PICKIN' TIME: LATE STRAWBERRY CROP FINALLY READY

Better late than never, it's finally strawberry picking time in the Cape Girardeau area.

Because of cloudy, wet, cool weather the past 30-40 days, the strawberry harvest is about two weeks behind schedule, according to several area growers.

Charles Stadelvacher of Blueberry Hill Farms, located on new Route 51, near Cobden, Ill., says this has been the most frustrating berry season he's ever seen. Stadelvacher has been trying to determine when his berries will be ready for picking, but Mother Nature keeps throwing him curves.

"At first I thought we'd open up on May 25 or 26, but then it got hot last Friday and Saturday, and that started to speed up the ripening process. The berries really started to turn red. But now, with the cooler weather the first part of this week, the process has slowed down again," he says.

"It's got me tearing out my hair. My best guess right now is that we'll open this weekend, but the picking may be slim at first.

"What we need right now is a lot of sunny days with temperatures in the low 70s and some cool nights. That will let the berries ripen at a slower pace but it's a lot better for them."

Stadelvacher says if the weather turns too hot again, like last week, the berries will mature too fast and get soft.

"Besides, when it gets too hot, nobody wants to pick strawberries. And they sure don't want to pick when its too wet," he adds.

JoAnn Illers of Illers' Strawberry Patch, located on Country Road 316 south of Jackson, says that berry patch will open either Saturday or Monday depending on what the weather is like the rest of this week.

"If we get some good growing weather, we'll open on Saturday. If not, we'll probably have to wait until next week," says Illers.

The inclement weather forced Mid-America Teen Challenge to postpone its annual Strawberry Festival. It had been scheduled this Saturday, but Director Jack Smart says the festival has been rescheduled for May 29 at the Teen Challenge Center in Cape Girardeau County.

Despite the weather-related delay, growers say the quantity and quality of this year's strawberry crop will range from good to excellent.

"This should be one of our best strawberry crops in several years," says Illers. "The main thing is we didn't have a hard freeze during the winter, so there was very little stress put on the plants. We only had to irrigate the plants twice this spring when the temperature fell below freezing. That means we didn't lose the first strawberry blooms, which always produce the biggest berries."

Growers say prices this year should be about the same as those last year. "U-Pick" strawberries at Illers are 60 cents a pound, or 85 cents a pound for those already picked. Illers says large berry orders should be called in only during the evening hours, 243-8301.

At Teen-Challenge, strawberries will sell for $1.10 a quart. The berries are picked by residents at the center and may be picked up when ready. Call the center, 335-6508, to leave an order.

"U-Pick" strawberries at Blueberry Hill Farms will sell for 65 cents a pound, according to Stadelvacher.

Growers say this year's strawberry picking season should last two to three weeks, if the weather remains mild.