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7/2/09
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Crops in crisis Maine farmers, kept from tending their sodden fields, suffer devastating losses
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LINCOLN — Earl Ireland has been farming vegetables for 50 years and said Wednesday that he had never seen weather such as Maine is experiencing now.
“Another 10 days of rain and we’ll be out of business,” he said.
Ireland raises vegetables and berries on his Lincoln farm, and in a normal year, would have planted 70 acres this spring.
“We got in 35. We couldn’t get on the rest of the fields,” he said.
The lack of sun and continued rain are causing crops to rot in the fields.
“Nothing is growing and what is there is molding on the vine,” he said. “I don’t think we are even going to be able to salvage the pea crop.”
It’s an assessment being repeated on farms all over the state.
Crop-devouring insects that are thriving in the wet conditions, plants and fruit molding in the fields, and farmers’ inability to drive tractors on the wet ground are taking a crisis-level toll on Maine’s farmers.
Walt Whitcomb of Belfast raises corn, and thousands of cutworms have devastated about one-third of his feed corn acreage. But Whitcomb can’t drive on the fields to spray the needed insecticide, “and in two weeks, we are anticipating an even bigger problem — army worms. They eat everything, go across roads, up trees. There will be no fighting back.”
Late blight disease — the cause of the Irish potato famine — has been spotted in Maine, but farmers aren’t able to get on the fields to cull or spray infected plants, jeopardizing Maine’s potato crop.
“Think about getting your lawnmower stuck on your front lawn,” Rick Kersbergen of the University of Maine Cooperative Extension said Wednesday. “Now multiply that by 100 acres or more.”
Kersbergen said some large dairy farms, trying to save their feed corn crops, are seeking aerial sprayers to apply insecticide. Other farmers are erecting hoop-style greenhouses to keep the moisture off plants.
“It is bad, really bad out there,” he said.
Ken Gustin, state director for the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Farm Service Agency, said Wednesday that farmers may not know the overall loss until the end of the year. He already has asked each county to provide the agency with damage assessment reports.
“We know there are problems because of 22 out of 30 days with either rain or no sun,” Gustin said. The paperwork being compiled will be used to go after a governor’s declaration of disaster or federal loss programs.
At Spiller Farm in Wells, Bill Spiller said the rain has completely ruined his season. “We are getting some strawberries but a lot of mold is settling in. The raspberries are molding as they ripen,” Spiller said.
In Washington in Knox County, Sweet Season Farm’s strawberries and raspberries are molding, while blueberries are loving the wet weather.
“For every strawberry we pick, we throw four away,” Virginia Reardon said. “We are getting a fairly good crop but the mold and the slugs are taking it away.”
Nathan Pennell, district manager for the Washington County Soil and Water Conservation District, said the area’s hay crop has been greatly affected. “It will be another two weeks before most of us will be able to start first crop,” he said. “This year it may therefore be September before we start haying. Totally unheard of in the past.”
David Bright and Jean Hay of Bright Berry Farm in Dixmont reported Wednesday that their berries set well before the rains came.
“The good ones are awesome, big and beautiful, thanks to the rain,” Bright said. “But we have had quite a bit of mold problems in recent days, with entire berries molding on the stalk and moldy spots on otherwise beautiful specimens. Yield is up dramatically because of the rain, but shrinkage is way high.”
Bright added, “Our other worry is if this weather holds for another couple of weeks, the raspberries will ripen and promptly mold on the cane, as they did seven or eight years ago, when we — and most growers in the state — pretty much lost our entire crop.”
Bright said the tips of some of the pea plants seem to be tired of the rain, but not enough to affect the yield. His corn, however, is not growing because of the lack of warm days.
“Squash and pumpkins have also slowed right down, but most are hanging in there. Before we realized it, the summer squash and melons were eaten up by the slugs that nuzzled under the cover. Then the cucumber beetles settled right in,” he said.
“The good news is that every time we get an inch of rain it saves us about 4 gallons of gas because we don’t have to run the irrigation pump to water plants the hose lines won’t reach,” Bright said. “We have two kids living in Seattle who we think are beginning to feel sorry for us.”
Jane Eaton of Beauty of the Earth Farm in Robbinston said farmers are struggling to get customers to turn out at area farmers markets for the fresh produce that is still able to be harvested.
She reported that at last week’s Sunrise County Farmers Market in Calais, Ted Carter of Alexander was selling “snowshoe lettuce,” so named because his wife, Liz, harvested the lettuce in snowshoes because the ground was too soft to walk on.
Eaton said that her farm, which produces mainly flowers, just finished up a fantastic peony season, shipping almost 3,500 stems to the cut-flower markets in Boston and Connecticut.
“The peonies were a little early this year, but the lack of sun means the next big crop, lilies, is slow, so I may suffer a gap in my ability to provide my customers,” she said.
John and Christine Alexander of Sugar Hill Cranberry Co. in Columbia said the rain is complicating production.
