Poor weather hitting raspberry crop

Some P.E.I. raspberry growers say this year has not been good for the berries.

Matt Compton grows raspberries at his farm in Summerside, and his yield this year is about a quarter of what it was last year.

"Usually we'll take orders at our farm market for them if people want a flat or a box or two boxes of raspberries," said Compton.

"This year we just haven't because we just can't promise how much we're going to get every day. We're just first come, first served."

Hoping for better next year

Compton said the berries he is getting seem to be smaller this year, but the quality is not affected.

He said the weather in the winter, with its freeze-thaw cycles, the damp spring and the dry summer could all have had a negative impact on the raspberry canes.

Claude McCardle, owner of The Berry Patch in Tracadie Cross, is also noticing smaller berries. His crop isn't too bad otherwise, but the hot weather is creating another issue.

"The season is going good but it's going to go quickly, because in the hot sunny fruit tends to ripen very quickly and it's hard to keep ahead of picking it," said McCardle.

Both Compton and McCardle are hoping for a few days of rain in order to help next year's raspberry crop.

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