Freezing Temperatures Could Hamper Louisiana Strawberry Harvest

There is nothing finer than a ripe, red, juicy, Louisiana strawberry. I know, I eat a lot of them every year and I am hoping I will be eating a lot of them this year. So far, Mother Nature has cooperated with our state's strawberry producers, but the recent onslaught of freezing temperatures has had some growers scrambling to protect the crop.

"What the farmers are trying to protect are the blooms and the fruit.  And because we've had a mild winter, up to this point, they have been picking a few berries."

Those are the words of LSU Ag Center spokesperson Regina Bracy. She says up until these past few days the weather has been very mild and that has been good for strawberry growers in the state.

She went on to tell the Louisiana Radio Network that even the fruit or blooms that are currently on the plants are lost to the cold temperatures strawberry lovers should not fret.

"Maybe Louisiana strawberries will be a little bit delayed in the spring.  So we might not have them to eat as early as we would like, but you're still going to have plenty of those juicy, ripe berries."

Some of the growers surveyed by the LSU Ag Center did report damage but most felt the damage was not catastrophic to the crop. That's good news for those of us that like our strawberries fresh, dipped in chocolate, or whipped into a fabulous strawberry pie.