Local farmers Jess Castro and Bill Ada said they have not been able to harvest the usual amount of saleable vegetable crops because it has been raining most of the time these days.
“It was not like this before,” Castro said referring to the “strangely” changing weather condition on island.
The only problem they usually encounter, he said, is shortage of water during the dry season from April to June. When the rainy season comes, farm plots usually get a considerable amount of water.
Now, he said, it seems local farmers have to deal with two adversities every year: drought and too much rain.
Castro and Ada said some of the vegetables that are adversely affected by too much water are cucumber, bitter melon, gourds and other vines.
According to Castro, some of the vines are 96 percent water.
If they get more water than they need, the vines get stunted which impedes the growth and prevents them from blooming flowers and bearing fruits.
Castro said vine tissues shut down to protect the plant from getting too much water and when this happens, chlorophyll — the plant’s main component for photosynthesis — “weakens.”
“That is why we don’t have enough cucumber to sell today,” Castro said pointing to his stall where all that is left are pumpkins.
Ada said tomato is probably “the most sensitive” to too much rain.
“Planting tomatoes during the rainy season is a no-no in farming,” Ada said. This explains why tomatoes are sometimes expensive.
Too much rain and strong winds can knock down tomato plants whose stems are too delicate.
It’s the same thing with green onions, Ada said. “They melt like ice cream when it rains,” he added.
As for eggplants, too much water causes the fruits to rot.
Castro and Ada said they did not have this kind of problem in previous years. In the past, they said the islands experienced a balanced length of time for the rainy and dry seasons.
There are other vegetables farmers can plant during this season: swamp taro, kangkong, pumpkins, banana, lettuce and other leafy vegetables.
Castro and Ada said the vegetables that are too sensitive to too much water can be protected by making a hill out of the plot.
Make the plot at least 18 inches high so the roots won’t absorb too much water.
Ada said mulching with the use of plastic can also help because it blocks the water from coming in.
For tomatoes, it is better to build a green house or a canopy made of nets to protect them from rain.
Castro would like to encourage local residents to join them and become farmers, too.
Farming, he said, is the most sustainable economic activity on island.
The Saipan Sabalu Farmers Association is open to those who wish to venture into agriculture.
In these hard economic times, Castro said, “I think it’s time to go to farm and till the land.”
“I hope our leaders will urge people to farm. There’s nothing more important than food,” he said.
