Below-normal temperatures and wet weather are putting a damper on New Brunswickers’ gardening plans and halted some road maintenance in the province.
According to Environment Canada, mid-May temperatures in New Brunswick are running as much as 15 degrees below normal this week.
Trudy Gaudet with MacArthur’s Nurseries Inc. in Moncton said sales have been slow as a result of the cool weather. She’s warning her customers to pay close attention to late-season frost advisories.
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“It’s not a good time to plant anything. We need to watch for frost, and it has been very wet. Anyone starting any seeds has to be really careful as to what they put into the ground. You want to make sure product doesn’t get flooded out,” said Gaudet, who added that the poor weather is also impacting people’s spirits.
With another frost advisory in effect for the province overnight on Wednesday, gardeners Line Richard and Christine Theriault said they don’t dare plant anything in their flower gardens just yet.
“We are going to hold off a bit. We are just prepping and getting ready ahead of time,” said Theriault.
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The friends were shopping at the Moncton nursery for plants to prepare for the season but had no intention of putting them in the ground until the weather warms up.
The weather has also put a damper on operations at Moncton Public Works. General foreman Jeff Scott said some road construction and maintenance projects are delayed due to the weather.
“With patching activities, we need to have a minimum temperature of 7 C and then it needs to be dry as well,” Scott said.
He said some streets now closed for maintenance may stay that way for a while.
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