'You have to really pay attention': Berry farmers prepare for field winterization
As famers across southwestern Ontario flirt with record-breaking warmth, many are watching the skies, waiting to start preparations for the colder months ahead.
Workers at Sarah's Farm Market in Chatham have been preparing raspberry bushes for winter by pruning, fertilizing and removing old canes, hoping to ensure a strong berry next spring.
"We're definitely thinking ahead," said owner, Sarah Graham.
"We have to think ahead for spring, and there's certain things we need to do to maintain in order to keep a healthy crop of raspberries and strawberries for next year."
Graham said staff are also waiting for cooler temperatures to settle in before they start covering strawberry plants with straw, explaining a few inches should hopefully protect the plants from fatal freezing temperatures.
"You have to really pay attention to the forecast,” she said.
“You cannot put it on too soon because that will damage the berries for next year. You have to do it at the right time, which is a little picky and some of the farmers stress over when the right time to put straw down is.”
Employees of Sarah's Farm Market near Chatham, Ont. lay straw over berry plants on Oct. 30, 2024. (Chris Campbell/CTV News Windsor)
Graham continued, saying normally you aim to have 40-degree Fahrenheit weather for at least three days in a row to ensure the soil is also 40 degrees Fahrenheit or less.
She noted there's still plenty to do in the small patch of six thousand June-bearing and everbearing strawberry plants before winter with row narrowing, fertilizing and cultivating to control next year's weeds.
"It's a huge crop for us," Graham told CTV News.
"We planted these by hand, and they come frozen from warmer climates like California and Florida. We actually get them from a company in Simcoe. We have to soak them for two hours in warm weather to be able to wake them up out of their dormant stage.”
If the straw doesn’t come off fast enough once spring rolls around and the plant is coming out of its dormant stage, it can wreck the berries and the yield from the plant, according to Graham.
"That's very important,” she said.
“But you don't want to take it off too soon either, because then you risk the frost and the freeze from hurting the plant. So, it is a little tricky."
Raspberries are more particular and require pruning to finish in the fall.
“Pruning, obviously, you need to thin out the bush,” she said.
“You need to be able to make it where it's three to five canes per foot. And those canes need to be about three to six inches apart from each other."
Meantime, workers are also trimming cedar and pine branches to prepare Christmas baskets wreathes for the holiday season.
"We're quite busy all the way through right until Christmas!" Graham exclaimed.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Mounties in B.C. raid 'largest and most sophisticated' drug lab in Canadian history
Mounties in British Columbia have discovered the 'largest and most sophisticated' drug-production laboratory in Canadian history, federal investigators announced Thursday, describing the facility as a 'super lab' operated by international organized criminals.
'Doctors aren't always right': Alberta goes ahead with controversial transgender policies in 3 new bills
The Alberta government has tabled three bills that will change, among other things, how transgender youth and athletes are treated in the province.
Toronto mom charged with murder after baby dies in house fire: police
A 19-year-old mother has been charged with murder after her baby died in a house fire in Toronto last week, police say.
Quebec freezes two major immigration streams that provide path to permanent residency
The Quebec government has suspended applications for permanent residency from two immigration streams because it says it can no longer accommodate the rising number of newcomers.
Freddie Freeman: American MLB star with Canadian family roots makes World Series history
MLB star Freddie Freeman, a dual Canada-U.S. citizen, has made history as a member of the World Series winning Los Angeles Dodgers.
Are you in perimenopause? Here's what to look for, according to a doctor
Half of the world's population will undergo menopause if they live to middle age, but symptoms start occurring several years before that life change.
Charges laid after six-year-old boy fatally struck by school bus north of Toronto: police
A woman has been charged with dangerous driving causing death after a six-year-old boy was struck and killed by a school bus in Vaughan back in June, York Regional Police say.
Whistle Stop Cafe owner launches class-action lawsuit against Alberta government over COVID-19 restrictions
The owners of the Whistle Stop Cafe is suing the Alberta government for imposing mandates on businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Union issues strike notice in B.C. port labour dispute, employers say
British Columbia's ports may again be disrupted by a labour dispute, as employers say they have received 72-hour strike notice from the union representing foremen.