Several farms in Maine report that wet and cloudy conditions have stunted their tomato crops. Still, growers remain hopeful that drier weather will increase their yield this season.
Carolyn Snell of Snell Family Farm in Buxton: "We usually have a nice amount (of tomatoes) for most of July, but this year, the early fruit set has been late and has less volume because of the lack of sun in May, June, and July. It's just very challenging to have so few hours of sunlight."
Snell's farm has been harvesting tomatoes since mid-July, but the yield is about half of what they'd expect so far this season. The farm grows tomatoes in unheated hoop houses and in one heated greenhouse, which Snell said helps in some ways, like protecting the plants from heavy rain.
"But they still need sun," Snell said. "And they also need to get pollinated. It's hard for the bees to fly when it rains every day. "I have my fingers crossed that the month of September will be quite good for tomatoes," Snell continued. "We grow field tomatoes that come on for the month of September, and the plants look quite healthy, but it's too soon to tell what the fruit set is going to be like out there."
Source: news.yahoo.com