It’s been a mostly wet and wild growing season in Nova Scotia. That means lower yields for some vegetable farmers this year — or, as horticulturalist Viliam Zvalo told me, it’s “back to reality” after a couple of stellar years for heat-loving crops like tomatoes and peppers.
For more, read my story on the province’s fall veggie harvest in the FCC Express.
One of the factors complicating life for farmers is climate change. As Zvalo points out in my piece, instead of having regular rainfalls, we now see dry periods followed by huge amounts of rain in short periods of time. That can wipe out a crop and leach nutrients right out of the soil.
In case you’re wondering, according to the most recent census figures, Nova Scotia’s top vegetable crops are carrots and broccoli, with almost 2,500 acres of carrots planted. Nova Scotia also accounts for more than half the Maritimes’ production of vegetables.