'We can only hope and do our best': Farmers crossing fingers that warm weather is here to stay

A mid-May harsh frost was cause for concern at Parks Blueberries in Chatham-Kent this week where tender blueberry flowers are in full bloom.

Below freezing temperatures prompted staff to frost-protect their 45 acres by temporarily freezing all blossoming bushes overnight Wednesday with the farm’s sprinkler system.

“Frost, sometimes it makes you really tremble,” said Hope Parks. “You're scared because you don't want to lose your fruits.”

Parks explained her husband Bruce spent several wet and chilly hours monitoring the irrigation system to ensure that it too didn’t freeze.

She said when you use sprinklers to prevent freezing injury, you are using the energy that water releases when it freezes and changes from a liquid to a solid to keep the temperature in the ice right at the freezing point, noting that as long as you keep the ice wet, it will act as an insulator.

Below freezing temperatures prompted staff at Parks Blueberries in Chatham-Kent to frost-protect their 45 acres by temporarily freezing all blossoming bushes on May 17, 2023 with the farm’s sprinkler system. (Source: Parks Blueberries) “Last night was very important and crucial. If we don't frost-protect, then we will lose all the hard work we put into these bushes,” Park explained. “And as long as you keep the water splashing overnight through until the sun will come out and it's safe to off it, then your blooms are beautiful. You'll have fruit this year.”

She added, “But it's a lot. It's a tedious work. We can only hope and do our best and hopefully we have enough energy to be able to continue protecting our crops.”

“It's the most susceptible of the crops that you have to be concerned with,” said Jay Cunningham, past president of the Kent Federation of Agriculture. “We did have a hard frost here last night. I was up early and the grass was white. A bit disconcerting, but it is what it is.”

Cunningham told CTV News Windsor he believed the region was slightly behind previous planting seasons, but confident warmer weather will allow farmers to catch up.

Hope Parks of Parks Blueberries in Chatham-Kent on May 18, 2023. (Chris Campbell/CTV News Windsor) “A lot of stuff is either not up yet or if it is, the growing point is below the ground so it's protected for a while,” he said. “A lot of the corn is in. People are working on soybeans. On the cash crop side, tomatoes started probably a week and a half ago.”

Cunningham noted some growers covered their tomatoes if they could or paused planting until the threat of frost disappeared.

“I would imagine a lot is going to get tidied up next week, Cunningham said. “We all have to plan accordingly.”