Fruit
-
The weather this winter has affected our fruit crops in a number of ways. Early October was relatively warm, so farmers who planted strawberries early in the month saw good growth, but later in the month and through November things were quite cold, so the berries did not grow much during that time period. Once…
-
The coldest air of the season so far will flow into the Southeast this weekend as an Arctic front moves through the region on Friday night. It will bring sub-freezing air as far south as northern Florida on Sunday morning. A big winter storm is expected to develop along the East Coast and the Carolinas…
-
The cold weather in November followed by a warm December has caused some blueberries in Georgia and Florida to start blooming well ahead of when they usually do. Some growers estimate that up to 30 percent of their fields are already blooming, which may make them vulnerable to the cold weather we are having this…
-
Outside magazine posted an interesting story about how winemakers in regions like Napa Valley are dealing with more extreme weather and warmer temperatures in their production of wines. Adaptations like choosing new varieties or hybrids, changing the orientation of the rows to provide shade from the hot summer sun, and growing vines closer to the…
-
One method for producers to adapt to a changing climate is to either grow new crops or to use hybrids that grow better in the new climate. Here is a story from Growing Produce that describes recent efforts in New Zealand and Spain to produce new apple varieties that are better adapted to warmer climates…
-
The rainy and cloudy weather this year has affected a lot of pecan production in the Southeast, but as Clint Thompson of Vegetable and Specialty Crop News points out, growers are still feeling the impacts of tree loss due to Hurricane Michael in 2018. Many trees have still not recovered from the damaging winds and…
-
One of the ways that farmers in the Southeast are becoming more resilient to changing markets and changing weather conditions is to add new crops that can take advantage of these trends. This story from the Atlanta Journal Constitution describes how one farmer in southern Georgia started growing olives for oil. One thing I learned…