Scorching heat hampers strawberry production in Lapland

Record-breaking temperature in Lapland over the past weeks harmed the growing and hampered the harvesting of strawberries in Finland, said Mikko Kostamo, who owns Kemijoen Mansikka, Lapland's largest strawberry farm.

He said that the hot weather shortens the picking season from four to three weeks because the berries come faster.

“Strawberries are not going to grow as big as usual. Some of the customers may not like them that much this year because everyone wants big strawberries,” Kostamo told the Daily Finland.

He pointed out that the taste is normally better when the weather was warm in the daytime and cold at night.

“The missing rain is not a problem because I can spray water on the plants whenever I need to. But hot weather is not good any way,” Kostamo said.

When the temperature goes down at night, strawberries become tastier,” said Kostamo, who has worked in the field for more than 20 years.

He said that the best temperature for strawberries is about 20 degrees Celsius and without rain.

He, however, does not see it as a big problem for his business as all farms around are facing the same weather challenges.

“This is normal. Sometimes the season is good, sometimes it is bad. And this year, it is fine,” he said.

He said that because of an accelerated growth, he needs more workers to complete the picking. He started picking strawberries on July 7 and the job may be completed before August.

Kostamo’s strawberry fields are in Tennilä by the River Kemijoki, which is about 40km away from the Rovaniemi city center, in the direction of Kuusamo.

On seven acres of land, he grows three types of strawberries, which customers can pick themselves if they wish to.