Peach trees already are blooming in shades of pink all over South Jersey a harbinger of an earlier spring brought on by warmer than normal winter and spring temperatures that reached as high as 80 degrees last month. “It looks like peaches will be early because we are nearly three weeks ahead of the normal blossom time, but no one ever knows,” he said. “We are still so far away from the rest of the season and you never know what the weather will bring.” http://on.cpsj.com/HiDyWW
Warm weather taking its toll on New Jersey peach farmers
According to the Department of Agriculture, the Garden State is the fourth-largest peach producing state, with a crop valued at more than $31 million. Bloom time is usually around April 20, with the harvest in July. If the pink flowers on the peach trees bloom ahead of schedule, they could be wiped out by a late season cold snap. "This could be a problem for our peach crop this year," said Russo, who would prefer the temperature to be in the more seasonable 40s instead of the 50s. http://bit.ly/y2PyaC