Foliage, crops wilting with dry summer
Blueberries are taking a beating and even older trees are in danger of dying
Metro Vancouver’s long parched summer has been no friend to farmers such as Humraj Kallu, who has watched blueberry production in his Richmond fields shrink in what is shaping up to be the region’s seventh driest summer on record.
“Nothing beats a good rainfall,” said Kallu. “Even though you can irrigate, the actual rain falling down on a plant and soaking everything, that’s sort of more what a plant needs for good production.”
Except the region hasn’t seen any rainfall at all since Aug. 13, which was barely any and followed an even drier July.
Those long stretches of sunshine have made for excellent beach and hiking weather, but the dry conditions have done a number on berry producers, begun to put hedges and shade trees under extreme stress and led to the cancellation of a celebratory fireworks display at Cultus Lake due to the wildfire risk.
Metro Vancouver has seen just 7.5 millimetres of rain in August, which is just 20 per cent of average for the month, said Greg Pearce, a forecaster with Environment and Climate Change Canada. In July, only 1.8 millimetres of rain fell, only five per cent of usual.
Since June, just 56 millimetres of rain has fallen, only 44 per cent of the 126 millimetres of precipitation considered normal for the season, Pearce said. (The driest summer on record was 1951 which saw 26.4 millimetres during June, July and August.)
“We had that one rainfall in August, but it was overnight so I don’t think anyone really noticed it,” Pearce said.
On the bright side, a cold winter with plenty of snow in the mountains, with a long rainy spring filled Metro Vancouver’s reservoirs with enough water that they remain at normal levels for this time of year, said Marilyn Towill, director of operations and maintenance for Metro Vancouver’s water services.
“Our total-source storage is at 66 per cent of maximum,” Towill said. “And we expect to stay within the normal range (into the fall), but we also will rely on people to continue following sprinkling regulations and be mindful of how they use water.”
Stage 1 watering restrictions remain in place, which means residents can only water lawns and gardens between 4 a.m. and 7 a.m. on specified days three days per week.
However, the dry summer, on top of a cold winter and long wet spring, have added up to put a significant dent in some farm production, blueberry grower Kallu said.
Conditions vary widely from location to location, Kallu said, but he has seen fields down anywhere from 15 per cent to 30 per cent at his family’s blueberry farm.
“The lack of water is really starting to take a toll on the bushes,” Kallu said.
“Even with plants that are out of harvest and are wrapping up and shutting down, they need water as well,” Kallu said. “There is a big risk of them drying up (and being less productive next season).”
Shade trees — even older ones six to 10 metres tall, hedges and rhododendrons are also reaching the danger zone towards dying, if no one is properly watering them, said gardening expert Brian Minter.
“I can guarantee there is going to be myriads of dead hedging cedars again this year,” Minter said.
And people can’t assume that mature trees that have survived for as long as they have will be resilient enough to withstand successive droughts.
“Because (dry conditions) have been going on for a few years, a lot of trees will go so far and simply won’t get enough water and simply die off,” Minter said.
The signs of stress are wilting leaves and foliage that turns colour earlier than normal, Minter said. Proper watering means taking soaker hoses out in the early morning and long soil-drenching watering to get moisture down to the perimeter of their roots, not at the base of their trunks.