Drought is Long Lasting

The rivers are as low as organic farmer John Bemis can remember. The owner and manager of Hutchins Farm on Monument Street said while he irrigates his fields, some of the annual green crops such as the lettuces his customers love, do not like prolonged heat and drought.

Farmers seem to roll with the weather like coaches of sports teams. Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose. As an organic farmer, Bemis does not use pesticides or other harmful soil additives, relying on sun, water and fencing.

"We fence the corn," he said this week, "but deer and other critters like the lush crops just as we do." He said deer, rabbits and coyotes can be hindered by fencing, but not prevented from eating from the fields.

"And birds are a huge problem," said Bemis. He has a cannon to try to scare them off, but a short while after firing it, they circle around again. He has a scary-faced balloon, but that doesn't seem to frighten away crows.

"They peck the watermelons," said Bemis.

Due to frequent plantings, he is not without organic produce during the summer and into the fall, he said. He transplants corn so it does not start from seed. He said some crops that like cooler weather, like peas and lettuce, did not fare so well in the heat wave that never seems to end.

But as a long-time farmer, he takes a long view.

"In New England, you can count on heavy rain sometimes, and drought at other times," he said.

He said during years of heavy rain, weeds are a problem because just as plants need water, so do weeds and he does not use weed killing substances in the gardens. So at least this year, weeds are less of a problem than in wetter years.