Andrew Bastian tried to break ground on the Nanaimo Foodshare farm Monday.
The soil has hardened amid drought conditions now on parts of Vancouver Island.
“Oh it’s super dry,” said Bastian, a worker at the farm.
“But I’m working through the dryness.”
The drought this early September came later than recent summers. Nanaimo Foodshare farm manager Craig Evans said he had a banner growing season earlier in the summer.
“There’s rows and rows of hundreds and hundreds of cabbages,” said Evans, who has farmed for 30 years.
“Perfect growing season. And I’d have to go with it’s been the best summer ever,” said Evans.
There are acres of vegetables that will be put weekly food boxes for low-income residents. The produce is huge after getting a strong start in the ground with an unusually rainy June and July.
“Definitely we had more rainfall at the beginning of the summer,” said Evans.
But now water conservation is a concern due to rivers and streams running low across southern Vancouver Island.
According to Nanaimo Water Resources Manager Mike Squire, drinking water throughout the region remains in good shape.
“Everything’s looking really well for our reservoirs,” said Squire.
“We’re about 77 per cent full. That will last us right into the winter.”
With so many people staying home due to COVID-19, combined with summer rains, Squire said water consumption is down 20 per cent in the City of Nanaimo.
“Our demands are down. Well below normal. And revenue is potentially a concern,” he said.
However, with fall rains expected to still be weeks away, people are urged to conserve water as much as possible,
Skye Ryan
