A popular Manitoba pumpkin grower is still dealing with the cleanup following last week’s storms that drenched southern Manitoba. Schwabe Pumpkin Farms in St. Andrews said nearly one week later, there is still water on the field where they recently planted some of their pumpkins. “Right now, our pumpkins are under about six to 10 inches of water,” said Melody Schwabe, owner of the farm. The storm on June 9 brought a deluge of rain to much of Manitoba, including a reported 250 mm in the Stonewall area. The storms also brought at least two confirmed tornadoes to the province, and resulted in thousands of people losing power for more than 24 hours. Schwabe said she has never seen a storm like last week’s in all her years of growing. “Every field around us was covered with water,” she said. “Some of them have drained off by now, but I’ve never seen anything like that come down. I think it was all the rain from the last two years that we needed all coming in one night.” Schwabe noted pumpkins at her field were planted in the middle of May and take between 90 and 110 days to grow, and doesn’t believe the ground will become dry enough to replant. “It would be amazing if the water cleared off and they were still there,” she said. Schwabe noted they have a significant quantity of pumpkins planted at another farm that wasn’t as impacted by the storm. “We will still have pumpkins,” she said. “Maybe not all of the varieties that we normally have, but I feel like we’ll still have a really good selection.”
