Hot summer giving local farmers a bounty of tasty produce
Local corn harvest is underway, but the bounty doesn’t end there
Corn farmers and other growers on the Saanich Peninsula are giving this growing season a (green) thumbs-up.
There’s no complaining about the heat wave.
Clayton Fox, of Silver Rill Corn, said: “Corn loves a lot of heat and a lot of sun.”
Silver Rill started harvesting corn on July 8 (versus July 16 last year). The family-owned farm is well-known for its corn.
Customers “started asking way back in May, even April” when this year’s corn would be ready, Fox said with a laugh.
“The first week of July is typical for us.”
This year, the first plants went in on March 18, two days before winter officially ended. That time of year, a special blanket covers the crops to keep them warm.
“It [corn] doesn’t like cloudy days or cool weather at all,” Fox said.
Plantings are staggered so that the farm will have corn available through to Halloween. A total of 70 acres is planted in corn.
Regular sweet peaches-and-cream corn is for sale at $10 per dozen, Fox said.
In a week or so, the supersweet peaches-and-cream variety will be available at the farm’s market at 7117 Central Saanich Rd. That is the farm’s most popular type of corn.
Fox and workers Paul and Troy Davidson, who are twins, are in the fields as early as 4:45 a.m. to try to beat the heat. The three of them have harvested all the farm’s corn this year.
“We are picking close to half an acre a day.”
They head into the fields with a cooler filled with containers of water and Gatorade, Fox said. Every 30 to 60 minutes, they take a break for refreshment once the temperatures start to climb after 8 a.m.
Silver Rill sells between 2,500 cobs to 10,000 per day, with the highest numbers coming on a busy August weekend, he said.
The farm sells a variety of other produce, including carrots and beets, three kinds of peas, yellow and green beans, kale, chard and zucchini.
At Galey Farms at 4150 Blenkinsop Rd., Rob Galey said: “It is a great year to be a farmer in Victoria.”
Strawberries have been “fantastic,” he said.
Some strawberry lovers will buy berries in the morning and return a couple of hours later for more, Galey said.
Another batch of extra-sweet, June-bearing strawberries, planted in early May, are ripening. Farm blueberries are “gorgeous,” Galey said. “They are huge,” and raspberries are ripe as well, along with carrots and more.
“We are in full production of early nugget potatoes.”
Temperatures in the 20s are ideal during harvest season, Galey said.
The farm doesn’t waste a drop of water. Plants are irrigated underneath the soil. Water is delivered directly to the roots of plants so that none is lost to evaporation.
Silver Rill and Galey farms are among more than 70 local operations selling a wide range of products.
For more information on what is in season and where to find it, go to islandfarmfresh.com.