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Farmers Prepare To Protect Crops From Cold

Tribune photo by JAY NOLAN

Picked strawberries are stacked and ready for a truck at Florida Star's fields south of Plant City on County Line Road.

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By KEITH MORELLI | The Tampa Tribune

Published: January 2, 2008

Updated: 01/02/2008 11:01 am

TAMPA - As cold as it seemed this morning, tomorrow morning's temperature will be even lower, dipping into the 20s ‑ possibly the teens ‑ in the Tampa Bay area.

Wind chill could make it feel colder, and Pinellas County may have its first freeze in a decade, forecasters said.

In the agricultural areas of Hillsborough County and surrounding counties, people who farm fruit or vegetables or raise tropical fish are bracing for the cold. Most will be up all night monitoring the mercury, with one hand on a hot cup of coffee and the other on the valve that turns on the sprinklers to coat the crops with water. That covers the plants with a coat of ice, they say, protecting them from frostbite.

Forecasters with the National Weather Service in Ruskin have predicted the winter's first hard freeze, blaming an arctic weather system that raked the nation this past week and reached Florida today.

North Florida took the brunt of the system this morning.

The National Weather Service said the Florida Panhandle got 30-degree temperatures, with Jacksonville at 32 degrees.

With weather expected to be cold enough to kill some crops, Gov. Charlie Crist signed an emergency order to relax rules governing the transport of crops to processing centers.

Meteorologist Nick Petro said temperatures around Tampa Bay this morning were just a taste of what's to come Thursday morning. The morning temperature today in Tampa was 43 degrees, he said.

It was coldest in Brooksville, where the low was 37. In east Hillsborough County and Lakeland, the temperature dipped to 39, Petro said.

"We have a strong cold front, a very cold air mass out of the Rockies and Canada," he said.

Thursday morning, temperatures could dip to 29 degrees in Tampa, he said, and it could be a few degrees lower in eastern Hillsborough and Polk counties. Brooksville is expected to bottom out at 19 degrees, he said.

Pinellas County could dip below freezing, but temperatures there are expected to hover right around the 32-degree mark.

Wind is a factor, he said. Wind tends to keep temperatures from dropping as low as they can but wind is not what farmers want if there is a freeze.

Farmers turn on the sprinklers before the temperature drops below 32 degrees to put a coat of ice on the crops. This can keep the temperature of the plants from dropping below 32 degrees.

If there's no wind, the sprinklers put an even coat on the crops, but if it's windy, the water doesn't reach all the plants, leaving parts of the fields unprotected.

In eastern Hillsborough County, strawberries are the biggest concern.

"There could be pockets of colder spots," Petro said. "There will be a few spots, the protected areas, dips or valleys that are out of the wind, they will get colder."

Mike St. Martin, who runs St. Martin Farms in Plant City, has had pickers out all day yesterday and today. Yesterday, workers picked more than 500 bushels of zucchini, he said. Today, pickers are focusing on 100 acres of strawberries.

"We are picking away," he said. "We're picking a day early and picking all we can pick."

He said he is figuring on starting his sprinklers at 8 p.m. tonight and had workers spraying Pam, the non-stick substance, onto sprinkler valves and heads to make sure they work easily in the cold weather

Normally berries stay on the plant a little while longer, he said of the push to pick before the freeze. "They're a little pinker than we'd like, but they'll ripen up."

The amount of water to be pumped tonight has prompted the Southwest Florida Water Management District to issue an advisory for residents who live in the agricultural areas of eastern Hillsborough County to turn their well pumps off tonight.

The advisory says the spraying of the crops tonight may result in a drop in aquifer levels and if the levels fall below where residential wells draw their water, the pumps may burn themselves out. The district suggested switching all residential private well pumps off until well after sunrise on Thursday.

Fancy Farms owner Carl Grooms said his pickers were working hard today trying to get all the ripe berries picked before tonight. Expecting a windy night, he's also putting larger sprinkler heads on his irrigation system to "combat the wind."

Gadgets are also being installed to keep the sprinkler heads from icing up.

"We learned this in the freeze of '89," he said. "The wind blows a mist back onto the sprinkler head and creates an icicle on it. Within a half hour, that will prevent the sprinklers from oscillating and you will lose everything."

Fancy Farms, located in Plant City, has 200 acres of berries, he said.

In Ruskin, tropical fish is the cash crop.

Mike Norton, who runs Norton's Tampa Bay Fisheries, has about 65 of his 80 ponds covered with plastic and he is still worried the cold will put a big chill on his tropical fish.

"It will affect us in a negative way," he said of the icy temps expected tonight. "We will cover the ponds with plastic to create a heat barrier and run water, just like the strawberry farmers."

The big problem is if the sub-freezing temperatures last for more than four or five hours, he said.

Ideally the water temperature should be between 70 and 82 degrees, but in the winter, it drops to the low 70s, he said. With a cold snap, it dips very close to the fatal 50s.

"Right now," he said this afternoon, "it's in the mid 60s."

Norton's fish farm in Ruskin is part of a large industry in southern Hillsborough County, which includes about 600 tropical fish ponds that provide nearly 80 percent of the tropical fish sold in the nation.

Then, A Warming Trend

On Friday, lows in Brooksville will be just above freezing, and everywhere else in the Bay area should have lows in the upper 30s and low 40s, forecasters said.

