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Cool, wet start to Ontario’s vegetable growing season

May 5, 2020 By Fruit and Vegetable

Various vegetable growing regions in Ontario faced a cool, wet start to their growing seasons, according to Ontario’s latest vegetable crop report. The vegetable crop report is published by Ontario’s Ministry of Agriculture, Food, and Rural Affairs (OMAFRA)’s vegetable team.

Growing degree day values, according to the report, are lagging behind their 10-year averages across all growing regions in the province. The cooler weather has kept emergence slow for some crops, like asparagus and onions. The report states that warmer temperatures are expected as May continues, bringing all the regions closer to their respective averages.

The lack of warmer temperatures have also kept pests at bay. The vegetable team shares, with a possible exception being leek moth emergence in some southern parts of the province, that the cooler temperatures have not triggered pest forecasting thresholds for any regions.

According to OMAFRA’s data, most regions received above average rainfall in March but well below their respective average rainfalls for April. Simcoe and Peterborough, Ont. are exceptions and received below average rainfall in both March and April.

In 2019, parts of Ontario experienced an unprecedented cool, wet spring that kept farmers out of their fields and delayed planting. While weather is less of an issue this year, delays with temporary foreign workers have already left their mark on the 2020 season.

In response to COVID-19 ramifications, the Ontario government has announced that asparagus, fruit, and strawberry farmers who normally need to pay their AgriCorp production insurance premiums in May will have until June 30, 2020.

OMAFRA scouting workshops for growers

Included in the vegetable update was a list of online scouting workshop the vegetable team will be hosting through the month of May. Click the links for more information: