In Southwest Finland, the strawberry harvest is late, but farmers are waiting for a good harvest in mid-summer. Due to the cooler weather, the strawberries have been allowed to ripen into buns and sweet.
Last year, strawberries matured quickly due to the hot early summer. However, the harvest was lower than usual. Tiina Somerpuro
The cool spring has slowed down the ripening of the strawberries, but the mid -summer harvest looks more promising. At Länstalo’s farm in Merimasku, the first harvest of the summer was two weeks late. From the end of the summer harvest farmer and space owner Mauri Lehtonen Dare not say anything yet.
– You have to pull it until the end of the summer before you can draw any conclusions, says Lehtonen.
According to Lehtonen, it was so warm in March that the seedlings started to grow too early. However, in April-May the weather cooled down, when growth stopped.
– And it’s always difficult when it comes to the cold season in the middle of the growing season.
However, the midsummer harvest looks good and picking up the West House has already begun. During the first week of July, strawberries may be bought by boxes, Lehtonen estimates.
Mauri Lehtonen bought the farm in the 1980s from his parents. Lehtonen has been cultivating strawberries for over 30 years.
According to the Natural Resources Center (Luke), last year’s crop was worse than usual and the harvest in Finland was about 12 million kilos. In 2023, the strawberry harvest was 14 million kilos. According to Lehtonen, the harvest seems to be about as big as last year on the Western farm.
The variety collected in late summer is already well on the place of the West House. However, rainfall can take the harvest as it goes.
– All you have to do is come with one hard toured rain or heat season, so it’s ruined again, says Lehtonen.
According to Lehtonen, the best weather for strawberries would be a steady temperature of about 20 degrees. Lehtonen has been cultivating strawberries for over 30 years. In recent years, especially heavy rainfall and heat have caused headaches for the farm.
– We have always suffered from drought here in early summer, but for that we have learned to water. There are no right means against such heavy rains.
On the way to the sweet strawberry
Last year, the warm weather made the strawberries ripen at a rapid pace. This year, strawberries have been allowed to ripen in peace, so their taste is also more aromatic.
– It comes from different flavors when it is eaten and tasted. But most of all, it’s sweet, says Lehtonen.
At Alitalo’s berry farm in the boats of Turku, the strawberry harvest looks good, and the strawberries have been made bigger last year, says the owner of the farm Marja Alitalo. Last year there was a good harvest on the farm, where Alitalo finds his own seedlings as an explanation. According to him, many other farms use seedlings from abroad, which occurred last year.
“In fact, last year we had the best harvest of all time so far,” Alitalo says.
Marja Alitalo cultivates a sweet Polka variety. The interviewee’s home album
For several years, the first strawberries have been collected on Alitalo, like this summer on June 9th. However, this year, the harvest has been a couple of weeks late compared to the hot last year.
– I hoped that a little earlier would have got more strawberries for sale, says Alitalo.
Last year, the box price of strawberries rose to nearly 70 euros at Helsinki markets. According to Lehtonen, this year, the price level of strawberries has been quite close to what has been used in recent years.
– I can’t say anything about the future when it depends on the production of Finland as a whole, says Lehtonen.
Demand and supply determine where the price in the end of the summer is.