Farm Life Vegetables and Berries

July in May

Vue printanière - Spring ViewCrabapple blossoms - Fleurs de pommetierIt’s been several years since we’d seen anything like it: an early May that looks more like a late July! While it’s the kind of heat wave that lifts the sagging spirits of many a Québécois as winter (finally) draws to a close, it does nothing to smooth the furrowed brows of farmers. Our workload is heavy enough as it is in early spring, busy as we are with soil preparation and plantings — the faster, the better. Warmer temperatures mean we’ve had to water freshly planted crops by hand for several days on end, our drip irrigation system having yet to be installed. Everything’s back to normal since this morning, as cloudy skies finally yielded a bit of rain. We’d settle for two to three days of this before praying for sun again. Ah, the schizophrenic existence of the vegetable farmer…

Travail au champ - Fieldwork