Alf Krause is hoping for sunnier days ahead.

Sunlight not only brightens people鈥檚 spirits, it鈥檚 also conducive to good berries 鈥� and business 鈥� at his farm at 6179 248 St.

The owner of Krause Berry Farms & Estate Winery, Krause said an unusually cold, snowy winter followed by a sopping wet early spring will significantly delay his crops compared to last year, when early warm weather brought on an unprecedented early berry season.

Last June, Alf and Sandee Krause told the Times, 鈥淚t鈥檚 the earliest season we鈥檝e seen in 42 years of being here. Last year, strawberries were about four weeks early, this year they are five.鈥�

Jump ahead nearly 11 months and, on the cusp of the summer season, Alf Krause is taking a wait-and-see approach.

鈥淭he timeline for all the berries is back to normal,鈥� he said. 鈥淚f we think back three, four years ago, the main strawberry season is going to be (starting) somewhere in the middle of June. Definitely, we are three to four weeks behind last year.鈥�

Krause said there are a few fields that suffered some damage over the winter because 鈥渆ither they are in heavier soil or they were too lush going into winter.鈥�

Overall, however, Krause said he is surprised with 鈥渉ow good the fields are looking.鈥�

Any root rot issues due to excessive rainfall totals will show up later in the summer 鈥� that is, if there are issues with an extended stretch of hot, dry weather.

So what are perfect conditions for strawberry growing?

鈥淭he average rain that we would have, usually,鈥� Krause said. 鈥淯nfortunately in March and April, we鈥檝e had probably double the rain that we usually have. It鈥檚 a little wet, and it鈥檚 a little hard to get onto the fields to get them ready.鈥�

Complicating matters for Fraser Valley berry farmers is the staggering amount of rain that fell in March and April.

Environment Canada meteorologist Alyssa Charbonneau noted that 165.4 mm of rain fell on neighbouring Abbotsford up to April 26. The average for the entire month is 117.8 mm.

This ranks this April as the sixth wettest on record.

March was even damper 鈥� a total of 309.1 mm of precipitation was recorded in Abbotsford, most of it coming in the form of rain. That compares to the normal amount of 149.3 mm of precipitation during the month, meaning Abbotsford, and essentially 91原创, saw 207 per cent more rain than usual in March.

It was the third wettest March in the region since 1945.

There wasn鈥檛 a whole lot of vitamin D to go around in March, either. With just 70.5 hours of bright sunshine recorded in Vancouver, it ranked as the gloomiest March ever in Metro Vancouver.

With chilly weather still hanging around, it puts a kink in critical pollination time, Krause explained.

鈥淥ur honeybees are kind of like us,鈥� he noted. 鈥淭hey don鈥檛 like to go out when it鈥檚 below 15 Celsius. They鈥檙e important 鈥� more important for raspberries and blueberries, because strawberries self pollinate, so it鈥檚 not a big deal for strawberries.鈥�

鈥淏lueberries are going to start flowering and we are going to need some warmer weather for that.鈥�

Krause said blueberries are grown on heavier soil, so it鈥檒l be summertime before he鈥檒l know if there is long-term injury on the roots. 鈥淩ight now, they are all starting to come out and look good.鈥�

鈥淪ummertime, in the middle of a heat wave, we鈥檒l see what happens,鈥� he added.

Krause Berry Farms & Estate Winery will be open five days a week right after Mother鈥檚 Day, however, fresh strawberries won鈥檛 be available until mid-June.

At Driediger Farms, the relentless rain has had an impact on the farm at 23723 72 Ave.

Roughly 50 per cent of the crops in one of the farm鈥檚 four strawberry fields was destroyed by excessive rain.

鈥淚t鈥檚 just too much rain, it鈥檚 just been too wet,鈥� owner Rhonda Driediger said. 鈥淚t (the rain) rots them (the strawberries). Those plants are dead. Those will have to be replanted.鈥�

This development might effect how many strawberries are available for u-pick.

鈥淭he fields that did survive are not close to the market,鈥� Driediger said. 鈥淲e have other strawberries but it may affect how much we offer for u-pick, or if we have u-pick at all.鈥�

Driediger Farms鈥� other crops 鈥� raspberries, blueberries, and blackberries 鈥� 鈥渁re all fine,鈥� Driediger noted.

鈥淲e are on sandy loam (soil), so we generally don鈥檛 get standing water,鈥� Driediger added. 鈥淔or us it鈥檚 not a big deal, but if you are looking at farms down in Matsqui Prairie, Glen Valley, Delta鈥� it鈥檚 going to be sopping wet out there.鈥�

Generally, June is strawberry month, July is raspberry month, and August is blueberry month at Driediger Farms. 鈥淏lueberries, now, we grow nine different varieties so the early ones will start July 10th鈥檌sh,鈥� Driediger said.

The farm will fully open sometime before Mother鈥檚 Day, May 14.