Southwest Florida’s commercial vegetable harvest is ramping up

In southwest Florida, plant diversity is at the heart of robust veggie production, according to Gene McAvoy, Hendry County Extension director and a vegetable crop expert for the University of Florida/Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences.

 

In a report published by news-press.com, McAvoy was quoted as saying, “In 1997, something like 35,000 to 38,000 acres was planted in vegetables; now it’s close to 70,000 acres. We probably have 60 different crops [in the region] — everything from arugula to zucchini,” McAvoy said. And while  tomatoes are still No. 1 in terms of crop value, followed by watermelon and bell peppers, niche crops such as kale and miniature sweet peppers “are exploding” in popularity, he added. 

 

Diversity is critical as Florida growers, such as Chuck Obern of C&B Farms in Clewiston FL, where 40 kinds of vegetables and herbs are grown, face off with competition from the western states and Mexico. “If the West — and that includes Mexico — gets cold or freezes out, we’ll have a good winter,” said Obern. “If not, we’ll have a fistfight.”