Farms rebounding after slow start to growing season

Jul. 19—SCRANTON — Francis Broyan called the recent rash of rain and warm weather a "blessing."

Following two months of cool, dry conditions, Broyan, owner of Nescopeck Twp.-based Broyan's Farm Produce, and other local farmers welcomed the downpours and sun-splashed days throughout July as the 84th annual Co-Op Farmer's Market began Wednesday.

A lack of rain during May and June stunted the growth of several crops including cauliflower and broccoli, but Broyan noted sweet corn suffered the most.

"We had a drought like we never had before," he said. "It didn't germinate ... it came into tassel at about 12 inches high and it's usually about five feet. I'm not sure the first plantings are going to make it."

Broyan added it took a little extra effort this year to salvage the majority of vegetable plants.

"We watered all we could, and we were able to take care of some of the crops," he said. "It was a lot of TLC during the nasty weather."

Despite the glum start, Broyan expressed optimism about the rest of the summer and expects to have sweet corn available at the market on Barring Avenue by the middle of next week.

"With this rain and warm weather now, things are looking great," he said. "Hopefully we can make up for what we lost."

The rising costs of materials around the farm led Broyan to pass along some of the burden to customers this year.

"We're trying to be gentle, but we have to up our prices," he said. "It's not just the weather — the nutrients we use for seeds in some things doubled."

Meanwhile, despite some challenges during the spring, Jason Schirg, co-owner of Jim's Farm Produce, stressed the corn at his West Abington Twp.-based farm remains right on track.

"We put our first couple batches under row cover to give us a little advantage," he said.

However, he added the volatile weather patterns created abnormalities in the fields.

"We had like six weeks of dry weather with no rain," Schirg said. "As it got drier, seeds were not germinating as good as they could. Now that we got rain, we're starting to see unevenness in the crops."

The first day of the market brought many repeat customers back to the family's stand, Schirg said.

"We see the same faces year after year," he said. "Everyone is sad to see us go and glad to see us come back."

William Hart and Pamela Voloshin drove nearly 80 miles to fulfill their cravings.

The 27-year-old Middletown, New York residents left the grounds with a large haul — including broccoli, dill, cucumbers, radishes, green onions, potatoes, and rare finds from Hawley-based Mountain View Mushrooms.

"It's worth it, especially for the mushrooms," Hart said. "It's the only place you can find blue oyster and lion's mane."

Gary O'Malia of Larry O'Malia Farm and Greenhouses in Plains Twp., stressed the lower temperatures weren't a detriment to all crops.

"Early on, I had some really nice spinach — it likes cooler weather," he said. "Swiss chard and red beets are also really nice this year."

However, the climate kept sweet corn, cabbage and tomatoes behind schedule, O'Malia said.

"My first field of sweet corn didn't germinate well," he said. "Normally, I should be picking corn now and I don't think I'm going to end up getting anything out of the first field. The good news is the second field looks really nice."

O'Malia started picking cabbage this week — about two weeks later than normal — and expects to begin picking sweet corn in about a week-and-a-half.

Keith Eckel, a Newton Twp.-based farmer, who plants crops at farms throughout Lackawanna, Luzerne and Wyoming counties, notices vegetables sprouting after a slow start.

"If I was going to rate my crop right now, I would say it's the best looking I've seen in many years," he said. "Weather can change very quickly, but right now, I'm very pleased with the heat and the rain we've been getting."

Contact the writer: rtomkavage@timesshamrock.com; 570-348-9131; @rtomkavage on Twitter.