FREDERICTON — Extreme weather caused by climate change — droughts followed by heavy rains — wreaked havoc with the pumpkin harvest across Canada this year.
Dill said the growing season on his nearly four hectares of land was the worst he's had in 40 years of farming. Tam Andersen of Prairie Gardens, a 10-hectare farm in Sturgeon County, Alta., said she had a 50-per-cent drop in her pumpkin crop this year. Her farm specializes in blue pumpkins, which have a bluish shell and meat with a sweetish, dry taste, she said.
"We had our driest ever and our wettest ever back to back within two months of each other. How in the world can you plan for a crop or plan for a harvest when you have 60 days of pure drought followed by 60 days of flooding followed by 60 days when we're again in drought?"