Cool, wet weather has delayed planting across the province. According to Mark VanOostrum, 3,000 acres of chipping potatoes are usually planted by May 1, but this year only about 1,000 acres are in the ground.
In the Leamington area, the Dakota Pearls that were planted early at Bradley Farms are cracking the ground, and they look healthy. That is good news!
The Envols planted near Chatham for the early fresh market will need a week of warm, sunny days to emerge.
Joe Lach, who farms near Delhi, is behind planting. He tried yesterday, but got stuck. Another ½-inch of rain fell in the evening, so “it will be a wash out” today. Joe has not had dry fields since April 6.
I was in the Alliston area yesterday. Half an inch of rain fell in the morning, and then it rained again in the afternoon. In many potato fields, the cover crop is dead and the beds are ready to be planted, but the soil is saturated making planting impossible. When will spring arrive?? The only happy faces I see are the robins who are finding lots of worms.
