It's hard to believe fall is just a few days away, especially since it felt like 30 C in some parts of the Maritimes on Tuesday.
With a late frost and cool nights in the spring, the weather this year hasn't been kind to many farmers.
There are exceptions, though, as it’s shaping up to be a good year for some pumpkin growers.
They say the hot, humid weather the region has been experiencing is creating good growing conditions.
“I think the nights were so warm, that just goes hand in hand with anything to grow,” said Danny Dill of Windsor, N.S. “And the dew in the morning on the foliage, I think, helped some with some moisture.”
Dill believes this year will be the best year his farm has seen in some time and expects to sell about 10,000 pumpkins.
“Last year, we had a lot of heavy rain downpours during a time when we didn't need it because that's when a lot of them were coming into flower to be pollinated,” Dill said. “So, if it's raining and wet, the bees aren’t out to pollinate your flowers. So this year of course we didn't have all kinds of rain at that time and the flowers got pollinated.”
Pumpkins are a hot commodity at many local markets, including Appleseed Country Markets in Windsor.
The owner is happy to hear many pumpkin farmers are doing well.
Especially because he found it difficult to get some produce earlier this year.
“We had an extremely bad spring, a lot of frost,” said Appleseed’s owner David Landzaat.“We've had a lot of orchards where trees have not produces so a lot of the other items that come our way, particularly in the fall, it's a bonus. Pumpkins, squash, gourds, it's a bit of a reprieve that we've got that kind of harvest coming our way.”
Besides pumpkins and squash, watermelons are also thriving. Some are reaching 100 pounds, a first for the Dill family farm.
However, while commercial pumpkins are growing well, giant pumpkins were planted earlier and the frost affected their growth, making them about a month behind schedule.
With files from CTV Atlantic’s Natasha Pace.
