While there have been worries of a potential pumpkin shortage in other parts of B.C. due to the extreme heat and dry weather over the summer, the exact opposite is the case at Aldor Acres in Glen Valley.
In fact, Aldor Acres owner Albert Anderson said it’s been a bumper crop at the family farm that’s been operating for 29 years in Glen Valley.
Pumpkins are the main crop at Aldor Acres — and have been since its inception — and are grown on 20 acres at the property at 25000 block of 84 Avenue. In fact, pumpkins is where it all started for Anderson and his wife Dorothy. They put a small sign and a jar at the end of the road back in 1988 and started selling pumpkins on the honour system.
The year has been a challenging one for local farmers because of the summer heat and unusually dry weather.
From June to the end of August, Vancouver has received 53.4 mm of rainfall, with most of the rain falling in early June.
“But if you were to strip June out and just look at July and August, then it is actually is the driest July and August on record for Vancouver,” said Environment Canada meteorologist Alyssa Charbonneau.
But even with just a few drops of rain spanning two summer months, Anderson said Aldor Acres has enjoyed the best pumpkin crop it’s ever had.
“The heat was good for the pumpkins,” Anderson said. “There was enough rain, here to get them started, and once the pumpkins are started, the shape of the leaves catches all the dew, and we didn’t find it a problem. We didn’t need to irrigate anything. We irrigated grass, but not in the pumpkin fields.”
Anderson explained that pumpkins have a strong “collection mechanism” with the shape of the leaves.
“All the overnight dew funnels down into the leaf, down the stem to where the roots are,” Anderson explained.
The pumpkin season at Aldor Acres started Sept. 23 and runs until Nov. 1. Visit aldoracresfamilyfarm.ca.
troy.landreville@blackpress.ca
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