SCRANTON, Pa. — At the Scranton Farmer's Market this season, Wayne Kessinger says his customers have been overwhelmed by the many varieties of apples to choose from.
A good problem to have.
"Other years we had to skimp on some things we couldn't do. But this year we can do anything and everything so it's nice," Kessinger of Heller Orchards tells us.
Kessinger works at Heller Orchards in Wapwallopen. The warmer weather this fall has helped many of their crops. Plum season has lasted longer, and the apples are larger and sweeter.
Kessinger says, "And we needed it. Because for 3 years we've been battling off and on, off and on, and this was the first year that we had great weather for us."
It's pretty late in the season to see eggplants and peppers.
Andrew Hopkins says those veggies had a great season at Hopkins Farm in Falls.
"We had an 8-foot tall eggplant, which is kind of unheard of in our area," Hopkins says.
But it's not all sunshine and rainbows. The rainy weather did take its toll this season.
Michael Wojciechowski of Michael's Farm Market says, "It was a mess getting pumpkins out of the field, it was terrible. But we got 'em off!"
"I should have cabbage, brussel sprouts, kohlrabi, a few other things that are not only delayed but I won't have them. It was just the way the weather was, they did not survive," Andrew Hopkins of Hopkins Farm says.
But answering to Mother Nature is something farmers are all too familiar with.
"Some good, some bad. But that's farming for ya. That's what we have to deal with," said Hopkins.
There's still time to get your hands on all the fresh produce that survived the rain and thrived in the warmth.
The farmer's market is open every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday through Thanksgiving.