By Clint Thompson
Fluctuating temperatures have made strawberry production a challenge in North Alabama, according Eric Schavey, regional Extension agent in Northeast Alabama.
“Right now, everyone is focused on strawberries. We get these days where I believe it was 71 degrees (Fahrenheit), but it was 31 that morning. It’s like you’re scraping frost in the evening and then thinking about putting shorts on in the afternoon,” Schavey said.
Frost protection has been key in keeping strawberry plants warm during the colder temperatures, which have been common during the current El Niño weather pattern.
“We want to stay in the 50s on average in that plant. When we pull our frost cloth over, we’re getting a 15-to-20 degree temperature change under that frost cloth. What those temperature swings do is, now if it’s 70 degrees or 65 or 68, and you get 15 degrees above that, that strawberry says I’m ready to bloom; I’m ready to produce fruit. And then you look and it’s Feb. 15,” Schavey said. “Now we’re having to trick that plant. We’re moving that frost cloth once it gets up in the day and let them stay in that mid-50s temperature range and then cover them up to generate some heat under that frost cloth to keep them away from the 30 degrees. It’s a lot more hands-on movement.”
Temperature changes are not the only weather challenge growers in North Alabama have had to overcome. Recent rains have helped alleviate much of the dry conditions that were present much of the fall and winter. Rainfall has increased significantly since mid-January.
“My ponds at my house … they’ve come up almost four feet in a month,” Schavey said. “With our soil types, typography and everything, if you don’t get a decent amount of rain, you’re two weeks from drought again. If we miss a couple of these rains after this, we’re right back in that drought monitor again.”