Land locked farms impacted by spring melt flooding that delays planting
HUGO, Minn. -- River cities aren't the only ones impacted by spring flooding. Some Minnesota farm fields are drowning too.
One of those saturated fields is at Dream of Wild Health Farm in Hugo. And, they're not alone, neighboring fields are dealing with the same standing water when they should be prepping the ground for the growing season.
"The water has collected, and essentially the earth hasn't completely thawed out for that water to filter down," said Jessika Greendeer, the director of the Dream of Wild Health Farm.
Greendeer normally would begin planting potatoes, tomatoes, carrots, and radishes around mid-April, but because of all the water, they're going to have to delay that planting.
However, Greendeer still plans to sell at farmers' markets by June 1. Her greenhouse is ensuring some product will be ready to go, but for some of her other crops, she has no choice but to wait until her field dries up.
"There are some things that benefit from just going into the ground, something like a carrot or radishes," said Greendeer, "If we tried to transplant them, we'd have a weird-looking carrot."
Her farm only grows indigenous foods, meaning they're crops that originated in the Americas, like potatoes, corn, tomatoes, beans and squash. Many indigenous communities in the Twin Cities, and restaurants, like Owamni by The Sioux Chef in downtown Minneapolis, rely on her.
"The native urban population in the Twin Cities is in excess of 50,000. Our food that leaves the farms affects about 12,000 of those folks every single year," said Greendeer.
Minnesota farmers have dealt with a drought in recent years as well. So, Greendeer is hoping this flooding at least leaves behind a rich, moisture-packed soil for the rest of the growing season.
To learn more about Dream of Wild Health Farm, click here.