Southern Ontario apple producers don’t like to talk about 2012.
That was the year winter seemed to be coming to an early end, only to return with a vengeance in April.
The bizarre weather pattern left some growers barely able to salvage any of their crops.
Jay Howell of Brantview Apples and Cider in St. George considers himself one of the lucky ones, even though three-quarters of his usual yield was wiped out and he ended up bringing in apples from Nova Scotia and British Columbia just to keep the business going.
With our region on the tail end of an unseasonable warm spell – one which saw Waterloo Region see its highest temperature ever recorded in February – apple growers are once again concerned about what the weather has in store for them.
“We’re cautiously optimistic,” Howell said Wednesday.
“The next couple weeks are very critical.”
In Howell’s view, cooler temperatures in the forecast for the rest of the week are a positive sign.
Unlike 2012, when apples had begun to swell before the weather cooled, this year’s crop is so far only at the budding stage. Buds can survive in the cold and frost better than apples further along in their growth.
After a month of regular record-breaking temperatures, Waterloo Region set another milestone on the first day of March.
A temperature of 12.6 C was recorded at the Region of Waterloo International Airport late Wednesday morning – the highest ever seen locally on a March 1.
With reporting by Marc Venema
