Apple growers concerned crops may be lost this season
Apple growers across the region are concerned their crops may be lost due to the wild weather swings. With temperatures climbing and dipping weekly, growers hope the buds hold off until at least April.
Tom and Karen Ferri have had their apple orchard in Clarksburg since 2012. They have about 50,000 apple trees on their 20 acres.
"If the bloom comes out and we get a frost or a freeze, we lose the bloom, we lose the apples, we lose the crop," said Karen.
Karen says some of the buds have already started to swell.
"If that happens, it's not going to be a happy ending," she added. "The buds are swelling - the buds haven't broken yet. This cooler weather today and cooler in the evenings for the next little while is our friend because it keeps them cocooned inside the bud. We don't want them coming out of the bud yet," shared Karen.
This year's weather patterns have been similar to those of 2012, a year when many crops were lost.
"We are holding our breath. Some of the temperatures we've had in the last week parallel what we had in 2012 which was an absolute disastrous year. However, these cooler temperatures today and through the evenings are good for us," said Karen.
"If everything goes right, we want 50 apples per tree," said Tom.
- Download the CTV News app to get local alerts on your device
- Get the latest local updates sent to your email inbox
The Ferris grows seven different varieties of apples, and most of their product ends up in the GTA. They are still winter pruning their trees in anticipation of the season.
"We need to be able to feed ourselves locally. We don't need to be dependent on importing food," Karen said.
Apple growers say they would be thrilled to see about another month of cooler temperatures, but that's up to Mother Nature.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Liberal MP says she's leaving politics over disrespectful dialogue, threats, misogyny
Liberal MP Pam Damoff says she won't run again in the next federal election, saying she has experienced misogyny, disrespectful dialogue in politics and threats to her life.
Concerns about Plexiglass prompt inspections at some Loblaws locations in Ottawa
Inspections are underway at more than one Loblaws location in Ottawa after complaints were filed about tall Plexiglass barriers.
Federal employees will be required to spend 3 days a week in the office
Starting in September, public servants in the core public administration will be required to work in the office a minimum of three days a week. The Treasury Board Secretariat says executives will need to be in the office four days per week.
OPP officer said 'someone's going to get hurt' before wrong-way Hwy. 401 crash
As multiple Durham police cruisers were chasing a robbery suspect on the wrong side of Highway 401 Monday night, an Ontario Provincial Police officer shared his concerns, telling a dispatcher, "Someone's going to get hurt."
Ont. woman who faked pregnancy to defraud doulas arrested again on similar charges
Victims of a Brantford, Ont., woman who was sentenced to house arrest earlier this year for defrauding and deceiving doulas say they’re not surprised she’s been apprehended again on similar charges.
Five human skeletons, missing hands and feet, found outside house of Nazi leader Hermann Göring
Archeologists have unearthed the skeletons of five people, missing their hands and feet, at a former Nazi military base in Poland.
Poilievre returns to House unrepentant for calling Trudeau 'wacko,' Speaker not resigning
An unrepentant Pierre Poilievre returned to the House of Commons on Wednesday to pepper the prime minister about his drug decriminalization policies after being booted the day prior for refusing to take back calling Justin Trudeau 'wacko' over his approach to the issue.
Construction begins on LGBTQ2S+ national monument in Ottawa
Shovels have hit the ground for constuction on Canada's LGBTQ2S+ national monument in Ottawa.
B.C. man awarded $5,000 in damages in first-of-it-kind intimate image case
In a first-of-its-kind case, a B.C. tribunal has ruled on a dispute involving the non-consensual sharing of intimate images, awarding damages and issuing orders that the photos be destroyed and taken offline.