While many residents of southern Manitoba might be enjoying the mild winter, the owner of Friedensfeld Honey and Berry Farm says this weather is not ideal for their operation.
Andy Loewen says it has been an interesting winter season. He notes they received some snow early on, which helped cover their plants. But then came the mild weather in January, which saw much of the snow melt off their fields.
Loewen says he thinks their plants will still be okay, largely because of the straw they place on the fields in fall. He explains they cover their plants with about four to six inches of straw, which keeps the plants dormant, insulating them from the warmer weather.
"So, we're hoping that things turn out pretty good there," says Loewen. "It's a little bit hard to tell at this point."
He also says he does not think their plants started prematurely growing in January.
Loewen says what is also helping is that they received a little more snow after the January thaw. He notes the straw then helps keep that snow in place. Loewen explains that once you get bare ground again in winter, that is when you can start losing plants.
Strawberry plant covered in straw (Photo credit: Andy Loewen)According to Loewen, melting temperatures in winter are never a good thing. That is the case for not only his berries but also his bees. Loewen says if you lose the frost in the ground, strawberries will want to start growing again. Therefore, in an ideal winter, Loewen says they would have temperatures of -10 degrees, with a fluffy layer of snow on the plants.
"That's kind of the dream kind of weather for keeping your strawberries dormant and a layer of insulation on top," he says.
Loewen says they also put a lot of effort into feeding their plants in the fall. He notes they need to make sure that sugar levels are really high heading into dormancy.
"When you get high sugar levels, that keeps your plants also from freezing out in these back-and-forth conditions," says Loewen.
However, Loewen says winter kill is something they deal with each year, some years worse than others. He says some years they can lose 30 to 40 per cent of their established plants. But he says there are other springs when you remove the straw, and the plant looks just as green as when you covered it in fall. Loewen says plant variety also makes a difference, noting they try and stay away from types of berries that might not winter well in southern Manitoba.
Loewen notes at Friedensfeld Honey and Berry Farm, they replant about one-third of their acres each year with new plants. He says they pick from their plants for about three years before plowing them down.
Loewen says if the weather can stay cool until April 1st, then they should be fine. However, he says they normally wait until late April or early May to remove the straw from the plants in case there is a hard frost late in the season.
Meanwhile, with regards to their bees, Loewen says their hives produce a lot of heat and the challenge lies in keeping their shed cool during a mild winter. He notes they do not have refrigeration units and have resorted to hauling snow into the shed this winter, which is something they have never done before in January. Loewen says five degrees is an ideal temperature for storing bee hives. According to Loewen, April 1st is when they normally move their bees out of the barn.
Wed, May 1, 1:30 PM
Transport, Full-time
Featured
