By Clint Thompson
Georgia’s vegetable leaders are unsure what last week’s sub-freezing temperatures and historic snowfall mean for this year’s winter greens in the field. It is not a scenario a South Georgia grower had to deal with prior to the start of last week where frigid temperatures were present for several days in a row.
“We’re still not sure as to how this will play out. Obviously, South Georgia got a fair amount of snow which can insulate things to a degree, but with that said, it was cold for several days. It just barely got above freezing for a 24-hour period. That sustained cold weather is what we’re concerned about,” said Tim Coolong, associate professor in the University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences. “Will the crops recover? Certainly, there’s going to be some crop death because it was colder for a more extended period of time than we anticipated.”
Leafy greens, like kale, collards, turnips and mustard were in the field and vulnerable to multiple nights of sub-freezing temperatures.
“Any time that you have any sort of defect or burn on the foliage then you can’t sell that. That’s what we’re concerned about right now,” said Coolong, who added that disease buildup is concerning since so much precipitation was on the ground for most of the week. “It’ll stay wet, and if there is any damage to the foliage that is obviously entry area for the disease.
“That is obviously a concern, but this is highly unusual. To a degree, to have this amount of snow and this extended period of cold, it’s a little bit of uncharted waters. We’re just going to see how this plays out.”