Scott Jillson loads tomato seedlings onto a tractor for planting on Thursday at Jillson’s Farm in Sabattus. Jillson said the tomatoes are late going into the ground because the fields were too wet to get the tractor into it. Andree Kehn/Sun Journal
Overcast days and seemingly unending rainfall this June have put a damper on many spring plans, but area farmers say they are looking forward to a good harvest.
Scott Jillson of Sabattus-based Jillson’s Farm said the soggy weather delayed the sowing of various crops and days of overcast skies has meant a lack of heat. While the weather has slowed things down for over a month, the recent change into warmer days and nights has made for better growing conditions, he said. The farm is getting along well with the worst-affected crops, just slightly delayed.
Meanwhile, crops that thrive in low sunlight — lettuce, celery, broccoli and cauliflower — are doing great, he said.
“It has been a challenge,” Jillson said. “We weren’t able to get out with our tractor earlier this month and we haven’t been able to get our transplanter out into the field because it’s just too wet. … But now the warmer weather is helping.”
The Portland, Androscoggin County and Augusta areas had a little over 5 inches of rain this June, and though there may be pockets where more rainfall occurred, amounts around the region are averaging about the same, said National Weather Service forecaster Steven Baron.
The same goes for the number of overcast days, Baron said. June is close to January for the most so far this year, but is only just above average. Overall, weather in May and June across the Portland to Augusta swath is close to normal and 2023 is not even in the top 10 for Augusta’s or Portland’s rainiest Junes, he said. Androscoggin County received nearly 7 inches of rain in May, according to NWS data.
“We’re, if you want to say, slightly above normal?” Baron said. “But I wouldn’t go as far to say it’s super abnormal. Nothing is jumping out as crazy.”
Staff at Jillson’s Farm in Sabattus plant tomato seedlings Thursday with a tractor while other workers till up weeds. The wet weather has made farming challenging this season. Andree Kehn/Sun Journal
Kathy Shaw of Auburn’s Valley View Farm echoed Jillson’s sentiments. While the weather made it difficult to get seedlings into the ground and cool temperatures have kept crop growth at a trickle, she still expects the season to be productive. She expects to have bumper crops for grapes and a good yield for highbush blueberries, raspberries and blackberries.
Shaw said the only crops she is concerned about are strawberries. The peach trees are still young and will not bear fruit for another couple years most likely, but if they were mature, Shaw said she expects they would not bear fruit due to the weather.
“So, I’m happy with just the way it is right now. … The weeds are thriving, though,” Shaw laughed. “We’re adapting to climate change for sure and we’re learning to be resilient even if we’re grumbling along the way.”
Farmers markets are “rip-roaring,” Shaw said. People want to eat fresh local produce in a turnout that farmers from 20 years ago would likely not believe — there is something to be said for this season’s harvest already, she said.
Though the season is not going perfectly for local farms, crops seem to be shifting from surviving to thriving because farmers have the tools and capability to manage a fruitful harvest, said Shaw.
In an ironic twist, Jillson said he and farmhands readied his farm’s irrigation system at the end of May in preparation for dry weather.
“We’re really looking forward to a great season,” Jillson said. “I mean, it can’t rain every day, right?”
One agricultural product that has been hard hit by the weather is apples.
Among the local orchards struggling is the one at Sabattus’s Willow Pond Farm. Like other orchard owners, Jill Agnew said it was the May cold snap that really affected prospects for harvest this year. Agnew said many trees in early May saw most of their buds fall off due to the freeze.
The rain has also not helped with the disease and insects attracted by the moisture, but Agnew said she is hopeful for a fruitful season despite the setbacks. The greatest problem solving will be, simply, “to have apples,” she said.
“It’s been hard to manage getting out into the orchard, mowing and other things,” Agnew said. “It’s a shot in the dark on a lot of things … but we’ll have pick-your-own apples later in the season … which is a good sign.”
Agnew added that the silver lining to the season’s challenges is that any “bad apples” are still prime candidates for cider.
Scott Jillson of Jillson’s Farm in Sabattus drives a tractor Thursday for planting. Jillson said the tomatoes are late going into the ground because the fields were too wet to drive a tractor over. Andree Kehn/Sun Journal
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