“The increase in rain is slowing down the whole growing process and makes scheduling for applying fertilizer difficult to do on a timely basis,” the Alexanders wrote in an e-mail. “The lack of sun is keeping the pods on the uprights of the vines from turning into blossoms, so bees are also affected. There is also potential for fruit rot after cranberries set, but we won’t know that for awhile.”
Robin Follette of Seasons Eating Farm in Talmadge said she went to bed Tuesday night thinking the soil was draining nicely and she could spend Wednesday pulling weeds.
“I woke up to pouring rain at 2:30 a.m. If the weather doesn’t change very soon, the summer harvest will be 50 percent of what I expected,” she said.
State Rep. Nancy Smith, D-Monmouth, is a diversified farmer and has managed to retain her sense of humor. “We’ve renamed our farm Snafu Acres Slug Farm,” she said. “And if we could just find a way to market those things, our problems would be solved.”
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Garden poetry
Backyard gardener Abby Shahn of Cornville e-mailed a crop report that read a bit like poetry:
Some things are happy.
Some are gone.
My poor basil has been dying slowly.
Dill plants just disappeared totally.
Beans don’t stand a chance.
but
Onions and garlic are happy and fat.
Tomato plants seem stout and green, but will they bear fruit?
Broccoli seems happy enough ... Not too many cucumber beetles so far ...
Slugs, slugs, slugs, fat and firm ... kind of disgusting.
Curly hair and sodden shoes.
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Lady, if people will buy Obama's healthcare plan, I guarantee you they will buy your slugs. You just need to tell them its escargot.
I can see the cost of veggies going through the roof!
What does Obama have to do with this? Get a life.
Shell-less escargot. A value-added crop.
I hate to bring it up because I know it doesn't work on mass productgion, but our organic garden is just fine, even in this rain. The balance of good and bad bugs is working out well this year and the birds nested well so we have even more bug eaters this season. The robins are happy to eat the slugs, even if they aren't sauteed in garlic butter, and we don't even have cucumber beetles this year. But a little sunshine would be nice to dry things out enough to go knock down a few weeds.
We've had 3x the average amount of rain in Talmadge. Normally we wouldn't have a problem with rain, even if it were double the average, but this is unusual. Friends will call from 20 miles away to say how happy they are to see the sun peaking out but it's raining here.
We purchased a 1,600 square foot hoophouse last weekend. It's going up as soon as the broccoli and cauliflower are harvested. The tomatoes and cucumbers in the hoops are doing well and we're picking tomatoes. Outside, they've stalled because the ground is cold and wet. The additional space under cover will increase the amount of food we grow over the winter and we'll need that to help make up for some of this summer's lost income.
Our ducks are keeping up with slugs and Colorado potato beetles. The cucumber beetles are mild so far. I wish the weeds stalled in the cold soil but they're thriving.
Robin Follette
Seasons Eatings Farm, Talmadge
So is anyone still in global warming denial?
Anytime there is a batch of strange weather it is blamed on global warming. True or not, it is what it is... :(
What does global warming have to do with this?
Oh thats right, it was a colder than normal winter. Global warming caused that too. And it was .01 degrees warmer than normal on December 16, 2008, global warming again.
We get Summers like this occasionally. Years ago we had a 45 day stretch that the sun didn't come out at all where we lived in central Maine. On top of the rain and humidity it was HOT. Temps in the high 80's and 90's. Miserable !!
This is really hard on the big farms that need to use their tractors to tend crops. Smaller farms will do better. I'm using a solution of Ivory Soap and Garlic on my veggies. It's keeping the deer and bugs and slugs away. I couldn't find the Ivory dishwashing liquid---it's detergent now---so I shaved some off a bar and dissolved it in hot water. I used dried garlic flakes soaked overnight in hot water and strained. Use about an ounce of the garlic water and about two tablespoons of the soap solution in a quart spray bottle and fill with cold water. Be careful not to spray on the blossoms of your plants. I spray it mostly on the ground around the garden and the plants.
Thanks for the tip on discouraging deer. We'll give it a try. The flower garden at our summer place seems to be the local buffet for the deer. I asked a local farmer and he swears that the best thing is a load of 00 buck, but we'll give your potion a try first.
eastmainer thanks for the formula and will also try it out on the plants and flowers....boogyman I like that farmer's suggestion also but the neighbors are not too fond of the shotgun this time of year....:)
That is sad what this local farmer is going through...we all enjoy his harvests. We will have to pray for SUN even harder!!!!!!
I'm supposed to meet the sister-in-laws to berry pick this evening...ugh. Now all I can think about are the little gray slugs that love strawberries as much as I do!!! YUCK!
in the early 1800, the town of Kilmarnock, in Piscataquis County, now known as Medford, was just being settled. The farmers,(which at this time they all were) got the crops in late do to a lasting winter. there was a FOOT of snow fall in July that wiped out the crops. Most settlers fled to more populated areas of maine to start their new lives. Kilmarnock nearly didnt make it. Strange things happen from time to time, but we always get by!
