Vegetables picked a month early: a dream autumn for market gardeners

After the torrential rains caused by the hurricane Debby have affected their harvests, market gardeners in Quebec are now rejoicing in the weather of the last few weeks which is allowing them to harvest larger vegetables in advance.

“It’s quite exceptional, the pumpkins have already been ready for several weeks, whereas usually it’s around mid-September, early October,” observes Pierre-Olivier Frigon, owner of the Ferme maraîchère Frigon, in Louiseville.

After having endured the bad weather of this summer, the 35-year-old market gardener is now faced with another type of challenge: an accelerated marketing of his products.

“Since I do business with large banners, there is an administrative management to advise that the pumpkin season has already started, the grocery stores have to be ready, the consumers have to be informed,” explains the man who still considers himself lucky to be in this situation.

Up to one month in advance

“This is an extremely rare situation! For all root vegetables, we are talking about a harvest up to four weeks earlier than usual,” exclaims Yan Gordon, owner of the farm Les potagers des nues mains.

The Sutton market gardener and his team are working hard to harvest celeriac, melon radishes, turnips, carrots and beets, which are usually only ready to be picked in mid-October.

“The weather was nice, there was a fair amount of rain and there was a drop in insect activity with the cool nights,” added the 48-year-old entrepreneur.

In return, the Association of Market Gardeners reports that certain crops in Montérégie were not able to withstand the damage caused by the floods.

“In Lanaudière, there are squash producers who report that their fruit is ready about ten days in advance, but other root vegetable producers have lost 40% to 50% of their carrots,” insists Catherine Lessard, director of the Association of Market Garden Producers in Quebec.

Different corners of Quebec

In Charlevoix, Charles-Emmanuel Gagnon-Coupal of the Les Jardins Cap-aux-Oies farm observes that everything is “out of sync.”

“We really notice that the vegetables are growing early, we’re talking about a good two weeks in advance,” says the market gardener.

For him, a harvest that ends more quickly not only allows the season to end earlier, but also saves significant money.

“For market gardens, our employees’ salaries represent a significant part of our income, shortening the production cycle allows us to free up employees more quickly,” he concludes.

Put up

The Association des Marchés publics du Québec is also pleased with these early harvests that are being observed across the province.

“It’s a period of quite remarkable abundance in public markets, harvests are going well and prices are frankly competitive for consumers,” emphasizes Jean-Nick Trudel, general director of the Association des marchés publics du Québec.