LAKELAND, Fla. — As we continue to monitor freeze warnings in the Tampa Bay Area, local farmers are now racing to protect their crops.
Strawberry growers at Fancy Farms in Lakeland said the next few nights could make or break the season.
Watch full report from Rebecca Petit
At Fancy Farms, strawberries don't wait for the picking. Every morning, workers head into the fields to gather berries fresh for the market.
“Trying to get all the ripe fruit off. That way it would be in the grocery store tomorrow for you to eat some delicious red strawberries,” said Dustin Grooms, Farm Manager of Fancy Farms.
From fresh strawberries to shortcake, the strawberry shake remains the top seller at Fancy Farms Market but with freezing temperatures in the forecast, the focus shifts from sales to survival.
Groom’s team is harvesting ahead and preparing the fields. He said the biggest concern is protecting the plants’ delicate blooms.
When the temperature drops to 32 degrees, they will turn on their overhead sprinklers, coat the plant with water, and create a layer of ice that helps insulate the fruit.
“We’ve had a couple already cold nights and there were some mornings that we didn’t run and the frost bit some of the bloom. So we did lose some early on this month. We definitely don’t want to repeat that,” Grooms said.
He said a deep freeze at this point in the season could be devastating.
“We are about halfway through with our season right now with the bulk coming up. And the bulk is actually out here on this plant right now. We have a lot of blooms. We have a lot of fruit so it’s a high-stakes thing. I mean if we lost this, it would be that you know we probably wouldn’t be in business next year,” said Grooms.
The cold also affects workers. With 160 people harvesting, the farm adjusts schedules to keep crews safe.
“When the temperature drops real cold what we try to do is start later in the day once the sun comes up and warms things up and you know it puts a whole monkey wrench in the whole operation but we try to you know put ourselves in their shoes because it is a difficult job,” Grooms said.
With much of the crop still on the plants, growers say a hard freeze could impact strawberry availability in the coming weeks, including and leading up to the Strawberry Festival.
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