Ag Weather Impacts

Ag Weather Impacts

When it's hot like this week and the past few weeks have been, I think you'll agree with there aren't many things more refreshing than a slice off a cold watermelon. Yesterday, I spoke with Pat Walchli, whose family has been growing watermelons since the late 50s. They've been harvesting watermelons for the past month east of Hermiston. I asked Pat how the watermelons hold up during this hot weather.

Pat:

People and plants and everybody, there're just not use to that. Somehow, some way we're coming off, we got a nice crop and quality. Size is good. Just what you can hope for.

Pat described the planting season

April was a bit hectic through the middle of the month and we didn't plant. We had probably one of our more mild Mays. We had more storm systems move in and we had more moisture than normal, but for the transplants that wasn't anything severe to them. It actually kind of kept the weather more mild. When June came along, then we started seeing the high winds moving the soil. That's hard on the plants.

Pat says these days seeded watermelons are actually someone of a rarity as the market has swung 99 percent to seedless. But either way, if you want a nutritious refreshing way to beat the heat, try a locally grown watermelon. My thanks to Pat Walchli talking about weather and watermelons.

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