Fruit
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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.
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You may have heard about all the heavy rain events California has experienced over the last couple of weeks associated with atmospheric rivers. Growing Produce posted a series of photos showing some of the damage caused to strawberry growers there due to all the rain. Very sad to look at, and an indication of how…
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Christmas weekend wasn’t the most wonderful time of year for Georgia fruit growers, as historically low temperature had them scrambling to frost protect their crop. Damon Jones of the Georgia Farm Bureau tells you what measures had to be taken and how much damage their crop received at one farm in South Georgia in this…