By the weekend, temperatures could rise to the mid-70s.

Florida Citrus Mutual is a growers' organization. Spokesman Andrew Meadows said that whenever there is a freeze warning, the industry takes precautions.

Most citrus crops were moved south of Lakeland after the devastating freezes of the 1980s, but there still are groves north of there, he said.

"There's a lot of concern whenever temperatures dip below freezing," Meadows said. "The real number is a sustained four hours of 28 degrees or below. That can result in long-term tree damage."

With forecasters predicting lows into the 20s for many portions of the state, citrus growers will be out in the fields tonight, Meadows said.

The wind can work in our favor, he said. And the recent rain in some parts of the state moistened soil, and that helps protect the trees, keeping warmth around them. There's lot of things in play here, a lot of different factors.

"There's always a worry when Mother Nature's in play," he said.

Plants And Animals

As temperatures dip into the 20s for the first time this winter, various agencies have offered some tips to keep lives fairly normal.

Hillsborough County Animal Services spokeswoman Marti Ryan said pets that can't be brought in should get extra bedding for warmth and insulation, particularly puppies and older animals. Always keep them watered and well fed, she said.

And watch out for cats under the hoods of cars, as they tend to seek the engine warmth on cold nights.

Animal Services can use some help during the cold snap, she said. Donations of new or used clean towels, blankets and other bedding are needed, along with detergents for laundering, she said.

Home Safety

People with pools should keep pumps running to keep pipes from freezing and bursting.

The same is true for hose bibs. If a spigot is exposed, a trickle should be allowed to flow to prevent the pipe from freezing.

Cold-sensitive outside plants should be brought inside, if possible. Potted plants are more vulnerable to cold than those in the ground.

Plants that can't be brought inside should be covered with sheets or blankets. Coverings should reach to the ground to trap the earth's heat.

Don't try to use your sprinklers to protect the plants the way strawberry growers do. Your household irrigation system cannot produce the volume of water necessary, and the breeze will make it difficult to adequately cover the plants.

Hillsborough County Fire Rescue has some advice, too:

Never use generators, grills, camp stoves or other gasoline, propane, natural gas or charcoal burning devices inside your home or in an enclosed porch or garage.

Kerosene heaters and barbecue grills emit carbon dioxide, a colorless, odorless gas that can kill.

Don't use the oven to heat homes. The oven is a fire hazard and can be a source of toxic fumes.

If using kerosene heaters, maintain ventilation to avoid the buildup of toxic fumes. Keep heaters at least three feet from flammable objects. Refuel kerosene heaters outside.

Electric space heaters do not produce carbon monoxide, but they pose a fire risk if not used properly. Keep space heaters away from flammable material. Space heaters should be turned off when no one is in the room and should not be used while people are sleeping.

Make sure space heaters have an emergency shutoff device in case they tip over.

Shelter Available

Freeze shelters will be open tonight for the homeless and people who live in homes without adequate heat.

The Hillsborough shelters are:

* Salvation Army, 1514 N. Florida Ave., Tampa. This shelter is for adults only.

* Metropolitan Ministries, 2010 N. Florida Ave., Tampa This shelter is for families.

* Good Samaritan Mission (South County) at Bethune Park, 5809 Edina St., in Wimauma. This shelter is for adults and families.

The Salvation Army and Metropolitan Ministries locations will open after 4 p.m. The Bethune Park location will open at 6 p.m. They will stay open until 8 a.m., and meals will be provided.

Hillsborough County's Health & Social Services Department works with these organizations to help provide freeze shelters when temperatures reach below 32 degrees, including the wind chill factor.

Also opening its doors tonight is the Hyde Park United Methodist Church, 500 W. Platt St., in Tampa, (813) 253-5388. The church begins accepting cold refugees at 7 p.m.

In Pasco County, the Holy Ground Homeless Shelter has space available. It is at 8835 Denton Ave., Hudson, the northeast corner of U.S. 19 and Denton. For transportation, call Holy Ground at (727) 863-9123.

The shelter needs kerosene, electric heaters, blankets, cots and food. Donations can be dropped off at the shelter, or call to arrange for pickup.

A shelter also will open at the First United Methodist Church of New Port Richey, 5901 Indiana Ave., New Port Richey. Doors open at 5 pm. Hot meals will be provided. For further information, call (813) 956-9973.

In Pinellas County, five shelters will open tonight and accept guests all night long beginning at 6 p.m. Shelter guests are given a hot evening meal, a warm, safe place to spend the night and breakfast the following morning

Shelter Available

St. Cecilia's Catholic Church, 820 Jasmine Way, Clearwater, (727) 585-7743.

First United Methodist Church of Tarpon Springs, 501 E. Tarpon Ave., Tarpon Springs, (727) 937-3271.

Salvation Army of St. Petersburg, 1400 Fourth St. S., St. Petersburg, (727) 821-9123.

The Turning Point, 1801 Fifth Ave., N., St. Petersburg, (727) 823-7811.

Northwest Presbyterian Church, 6330 54th Ave. N., St. Petersburg, (727) 544-4551.

Reporter Keith Morelli can be reached at (813) 259-7760 or kmorelli@tampatrib.com

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