A local gardening expert says the smoky conditions over the last couple of months are having an impact on vegetation in Southern Manitoba.
Even though the wildfires might be hundreds of kilometres away, Carla Hrycyna of the Lawn & Garden Journal says the smoke that is wafting into our region is being felt by our plants, both positively and negatively.
Hrycyna explains that the wildfires are releasing carbon dioxide into the air, which is a positive thing for our plants.
"One of the things that we know that our plants need to take in is the CO2," she says.
And though she admits to not being an expert on this, Hrycyna says one other positive is that the smoke in our air might actually act as a fertilizer, particularly on rainy days when the showers are pushing that smoke into lawns, gardens, and plants.
But Hrycyna says it is not all positive. Let's start with the fact that plants need sunlight for photosynthesis.
"We need the sunshine in order for this photosynthesis to happen," she says. "In order for plants to be able to grow."
However, on really smoky days, we are not getting high-intensity sunlight, which is necessary for plants to produce.
Hrycyna says even though we might be far removed from the wildfires, the smoke is carrying soot, which is ending up on our yards. Hrycyna says when she wipes her hand across her patio furniture, she notices a gritty substance that has fallen from the sky. If this soot is on our patio furniture, it will also be on our plants, trees, and shrubs, and Hrycyna says it could also be preventing photosynthesis from happening.
"So, we want to try and help the plants by removing some of that dust and that particle," she explains. "We want to be able to help them to wash off. So luckily we got some rain."
But, Hrycyna says the rain might only have washed off the tops of the plants, noting the bottom of the leaves probably need to be cleaned as well. If possible, Hrycyna suggests watering plants or washing them down in order to remove that grit. She says watering them in the early morning is ideal because doing so too late in the day can create powdery mildew or other fungal diseases.
"Giving it a little bit of a wash off is just definitely going to help those green leaves act a little bit better with taking in that CO2 and then helping to release more oxygen," she explains.
Meanwhile, Hrycyna says one of the things that she has noticed with plants this summer is that they are doing a little bit more stretching, which can happen with insufficient sunlight. She has heard from other people saying that their plants are not performing up to par this year. However, Hrycyna is quick to point out that there is no proof that any of these observations are tied to our smoky summer.
"You just have to think of all the different scenarios that could be causing certain things," she says. "So, to say that it's just tied strictly to the amount of smoke that we have, that I can't say."
For example, she says our hot and dry summer might also be contributing to why plant growth looks a bit different this year.
And, just what this all means for harvesting our gardens, remains to be seen. Could the lack of sunlight and the addition of soot on leaves result in a longer growing season needed to get vegetables fully mature? Hrycyna says it will be very interesting to analyze this at the end of the growing season. One thing she knows for sure is that fires spark rejuvenation and Hrycyna says the wildfires will often release and cause new plants to grow, opening new seeds, which might be a silver lining for fire-ravaged areas.