Weather worrisome to Niagara farmers

Storms are in the forecast for the Niagara region and a heat warning is in effect there as well.

This severe weather is putting Niagara tender fruit growers on edge.

The Strawberry harvest is just starting. Jordan grower Jeff Tigchelaars looking over his crop keeping his fingers crossed that the family’s 40 acres of strawberries escape any hail. Strawberries are fragile. There’s no way they can be protected from hail. They can be wiped out in a matter of minutes: “If we get hit, it’ll affect the red and the green. It’ll also rip up the foliage which is its energy. I really wish we could cover all the acreage that we have. But in this situation we just need to trust. Trust in the Lord, that’s all we can do.

Meanwhile, Niagara-on-the-Lake grower Sarah Ricciardelli has seen the damage a severe storm can do. Her packing barn was destroyed on Friday by fire when it was struck by lightning. The lightning hit an electrical box and caught fire. They tried to put it out with fire extinguishers. But the blaze spread quickly. There was nothing firefighters could do but protect the other buildings. There’s nothing left by a charred pile of rubble.

Sarah said: “My administrative assistant was in the office. And she gave me a call at the market saying that she heard a bang and smelled smoke. By the time I had reached the second house to mine, I could see the flames and the rest is history.”

This is the kind of weather that tender fruit growers see in mid-August when it’s really hot and humid. Not the kind of weather that you see in mid-June.