At Farmers Markets, Uncertainty Crops Up

On seven consecutive nights this month, farmer Jim Huyett attached a Frost Dragon propane heater to the back of his tractor and drove for hours through his 5-acre peach orchard, trying to raise the air temperature above freezing.

"It's a crapshoot. But because of that machine, I'm one of the few peach orchards in the area that hasn't shown a loss of blossoms," says Huyett, owner of Sunnyside Farm and Orchards in Charles Town, W.Va. In addition to his peaches, which begin ripening in July, Huyett sells assorted vegetables at farmers markets in Falls Church, Dupont Circle and Foggy Bottom.

As the season gets underway, the 90-plus farmers markets in the Washington area will have an ample supply of hardy greens, root vegetables, radishes, greenhouse lettuce, stored apples, cider and aged cheese. But plenty of producers worry that the recent freeze, snow and high winds have set them up for a difficult season.

During a cold spring, pastured animals -- such as chickens, beef cattle, buffalo, goats and sheep, all of which depend on lush grasses -- don't put on as much weight. Dairy cows don't produce as much milk.

At Quaker Valley Orchards in Biglerville, Pa., emerging stalks of asparagus froze in the ground and the first crop of strawberries turned black.

Owner Winn Schulteis reports some apricot and peach blossom damage, which could mean higher prices at harvest time and fewer fruits to go to market.

"It was depressing," says Schulteis, who sells at five locations, including FreshFarm markets in Foggy Bottom, H Street Northeast and Silver Spring. He is depending on warming weather to send up new stalks and set new flowers on the berry plants. "For us, things are set back two weeks."

Farms to the south weren't spared. At Kluge Estate Winery and Vineyard in Charlottesville, Va., the owners hired helicopters to hover over their budding vines, forcing warm breezes down and lifting the freezing air.

"There's a lot of hand-wringing going on," says Louise Swartzwalder, owner of Crestwood Farms East in Glendale. For the first time, she will sell specialty chili peppers this year at the Takoma Park market and at the new Crossroads market, on the border of Takoma Park and Langley Park. "Some growers don't know if the fruit will set."

Some farmers in more forgiving locations, where orchards sit on slopes with good air movement that keeps frost off the blossoms, weathered the storms better.

"We really aren't seeing much damage at all," says Jim Frazee of Twin Springs Fruit Farm in Orrtanna, Pa. "You have to thin the apples and peaches anyway. A late frost can save you some work." Frazee sells at 14 markets, including Mount Vernon, Annandale and Arlington.

But there is no doubt that some area farmers are off to a rough start. Farmers will have to wait until the soil warms up to plant outdoor crops, and some orchardists are not certain what the harvest season will bring. Schulteis expects the price of his peaches to rise from $1.75 to $2 a pound.

Those with greenhouses will have the most dependable early produce.

In most cases, farmers with greenhouses also have the most interesting salad mixes. Take, for example, Zach Lester of Purcellville, who this year will feature a mix of black locust flowers, spicy cress and arugula for several weeks in late May. Look for Lester at the Tree and Leaf stand at the Mount Pleasant market.