Abbotsford pumpkin patch trying to make the best of a rotten situation
Posted October 5, 2021 6:44 am.
Last Updated October 5, 2021 6:59 am.
ABBOTSFORD (NEWS 1130) — A popular pumpkin patch in Abbotsford is already facing challenges ahead of Halloween after it discovered more than half of its pumpkins are rotten.
Maan Farms says the heatwave, recent rain, and a fungus are to blame for the destruction of more than 50 per cent of the crop.
“It’s unprecedented, it’s something we have never experienced before,” Operations Manager Amir Maan said in a social media post over the weekend.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CUiEAQSlQJN/
It’s the farm’s worst season since it opened four decades ago in the Fraser Valley. The farm only recently reopened for the busy season, and the ruined crops come just a few weeks before Oct. 31.
“In common language it’s called ‘wet rot’ – what happens is the moisture in the soil…and also the relative humidity in the air being so high, it’s causing the pumpkins to rot at a much faster rate than what we’ve seen in the past,” he said about the reason why so many pumpkins are rotting.
In a video, Mann is seen being able to push his finger completely through the pumpkin.
"It's something that we've never experienced before." Pumpkin problems, @AshleyBurr_ explains why one B.C. farmer is throwing away 50% of his pumpkin patch. @NEWS1130 pic.twitter.com/EOrcIZ3gUm
— CityNews 1130 Vancouver (Inactive) (@news1130) October 5, 2021
“It’s a scary time to be a farmer, absolutely,” said Dr. Miranda Hart, a UBC Okanagan biology professor, about the challenges facing the agriculture sector.
She says climate change is creating new problems which will likely persist into the future.
“This year, because of the heat, everything – it’s just unpredictable,” Hart said.
“All of these lessons we have learned over decades and even centuries of agriculture, I don’t know, I think we are going to be scrambling in the next few decades figuring out what’s normal,” she said.
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On Monday, Maan appealed for animal sanctuaries or farmers to come and pick up the rotten pumpkins to use as feed for pigs or other livestock.
He says anyone interested must come prepared to haul the rotten pumpkins out themselves, between 9:00 – 11:00 a.m. on Oct. 6.
“I am hoping this might be an awesome way to use the pumpkins which we aren’t able to sell. It sucks that 50% of my crop went bad, but if they go as feed for animals then at least that’s something positive out of rotten situation,” he wrote on the farm’s Instagram page.
