Agriculture.)
Even so, the state still has seen generally good growing conditions this year and is well represented in the marketplace with ample quantities of fruits and vegetables available for wholesale and retail purchase. Some crops, though, such as peaches, tomatoes, peppers, pickles, cucumbers and squash, were particularly hard hit with the marketplace seeing 30 percent less of those fall crops.
As September began, New Jersey growers were still harvesting declining volumes of summer produce items such as sweet corn, peppers, tomatoes, eggplant, peaches, Zucchini and yellow squash. Warm-season herbs such as basil and mint also were finishing. All of these products will be done at frost, around mid-October.
New Jersey growers harvest cooler-season vegetables in the spring and fall. The fall-season harvests of spinach, escarole-endive, lettuces, turnips, radishes, white potatoes and sweet potatoes will start about the third week of September. Other vegetables which prefer somewhat cooler temperatures but can survive the summer heat in less quantity, such as cabbage, collards, kale, beets, swiss chard, pickles, cucumbers, radishes, Butternut squash and Acorn squash, and herbs such as parsley, dill, coriander, arugula and cilantro, are harvesting very well.
Almost all of New Jersey's apples are sold soon after harvest and are not stored over time in controlled atmosphere conditions like Western apples. Jersey apples begin their harvest in mid-September with the Jonathan and Courtland varieties, followed by Red Delicious, Empire, Jonagold and McCoun later in the month. Golden Delicious, Rome and Stayman Winesap start harvesting in early October. Braeburn, Fuji and Granny Smith will start in mid- to late October.
New Jersey enjoys good productivity for a diverse array of fruits and vegetables due to its moderate climate and inherent qualities. New Jersey's 11 principal fresh-market vegetables are tomatoes, sweet corn, peppers, cabbage, cucumbers, lettuce, spinach, eggplant, escarole, snap beans and asparagus. The five principal fresh-market fruits are strawberries, blueberries, peaches, apples and cranberries.
For more on the New Jersey fall produce deal, see the Sept. 15 issue of The Produce News.
(Bill Walker is an agricultural marketing specialist at the New Jersey Department of Agriculture.)
