How South Texas weather affects strawberry production in Atascosa County🍓

POTEET, Texas – Every spring, strawberry growers in Poteet aim to put their best berry forward at the annual Strawberry Festival held in April.

The goal is to grow a batch of berries with uniform size, shape and color, and growers also want them to have a sweet, pleasant taste.

According to Dr. Russell Wallace, a Strawberry Specialist with Texas A&M AgriLife Extension, Poteet-worthy strawberries need a sandier soil and cool temperatures to grow. Those cooler conditions get harder and harder to find, though, as the spring season in South Central Texas carries on.

Will Bates, the owner of 5 Cousins’ Strawberry Patch in Poteet, said that it takes approximately 21 days for a strawberry bud to become a ripened-berry. A lot of weather can happen in that timeframe, including a stretch of unseasonably hot temperatures.

Speaking of which, that heat is one of the bigger weather-issues that local farmers typically run into, even more than drought. While persistent drought conditions can impact any crop to some degree, the present day drip-irrigation process used for growing strawberries can actually help combat that.

Bates says that bright, clear and cool days are ideal for growing strawberries. Of course rain is appreciated during the growing process, but too much rain on already-ripened strawberries can actually damage their overall toughness.

Regardless of whatever challenges the weather has presented, growers are ready and excited for this year’s contest and appreciate the overall mission of the festival. “The strawberry festival’s mission statement is to try to promote the production of strawberries in this area, and they hold true to that particular process,” said Bates.

The festival also provides important funding that goes right back into the community, mainly in the form of scholarships for local students.

The 76th annual Strawberry Festival officially runs from April 14 through April 16 on the festival grounds in Poteet. Between the carnival, entertainment, food options and the parade, there will certainly be fun activities available for all ages this weekend! For tickets and more information, you can visit their website here.

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