Although the rains in July have been good for the Maine drought conditions, it might be too little, too late. Unfortunately, Maine farms have experienced moderate to severe drought conditions this year.
The owners of Dragonfly Meadow Blueberry Farm in Arundel said because of the drought, their blueberry bushes never bloomed, there was no fruit and they had to close for the season. Dragonfly Meadow Blueberry Farm owner Melissa Worrell: “We really have nothing for anybody. We open up, and they’re going to go on to the fields and there might a bush that has one or two berries on it. Yes, it was hard to make that decision, but it was evident that that was what we had to do.”
This is not the first time Worrell’s farm has been hit hard by Mother Nature. Last year, a hail storm destroyed their blueberry crop three days before they were scheduled to open.
“It knocked the majority of them down to the ground. The ones that did remain, the force of the storm created damaged fruit that remained on the bushes,” Worrell said.
However, it’s a different situation for Libby & Son U-Picks in Limerick. Owner Aaron Libby said they are having a good year, adding that their 10,000 blueberry bushes are overflowing with fruit. Libby said his irrigation system helped during the dry spell in May and June. He said there are many other factors that can affect the crop.
Source: wmtw.com