Dry weather threatens some P.E.I. vegetable crops

Crops in parts of the Prince Edward Island are so desperate for rain, market gardeners have had to water large areas of vegetables by hand.

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David Blum and his wife Margie, who sell vegetables and pork at the Charlottetown Farmer's Market, did something on their Ederflower Organic Farm they've never had to do before: they hand-watered more than a hectare of vegetable plants.

We really need rain.— Rose Viaene

"Because it's so dry we had to water all of our plants by hand on Sunday just to keep them alive," Blum said.

"Any small plants definitely needed water, they won't find it. They can't reach down far enough to find the water."

The Blums, who've been in business for more than three decades, spent 10 hours Sunday hauling long hoses and watering cans through rows of carrots, potatoes, lettuce and many other vegetables.

So far none of the Blum's crops have wilted, but they note some are stunted and their swiss chard is starting to flower — when that happens it can't be sold. 

The entire area around Belfast south to Wood Islands is bone dry, Blum said.

'Lower than normal'

"We really need rain," added another market gardener in the area, Rose Viaene.

A pond farmers use for irrigation on Route 23 in the Belfast area is lower than Viaene has ever seen it.

"It's way down — a foot-and-a-half lower than normal," said Viaene, co-owner of the Chuckwagon Farm in Belfast and Charlottetown's Riverview Market.

Most of Viaene's crops are OK but her soybeans are starting to wilt, she said, noting she quit growing less drought-tolerant crops after a major drought in 2001.

No rain until weekend

Meanwhile the main potato-growing area in central Queens County around Borden, Kinkora and Kensington is super-dry, notes the the P.E.I. Potato Board, but luckily it's not critical yet.

"Up until now, we are mostly in the vegetative stage of growth but now we are into the tuber development, which is a more critical stage," said Greg Donald, the board's executive director, noting other areas around Charlottetown and the eastern and western tips of the Island have had some rain but could certainly use more.

There's no sign of precipitation for P.E.I. in the forecast until the weekend at the earliest. 

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