Connoisseurs can be happy: if these favorable weather conditions persist, the first ‘Pfälzer Frühkartoffeln’ will be available at the end of May. If the weather continues to be so favourable, the first "Palatinate New Potatoes" can be harvested at the end of May, according to estimates by the "Pfälzer Grumbeere" producer group. Since these are still small crops, the first "Palatine Grumbeere" of the year are initially intended for direct sale in the farm shops. For gourmets, the first "Palatinate early potatoes" Annabelle, Berber or Sunita are particularly popular because they have a wafer-thin skin and they taste great. If you want, you can safely enjoy the fresh "Frühlingsboten aus dem Südwesten" with skin and all.
A cold March presented the 300 growers of the "Palatine Grumbeere" with special challenges at the start of the season. Since it was too cold for the first pre-germinated seed potatoes -in rows, covered with foil or fleece- their growth was slow initially. Due to the particularly favourable weather conditions in April and May, however, the early "Palatine Grumbeere" quickly regained their natural advantage.
A cold March presented the 300 growers of the "Palatine Grumbeere" with special challenges at the start of the season. Since it was too cold for the first pre-germinated seed potatoes -in rows, covered with foil or fleece- their growth was slow initially. Due to the particularly favourable weather conditions in April and May, however, the early "Palatine Grumbeere" quickly regained their natural advantage.
The climatically preferred southwest is traditionally one of the earliest growing areas in Germany. In the main growing area between Speyer and Gimbsheim -north of Worms- the acreage for new potatoes this year will be almost at previous year's level with approx. 4,000 hectares. Thus, the acreage for early "Pfälzer Grumbeere" corresponds to about 5,400 football fields, which makes the "Pfalz" a major player in the German market for new potatoes.
Producers in the southwest can harvest ten days early, on average
For better protection against temperature fluctuations, it is estimated that around 1,200 hectares of "Pfälzer Grumbeere" will be processed under foil or fleece in 2018. The protective pads help warm the ground faster and retain the solar energy longer. Since the producers of "Pfälzer Grumbeere" can also irrigate their fields if necessary, they can harvest their crops on average ten days earlier than other growing regions.
Seasonal outlook: Producers of "Pfälzer Grumbeere"
always work with Mother Nature
Hartmut Magin explains: "Since we growers always work with Mother Nature, the rest of the season is always hard to predict." If the weather continues to be like this, freshly farmed "Pfälzer Grumbeere" will arrive in the food retail sector throughout Germany from mid-June. At the peak of this harvest, late in June and early in July, the daily harvest will amount to more than 3,000 tons of "Palatine Grumbeere".