Santa Cruz County strawberries weathered heat wave, with potential upside for vineyards

The record-breaking heat wave that ripped across the West Coast last week didn’t harm Santa Cruz County crops like strawberries – and might have actually benefited other important crops. 

Thermometers showed a high of 91 degrees in Watsonville last Thursday, but the unseasonably warm temperatures didn’t do much damage to farmer Ed Ortega’s strawberry fields. The strawberry harvest typically begins in late March or early April, and the sun scorched some of the early spring fruit, he said. “The red berries got a little burned, but the green berries look to be OK at this point,” said Ortega, who has grown strawberries in the Pajaro Valley for more than 30 years. 

That’s good news for Santa Cruz County’s most lucrative crop, which brought in nearly $219 million in 2024. Last week, Ortega irrigated his fields with extra water to prevent the plants from becoming dehydrated, but admitted that there isn’t much more he and other farmers can do to protect berries from the heat or other dramatic events. 

“Weather-related issues are always a problem, and we just have to deal with them. It could rain, and then the fruit is going to be thrown away because of rain damage. Now, we have to throw some away for heat damage,” he said. “We just have to be ready for when the berries are good.”

Lakeside Organic Gardens’ vegetables are also mostly unscathed, said farmer Dick Peixoto, who grows more than 75 varieties of produce, such as broccolini, carrots and leafy greens on 1,200 acres scattered throughout the Pajaro Valley. With more than five decades of experience, he’s learned to be proactive ahead of significant temperatures, and started giving extra water to his plants about a week before the heat wave hit. 

“We do a lot more management to keep everything watered. In years past, we’ve learned that if we don’t water, we crash and burn,” said Peixoto. This time, Lakeside didn’t lose any crops, he said. 

The heat wave could, however, have had a positive impact on the area’s wine grapes, said viticulturist Prudy Foxx, who manages vineyards for wine growers throughout the Santa Cruz Mountains. 

Warm weather throughout the winter triggered the plants to send out new buds – a phase called “bud break” – in February, and the March heat amplified that growth. 

That doesn’t harm the vines, and could potentially mean a bumper crop of fruit later in the season. “The heat accelerated everything, but we’re pretty much on schedule, and we’re excited,” said Foxx. “If it keeps going like this, and it’s a warm, dry year, that means low disease pressure and great fruit quality.”

Intense heat can damage grapes later in the season when the fruit is closer to harvest, especially for thin-skinned grapes such as pinot noir that grow widely in the area. 

“But right now, there’s no fruit out there, so it’s really just warming up the vines and the soil and getting that whole growth cycle going,” said Foxx. “It’s a good thing.”

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