Wet, humid summer creating difficult conditions for Ottawa Valley farmers

Most farmers appreciate a regular rainfall, but some may say they’ve received too much of a good thing this season.

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It has been a summer of high humidity and excessive rainfall in eastern Ontario, which has created difficult conditions for farmers – particularly of the garden vegetable variety.

"I noticed so many things weren't doing well," said Noreen Horst, a Bancroft-based farmer selling at Wednesday’s Pembroke Farmers' Market.

"And I started thinking it's nitrogen deficiency, and so because of the heavy rains, the nitrogen, the fertilizer, leached out or ran off the hill and things have suffered that way."

Average amounts of precipitation were predicted for eastern Ontario this season, but heavy rainfalls and remnants from two tropical storms have done enough to damage crops.

While crops grown in the ground have been spared, intense rains have damaged leafy green vegetables.

"The quantity will be down in some, like the cabbage is definitely just not ripening and the head is half sized. The broccoli, earlier I needed four to make the size of a head," said Horst.

Pembroke-area farmer Dan Sheedy says it has also been a hot season for him and his tomatoes.

"If you take tomatoes, for example, the ideal growing temperature for them apparently is 27 degrees," he said.

Hot and humid temperatures were expected by Environment Canada for this summer. Sheedy says if he could, he would dial it back for perfect growing conditions.

"Ideally a little drier or less humid at least would be better. When it gets hotter, [tomatoes] tend to get regress."

A testament to the tropical like conditions, Sheedy says one crop has done well in this summers' weather – cantaloupes.

"For a cantaloupe grown in this area, that's a big cantaloupe," he said, pointing to the fruit at his market stand.

"I think they like it really hot for a really long time."