P.E.I. potato farmers preparing for planting season, thanks to mild spring

Potato farmers on P.E.I. are getting ready to begin their planting season, thanks to this year's mild weather.

"We're way ahead of last year," said Alex Docherty, chair of the P.E.I. Potato Board. "This time last year there was five feet of snow still in the fields … so right now I believe 98 per cent of the frost is out of the ground"

'She's a booming situation right now on P.E.I."- Alex Docherty, P.E.I. Potato Board

Docherty said there's lots of activity on farms right now, as people are preparing for the start of the season.

"There's lots of seed moving from place to place, lots of equipment getting worked on getting prepared, she's a booming situation right now on P.E.I."

Denis MacNevin, the farm manager of Visser Farms in Orwell, P.E.I. said the weather looks good for the weekend, which means planting could start on Monday.

He's hoping for three more days of warmer weather, and no snow.

"It's quite a difference from last year, we were buried in snow last year, it delayed us and didn't get planting until May 5th," he said.

He said Visser Farms usually tries to start planting around April 15 to 20, which means planting this weekend would put them right on track.

It is traditionally one of the first farms to put potatoes in the ground, as the eastern end of the Island has drier, sandier soil, which lends itself to the earlier planting.

The Potato Board said other farms aim for early May to begin planting.

While the forecast is good, MacNevin remains cautious.

"You never know with weather in P.E.I.," he said. "It's been good so far, good to get the moisture in the ground … this spring is more normal."