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Tomato growers in the Florida Panhandle are smiling broadly. Credit record-breaking rainfall along the nation's East Coast.
By now their tomatoes would have gone the way of U-pickers. The migrant workers who harvest them would have moved on to fields in the North. Instead, their crop is being snapped up to replace those of states in which incessant spring rains have ruined tomato harvests.
States such as Georgia, the Carolinas, Virginia and New Jersey: "All of them would have tomatoes in by now," said Les Harrison of the Florida Department of Agriculture.
"A lot of them have been flooded out. They can't get into the fields. They've really been hurt by all the rain. Fortunately for everybody, we're still growing tomatoes in the Panhandle. . . . There are a lot of happy tomato growers in Quincy right now."
Growers aren't as happy in Georgia, said Kent Hamilton, recent president of the Georgia Fruit and Vegetable Growers Association.
"Excessive rainfalls have damaged our crops. Cucumbers, peppers, squash, everything has been affected by it, and the harvesting is probably going to wind up earlier than normal," said Hamilton, owner of Hamilton Growers in Norman Park, Ga.
Still, the rains have not been disastrous to Georgia farmers, Hamilton said.
"Prices have been pretty good on stuff. We've been affected by the rainfall, but it hasn't completely wiped us out," he said.
What this means, though, is that with supplies down, prices could be a bit higher for some produce this summer. Florida still is harvesting some fruit and vegetables. Besides tomatoes, the state's July harvest will include watermelons, cantaloupes, okra, mushrooms and mangos. Starfruit will begin making an appearance toward the middle of the month.
July also is a good month to enjoy strawberries - from California, that is. In these parts, strawberries are generally associated with Plant City. But California is the nation's top supplier of the fruit, providing 83 percent of the strawberries in the country.
The state is enjoying a bumper crop this year, said Chris Christian, director of product and marketing for the California Strawberry Commission in Watsonville, Calif.
"We've had very good weather early in the year, and that's when our season starts in Southern California," she said. "And we also had an increase in acreage this year."
A serving of strawberries - eight medium berries - is 45 calories and fulfills 160 percent of the daily requirement for vitamin C, Christian said, along with "an overall antioxidant punch," which helps to protect against cancer and the effects of aging.
The fruit, which is picked, sorted and packed in the field by hand, is highly perishable. Strawberries are rushed to storage after packing and cooled to 34 degrees.
"The most important thing is to keep those strawberries at 34 degrees until you are ready to eat them," she said, adding that it is not necessary to take them out of their shipping containers.
Produce
July is a good month to shop for apricots, snap beans, blueberries, cabbage, cantaloupes, cherries, sweet corn, cucumbers, grapes, honey dews, mangos, nectarines, okra, peaches, peppers, plums, squash, strawberries, tomatoes and watermelons.
Seafood
Hot dogs aren't the only options for the grill this July 4. Shark season opened Tuesday, and steaks will cost about $4.99 a pound, said Joe Merola of Save On Seafood in St. Petersburg.
"Grouper should be very strong. The boats are catching quite a few right now," he said.
There also should be plenty of swordfish and tuna. Shrimp continues to be inexpensive, he said.
Expect to pay about $7.99 a pound for tuna steaks and about $8.99 a pound for grouper fillets, Merola said.