harvest

How to keep your jack o’ lantern from rotting

KELOWNA – An unusually warm summer may have been nothing but a help to most farmers in the Okanagan but it’s forced pumpkin farmers to take steps to ensure customers get products that aren’t mushy and spoiled. Jas Sanghera is the owner of Don-O-Ray Vegetables on Benvoulin Road. He says the unusual weather this year...

Kelowna Rockets raise thousands to help kids with autism play hockey

KELOWNA – Players, coaches, scouts and fans of the Kelowna Rockets helped raise more than $15,000 to help children with autism enter hockey programs Friday morning. The sold out Rockets Alumni Foundation 15th Annual Golf Tournament teed off July 17 as they attempt to raise $100,000 over the next three years for the Canucks Autism...

Early spring, California drought has Okanagan grocery stores picking local

KELOWNA – The severe drought in California coupled with an unusually warm and early spring in B.C. has local grocery stores stocking their shelves with fruits and vegetables grown right here at home instead of importing from the south. Chris Holmes is the owner of Quality Greens on Spall Road. With stores in Kelowna, West...

Okanagan diners reap the rewards of an early spring

OKANAGN – The early spring across the Okanagan this year is not only good for your tan but for local restaurants and family kitchens as well. Across the valley, farmers are busy harvesting crops which normally wouldn't be ready for weeks. Fruits, berries, veggies and field crops all got a jump start this year, which...

Early spring both good and bad for local farmers

OKANAGAN – The early heat felt across the Okanagan this year has local farmers springing into action. Producers of vegetables, fruit, hay and alfalfa crops say the warm weather came at least two weeks early this year, meaning they can plant earlier, expect higher yields and very likely harvest earlier as well. At the Kelowna...

What you should know about this delicious, and potentially poisonous, local delicacy

VERNON - You might have seen the bright, vibrantly green curlicues in classified ads or at the local grocery store recently and wondered what they are and where they come from. They’re called fiddleheads, and they’re found around the world, including the Thompson-Okanagan, for a few short weeks every spring. Those who have tried the...

Cold weather means record-breaking ice wine harvest in South Okanagan

SOUTH OKANGAN - Wineries throughout the South Okanagan have begun harvesting ice wine grapes after record-low temperatures sweep the valley. Nk’Mip Cellars Winery in Osoyoos has almost completed its harvesting, which has never happened so early in the year, says Moss Scheurkogel, winery supervisor. “It was completely unforeseen,” he says of the cold weather. A...