Fruit
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Over the last few years I have gotten an increasing number of questions about growing citrus, especially satsumas, in Georgia. The early farmers were looking for information on how often cold conditions occur to convince their insurers to cover them in the event of frost. Since then, the number of acres of satsumas has grown…
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Because this winter has been so warm, in spite of a strong cold outbreak in late December, fruit crops are far ahead of normal growth patterns. This winter warming is expected to continue in the future, and so fruit farmers are considering how it might affect the future of their orchards. Here is a recent…
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You’ve probably all noticed how early spring is this year. In some cases, the National Phenology Network states that first leaf is as much as 4 weeks early in some places. According to the UGA Pecan Blog by Lenny Wells, early varieties of pecans are now starting to show budbreak due to the consistently warm…
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In the past I have written on this blog about olive as a new crop in the Southeast. I know that there have been several test sites planted in Georgia. This article for Growing Produce describes how researchers in Florida are planting olive groves in several locations to test how they handle the varied climate…
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Farmers are continuing to identify more impacts of the freeze in late December as plants struggle to survive. It will likely be months before all of the damage is known, especially on citrus and other fruit trees. Here are some recent stories from Specialty Crop Industry on how the freeze affected several crops. South Georgia…
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Georgia Public Broadcasting posted a 26-minute video highlighting some of the fruits of Georgia in their series “A Fork in the Road”. It originally ran on January 13, 2023, so some of you may have already seen it. I enjoyed learning about Georgia watermelon and blueberry production. Mixon Farms, the featured blueberry farm, is host…
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Even though the cold outbreak of December is well in the past, impacts from the freezing weather are still being assessed. Here is some advice from the University of Florida on how to take care of frost-damaged citrus trees. This would also apply to more cold-hardy citrus like satsumas in Georgia and Alabama.