This CANNOT happen again! I live too close to Medford!!! ha ha
Slugs probably aren't that bad sautéed in garlic butter. Just image you are the first human trying escargot. Or even lobster - wow! How about a new product from Maine - "Fancy Pickled Faux Escargot"? Sometimes you have to use your imagination a little.
My imagination says...EWWWWWWW :)
The year without a summer: http://www.dandantheweatherman.com/Bereklauw/yearnosummer.html
Has any poster here actually tried sauteed slugs? Are they edible (not poison)?
Desperate solutions could turn out to be delicious...
http://discussions.travelchannel.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/3581974578/m/7241952459
http://witzl.blogspot.com/2008/06/how-can-i-eat-slugs_04.html
http://www.manandmollusc.net/molluscan_food_files/molluscan_food_inedible.html
Medford Notes: The history of Medford by Clyde Hichborn
all al gore's fault
Its not global warming neccesarily , its global climate CHANGE caused by carbon build up . It may be rain here ,a drought there , colder sometimes hotter others , but its a fool or a politician with his pockets full of corperate donations who denies it . So what happens when the potatoe blight or the corn borers become resistant to the spray , as e coli and c diff bacteria have to antiboitics used in cows pigs and humans ....
Who else but the big box stores would bring in the late fungus . Support local agriculture - and open inspection stations on the borders like Calif. and AZ. and other agricultural states .
i wasn't planning to do a garden and then a friend of mine handed me all these lettuce and jalepeno pepper plants all ready half grown! So now i have to I was afraid it would wash out the plants if i tried... so I am gonna try anyways.. thanks for the garlic and ivory soap tip will try that...cuz have to keep the deer away here...
But i am sick of the rain some sunshine and warm weather would be nice! Really nice and these thunderstorms and lightening storms can take a hike with it all too!
To keep squirrels away from plants: Sprinkle fine crushed Cayenne pepper around and on the plants.. keeps the cats away too...
Human hair strewn around the garden and/or a small trial size of bar soap on the trees around the garden will keep Rabbit, Squirrel and Deer away as well..
Also can make holes in your gardens around your plants and use butter tubs, ice cream tubs.. put human hair in them with holes in the sides and top, cover the containers and no underground varments will come near the garden either.. they will think humans are there.
Take a bar of soap, drive a stick into the ground, and put the soap on it. Ivory works good
Here is some other tips:
To deter cucumber beetles, try planting a few radish seeds in each hill of cukes. Let it grow alongside the cucumbers all season. The strong smell or taste of the radish seems to keep the beetles away.
Homemade garlic or hot pepper sprays can protect your young seedlings from flea beetles and aphids. To prepare, combine finely chopped garlic and onions (or hot peppers) with water, let it steep for a while, then strain out particles. Spray vulnerable plants often, especially after rainfall. You can also sprinkle ground cayenne or other hot ground pepper directly onto leaves to deter chewing pests. This is most effective in the morning when leaves are moist with dew.
Control powdery mildew and fungi on garden crops by combining one cup of milk with nine cups of water and spray onto affected plants twice a week. Researchers believe the milk has a direct germicidal effect as well as indirectly stimulating the plants to become more resistant.
Protect your garden plants from cabbageworms, caterpillars, hornworms, aphids, flea beetles and other chewing/sucking insects by routinely using a natural spray that you can make at home. The spray must be applied regularly, especially after a rainfall. Brew up a batch as follows:
6 cloves of garlic
1 Tbsp dried hot pepper
1 minced onion
tsp pure soap (not detergent)
1 gallon hot water
Blend & let sit for 1 - 2 days. Strain & use as spray. Ground cayenne or red hot pepper can also be sprinkled on the leaves of plants (apply when leaves are slightly damp) to repel chewing insects or added to the planting hole with bone meal or fertilizer to keep squirrels, chipmunks, dogs and other mammals away from your gardens. Be sure to reapply after rain.
and last one:
Homemade sprays are easy to make and use but must be applied regularly. Mix one tablespoon of dishwashing liquid per ½ gallon of water and spray insect pests directly to kill. It is best to spray plants on cloudy days or in the early evening when they are not in direct sunlight. It’s a good idea to rinse the soap residue off after a couple of hours to reduce leaf damage to sensitive plants. You can prepare garlic and hot pepper sprays to prevent insect pests from munching on plants. Mix several garlic cloves with water and steep overnight. Strain and spray on plants every few days or after rainfall. You can do the same using hot peppers in place of or in addition to the garlic. These bad tasting sprays can also deter small mammals.
Good luck with all those growing veggies :)
also dryer sheets unused works good on deer and rain does not affect it either.. when the smell starts to fade away replace it with a new one too...