Planting on a very large and very small scale is underway in the soil in and around Guelph.
The heavy machinery is finally out in the fields surrounding the city, with farmers getting a somewhat late start to the planting season.
Todd Austin, marketing manager with Grain Farmers of Ontario said it has been too wet and cool to work the land so far this spring, but conditions began to turn for the better over the weekend, and should continue to be optimal over the next several days.
While the fields are being cultivated and seeded in farm country, the ground is also being tilled in preparation for community gardens. Seedlings are ready for planting. There’s a seedling sale coming up Friday, 3 p.m. at the Kortright Presbyterian Church.
Austin said sowing the land is late, and while there is plenty of time yet to get the soybean crop in, there are fewer days to get the corn in.
“If we look strictly at a calendar, we are a little bit behind on getting the crop in,” he said. “It has been wet and cool. Conditions from this weekend on have been right for planting. Guys have been trying to get as much as they can in since this past weekend, working the fields and planting. And it will continue, hopefully for many more days before any rains slows it down again.”
All the rain over the last couple of weeks forced a delay to working the land, but the soil is just dry enough now for the sowing to happen. Observations out on the land show that some dust is rising off the fields as tractors pulling seeders and fertilizers move through them.
On the bright side of the wet side, all of that rain appears to be contributing to a very healthy growth rate in the winter wheat crop in the area.
Corn, wheat and soybeans are the cash crops of choice in this part of Ontario, with fields generally alternated between the three from year to year. There are large-scale commercial growers in the area, and small-scale hobby farmers. All appear to be on the land now.
Saturday is Spring Field Day at the Ignatius Jesuit Centre, the time when organic gardeners occupy their rented plots and start working the soil. Water pipes were being installed Wednesday at the centre, which is on the northern outskirts of Guelph. The plotting of the plots is complete and the ground tilled.
Ignatius Farm director Heather Lekx said Wednesday was the day when conditions were finally right for getting out on the land. By this time of year, the Ignatius Farm Community Shared Agriculture program should have a lot of planting already done, but it has been too wet to get a start, she indicated.
“We’ve had to just squeak into the fields,” she said, explaining that even earlier this week the land was too soggy to take a heavy tractor onto it.
“There is lots of moisture there, which, in the grand scheme of things, is really good,” Lekx added. “Because last year was so dry.”
She said it is fair to mark the true beginning of spring as the time when the planting begins, especially when peas are planted in the garden. That happened late last week for many.
Lekx added that people appreciate the social aspect of community gardening, and they welcome the opportunity to garden in a farm ecosystem out in the country.
The Sustainable Market’s Guelph Seedling Sale happens Friday from 3-6 p.m. at Kortright Presbyterian, 55 Devere Drive in the city. It is in partnership with Knetchels Farm and features heirloom, organic and/or open pollinated varieties. It is a cash sale.
Seedlings are also cropping up at the Guelph Farmers’ Market and other locations around town.
