Together, we all experienced this past spring - it was cold, wet and pretty much the pits. But I'm not sure if you all understand how cold, wet and miserable it was for the farming community. This past spring was the coldest spring the Island has felt in 15 years, which makes it a first for me since I've only been farming for 12 years. Most farmers I've spoken to say that this growing season is roughly a whole month behind. You all experienced the cold spring, but here's a colourful illustration of how delayed the growing season is....
For the past 10 years or so, I've had the tradition of harvesting a lovely bouquet of lupins for my loving dad on Father's Day. Now Father's Day does change a little from year to year, celebrated around the second week of June. I usually really enjoy taking the time to walk through a nice large lupin patch, selecting the absolute best ones for my favourite Pops. There have been times when I've had to travel from lupin patch to lupin patch in order to scrounge up a beautiful bouquet because most have already gone to seed. However, this year, I could only find three lupins that had just a few purple petals timidly emerging. Today is July 11th, and there are still lupins blooming!...crazy!
BUT, even though we've had a tough spring, I am super proud of what our fields have managed to produce so far: beets, salad turnips, broccoli and loads of different greens and herbs! And with this recent warm weather, I'm super excited for what's to come - peas, zucchini, cherry tomatoes, potatoes and super sweet carrots are just around the corner! High Fives to small Island farms and our farming community, we are all fighters and will always do our best no matter the weather.