Farmers say this summer’s hot, humid weather and gentle rain storms have been great for all things that grow.
“We were all keeping fingers crossed for a nice balance this season, and so far we’ve kinda mostly got that, so that’s really great to see,” said Jill Bishop, manager of the Downtown Farmers’ Market.
It was a statement echoed by Trevor Riel, who runs Riel Acres Farm north of Lakefield, Ont.
“The lettuce and spinach has had a hard time because it bolts, but everything else has been growing good, and up until the last couple of weeks it’s been dry, everything has been growing super nice,” Riel said.
“We can’t complain,” said Martin Oates, who owns Martin’s Fruits and Veggies. “The quality is the best we’ve had in about two years. From that extreme heat two years ago and the rains last year, it wasn’t good.”
Oates is referring to the summer of 2016, which brought a lot of drought to the region. That was followed by a wet summer that brought more rain than sun.
But it looks like even the rain is cooperating this summer.
“We haven’t had any hail storms or any of those nasty things that we had last year,” said Cindi McLean with McLean Berry Farm.
McLean said she was worried that the hot weather would be too harsh for their delicate strawberries and raspberries. But rain has tempered the heat, she said, and gave them a great berry season.
But she pointed out that there are always ups and downs with farming.
“It was looking like before the rains this week that we were going into a dire strait,” McLean said. “But because we got the rains, I think we’re going to pull through.”
Now, many are just looking to keep a good thing going.
“You have to be careful now for humidity; it creates a bit of a fungus problem. But if you’re careful and keep an eye on it, it’s not too bad, it’s not too much of a problem,” Oates said.