One of the effects of having a population 3-4 generations away from growing their food is our society's perception of seasons. Most consumers do not equate seasons to vegetables and fruits. Instead, our society expects to find tomatoes, lettuce, strawberries, and potatoes in the grocery store 365 days a year.
In 1938 inventor Frederick Jones created a design for portable air-cooling for trucks. Because of Frederick Jones, produce is found all year round, no matter the season.
Arizona grocery stores find winter tomatoes from Florida and Mexico, lettuce from Yuma ("Winter Lettuce Capital of the World"), strawberries from California and Mexico, and potatoes from Idaho, Washington, and China.
So, vegetables and fruits do not spoil on their way across the country to the grocery store, farmers must harvest when the produce is not yet ripe. For example, tomatoes are harvested 1-6 weeks before they ripen and travel thousands of miles away from the farm. This results in a poor taste and different texture compared to a tomato or other vegetables that is harvested after it is ripe.
At the very end of the ripening process on the plant, vegetables gain their flavor. So, the closer you purchase your vegetables to the vine/plant, the more flavorful the vegetable.
At Mortimer Farms, we can let our produce ripen on the plant. Why? Because we sell what we grow right here at the farm. We harvest ripe produce daily and display it in the Country Store for you to take home. The closer to the vine/plant, the more flavorful the vegetable.
In 2021, we added greenhouses to our farming plan. The tool of greenhouses allows us to extend our growing season. We can grow food during the winter months by creating ideal growing conditions.
Nearing Mother's Day, we plant transplants (baby plants) in our fields. Mother's Day is a good gauge for knowing the winter frosts are complete in our climate.
We begin harvesting these vegetables in the beginning of June. Our fruits and vegetables are nurtured in the fertile Northern Arizona soil, surrounded by clean farm air, and ripened in our beautiful state's warm sunshine.
We also plant permanent crops. Our apple and peach trees are a 100-year crop. Our asparagus and blackberry fields will be harvested for 15-25 years. Our strawberry bushes are a five-year crop. Permanent crops establish a deep root system allowing the plants to begin coming out of their dormant state earlier than other crops. For this reason, asparagus is our first crop of the year. We start harvesting asparagus in April. Soon to follow, we begin harvesting strawberries at the end of May.
Seasons are one of the many things out of our control. We work side by side with Mother Nature but cannot control seasons or the weather.
Seasons are an essential part of a farmer's job. Working with historical knowledge of the seasons gives farmers a guideline of when to prepare the soil, plant, irrigate and estimate when harvesting will occur.