Grape weather we’re having
We reported earlier this month that Rappahannock County fruit growers were keeping their fingers crossed, what with the upside down weather that ushered in springlike temperatures in February and winter-like temperatures in March.
Now we’re told by the Virginia Department of Agriculture’s Elaine Lidholm that the peaches that were farther along the budding process and the apricots that had already bloomed means that farmers “could lose a lot of fruit or an entire crop on those trees.”
However, for the county’s local apple and wine grape growers the March cold snap actually spelled good news, according to Lidholm. Apple grower Phil Glaize, who has 600 acres of trees in nearby Winchester, went so far as to comment after the most recent March snowstorm: “This is exactly what the doctor ordered. The cold delayed the blooming process . . . and it made my day. I’m so happy I may go out and build a snowman.”
Annette Ringwood Boyd
with the Virginia Wine Marketing Office had a similar positive outlook: “The early heat really had us worried but the recent cold has helped. Wine grapes are not at bud break yet and the cold slows down that process, so the cold weather was good news for grape growers.”
As for other fruit trees, we won’t know about this year’s harvest for several more weeks.