By Shelley Rossetter, Times Staff Writer
Wednesday, March 21, 2012
LITHIA
Lyna Knight envisions a long spring. • It started early, when some of the blueberries on the bushes at Lyna Berry Farms ripened almost two weeks ahead of schedule. • Thank a mild winter, with no hard freezes in Hillsborough County, for that. • But it's the potential for a postseason bounty that has Knight's attention. • In a typical year, Florida has a monopoly on blueberries from late March until early May.
Chile's blueberry season starts winding down as temperatures rise. The blueberries in Georgia are still growing. This leaves an open window during which Florida produces the world's only blueberries.
This year, thanks to not-so-perfect conditions elsewhere, that window is expected to grow. The optimistic forecast is in direct contrast to the reality for strawberry farmers, who experienced a challenging season because of warm weather and competition ...