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Local Asparagus Needs More Sunshine

Wednesday, 8 May 2019 08:11

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It could be another couple of days, maybe even a week before you can enjoy farm fresh asparagus.

ONTARIO - Asparagus season is a little bit delayed this year. 

Hopefully farmers will be able to sustain the demand for asparagus in the coming days, or next week at the latest. Tim Barrie from Barrie's Asparagus explains the delay. 

"We just don't seem to be getting the sunshine we would normally be getting this time of year. The nights are cold and there was a lot of rain in April that turned into ice and just kept lingering around and without the sunshine we are just not seeing the ground warm up." 

Some farmers further south in Norfolk County have farm fresh asparagus readily available and the farmers in our region are really close. Barrie says they will be checking the fields this morning to see if they are ready to supply the demand for this weekend. He notes they are about a week behind schedule. 

"In the old days when my dad and my grandfather use to do it, Mother's Day was the earliest we would see asparagus, and the season would wrap up by Fathers Day. The new varieties that all of the growers are using now, we typically start in early May, and most growers go until the end of June. The season has been extended a bit because of the vigorous new variety. 

Barrie adds it really means a lot to the local farmers when people shop local. 

"Thanks to all the people who visit farms, we have so many great farms all across Ontario. Farmers are very welcoming, they are friendly, they appreciate when customers come and buy direct. So when you get a chance one day, go out and visit one of your farms, not just for asparagus but for sweet corn, pumpkins because buying local supports everybody in your own community." 

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