P.E.I. strawberry farmer hoping more Islanders will buy local this season
Fungal disease affecting berry leaves becoming more common, says Summerside farmer
With strawberry season around the corner, one Prince Edward Island farmer is sharing his concerns about a new disease that's affecting some crops.
Matthew Compton, owner and operator of Compton's Farm Market in Summerside, said his strawberries will be ready to pick in just over two weeks, though other growers on P.E.I.'s South Shore will be ready sooner.
"We had some really warm weather at the latter part of winter, which kind of dried things out and strawberries started to come out of their dormancy," Compton said.
The plants are similar to a bear, he said, because they'll go dormant from the winter until the spring. Some of the winter conditions to grow good strawberries include "good snow cover [and] a good steady temperature."
Compton said there are some things that still worry him about this year's crop, but those worries will only last for the next few days.
"It's been a little cooler, as everyone knows, rain every weekend, which kind of worries us for disease pressure. Disease thrives in wet weather," he said.
"Other than that, we're one or two more days to get through the frost zone here to make sure we're going to be safe for the year and things look good."
A new concern
He's also worried about a new disease that affects strawberries — neopestalotiopsis, or Neo-P, is a fungal disease that can cause leaf spots and lead to rotting. There is no known cure.
Compton found it on some of is berries last year. He said all strawberry farmers on the Island are dealing with disease, but some have it much harder than he does.
"With it being really warm and dry for certain parts of the year last year, especially when we planted our strawberries, it caused some new issues that we've never seen before," he said.
"It looked like other diseases in the field that we were known to able to treat and eradicate, but it really affected what we call out first-year harvest plants for us and about a half a dozen other growers on Prince Edward Island."
Compton is hopeful Islanders will support his store, especially given the recent push for Canadians to buy locally amid U.S.-imposed tariffs on a range of products.
"We expected them to have no reason not to support us again and hopefully a bit better than other years," he said. "It's a costly world to live in right now and price is king, so we have to make sure our prices are still competitive."
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With files from Delaney Kelly