By Clint Thompson
Florida’s blueberry growers survived the worst freeze in recent memory. According to Brittany Lee, executive director of the Florida Blueberry Growers Association, producers were “lucky” following the sub-freezing temperatures on the morning of Jan. 30.
“I think in Florida the damage was minimal, luckily. We had a lot of ice. But at least from my operation and the people I’ve spoken to, there was minimal breakage because of the ice. Some people had to stake their plants back up and things like that. For the most part, it was as good as we could have prayed for with the conditions that we were dealt,” Lee said. “Those temperatures with the winds that they were projecting, you really can’t protect at that cold with that amount of wind. At our farm, it got to 22 (degrees). I know other farms saw low 20s as well. The berries definitely can’t take 22. The flowers, depending on their stage, can’t take that either.”
The accelerated growth of this year’s crop made the cold temperatures even more threatening. Blueberries in Florida are further along in their development this year due to warmer temperatures in December. The result were so many immature fruit on the bushes that were exposed to temperatures in the 20s.
“We’ve got a little bit of green fruit out here, but our farm is a little bit further north than the central Florida area. We’re normally a little bit behind developmentally. We’ve got tons of small green fruit out here. We were lucky,” Lee said.
Last week’s sunshine and warmer temperatures were a welcomed sight for farmers. Lee said it normally takes a couple of days for the crop to bounce back. It is not expected to be a huge concern moving forward.
