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Growers hope to keep their berries from turning blue

Bracing for a freeze, they pick extra fruit and prepare to spray.

By SAUNDRA AMRHEIN
Published February 16, 2007

Meteorologists were expecting the coldest weather of the year early Saturday, and the outcome of the cold snap could make or break the Florida strawberry growers’ season.

“Welcome to February,” said Barry Goldsmith, a National Weather Service meteorologist in Ruskin. “We finally got some winter this year.”

A freeze warning was in effect for most of the state. Goldsmith expected temperatures north of the Tampa Bay area, in Hernando and Citrus counties, to drop into the low to mid 20s by dawn and areas in eastern Hillsborough

County to be a little warmer, but still reach freezing.

“Those areas are under the gun as well,” he said.

The temperature in St. Petersburg was expected to hit the low 40s.

Farmers and their workers spent Friday picking both Friday’s and Saturday’s workload of fruit in case farmers needed to spray the fields overnight.

Watering strawberries during a freeze forms an ice barrier that protects the plants from further damage.

Picking Saturday’s fruit a day earlier gives the fields time to dry out before workers return, said Maurice Turgeau, president of Berry Bay Farms in Wimauma and vice president of the Florida Strawberry Growers Association.

 Normally, his workers would pick 40 acres on Friday, but instead they were working on 80.

The practice is normal before a freeze, said Carl Grooms, owner of Fancy Farms in Plant City. His workers were picking 80 acres Friday instead of 50.

Farmers did the same thing a few weeks back, even though they didn’t end up watering the crops.

“The good Lord put the clouds upon us at night, and we didn’t have to run the water,” Grooms said.

Farmers on Friday were hoping for a similar break, but Goldsmith said he expected clear skies overnight and dry, cold air.

The strawberry season traditionally ends in early March when California berries flood the market.

However, a freeze in early January delayed much of California’s berry crop, giving Florida growers the potential for an extra month of harvesting. This plays well for Florida growers, who received low returns during January’s above-average temperatures.

“(Last night) will determine if we have berries in March,” said Shawn Crocker, executive director of the Florida Strawberry Growers Association.

Florida growers want as many berries as possible in March to fill the berry void caused by California’s freeze.

Staff writers Helen Anne Travis and Ben Montgomery contributed to this report.

[Last modified February 16, 2007, 22:16:39]