It's planting season in Washington's Skagit Valley and this week, planting will finish on Brussels sprouts. Planting on this crop starts in a smaller way in April though the bulk of the crop is planted in May.
"We're the only commercial Brussels sprouts grower in this area so we try to get the crop to come off at the harvest window we want because Brussels sprouts are not storable. It's harvest, pack, and ship," says Tony Wisdom of Skagit Valley Farms and Valley Pride Sales, noting that harvest on this crop begins September 10th and finishes around January 5th.
Though what the region is known for crop-wise is specialty red, yellow, and white skin potatoes, and planting on this crop took place this month. "We had a wonderful May and a decent April. Most potato growers here try to get the crop in in May," says Wisdom. "It's too wet normally in April. You might get a couple of windows to plant, but I think everybody knows from experience that in today's world, just because you get a nice window in the second week of April doesn't mean you're not going to get a terrible rainstorm in the last two weeks of April."
© Skagit Valley Farms
Looking back at 2024
In fact, that is what happened last year when a significant rainstorm affected planting by drowning out a large portion of potato seed. Thankfully, this year is the opposite with ideal planting conditions which include a few days of smaller rains that keep the soil moist and soft. Temperatures have also been moderate–mostly in the 60°F, though now it is warming up to the low to mid 70s°F.
This puts the crop's harvest to start around Labor Day, though some grower-shippers may start in late August. The region generally tries to have the harvest finished by the end of October. "Then everybody has a few acres they leave out and particularly light or sandy soils so they can just keep digging fresh out of the dirt straight to the wash plant until the middle or latter part of November. Everyone likes to be done though by November 20th," says Wisdom.
While the great planting conditions are certainly appreciated, there is one lingering worry ahead. "In Skagit, we always get our annual precipitation. The concern ironically is: now we didn't hardly get any rain in May–does that mean we're going to get it in September instead of holding off until October?" says Wisdom.
For more information:
Tony Wisdom
Skagit Valley Farms
[email protected]
