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Relax, Fruit Fans, It's Cool

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By JO-ANN JOHNSTON, The Tampa Tribune

Published: January 4, 2008

Updated: 01/03/2008 10:22 pm

ST. JOSEPH - The state's kumquat crop - the inspiration for the winter's big tourist event in east Pasco County - appears to have escaped serious damage in the cold temperatures Wednesday night.

"I feel like we've escaped the bullet - again - but not by much," said Frank Gude, an owner of Kumquat Growers, the sole packing house for the area's kumquat growers.

Temperatures Wednesday night got down to 28 degrees in St. Joseph, the hamlet west of Dade City where most kumquats are grown. At that temperature, some ice might form inside the tiny, tangy fruit, but it will recover and still be suitable for eating and cooking, Gude said.

Two degrees lower and it could have been a different story.

"Twenty-six degrees is too cold. Twenty-six is the magic number," Gude said.

The fruit can freeze through at that temperature and turn to mush, he said.

When temperatures get down to frightening range, growers try to protect kumquat trees the same way orange trees are shielded. Growers use groundwater irrigation lines to release warmer water around the trees and roots, creating higher air temperatures than Mother Nature is providing. Still, growers are nervous until they can inspect the fruit the next morning.

Gude said he'll have a better assessment of the whole crop next week after he hears from all the growers.

Collectively, growers in St. Joseph have about 45 acres devoted to kumquats. The modest land mass happens to be the biggest kumquat crop in the state, producing about 17 million kumquats a year.

Growers and economic developers turned that agricultural quirk into a regional tourist event that takes place each January. People come to Dade City for a downtown festival with arts and crafts and cooking demonstrations, and to St. Joseph for tours of the growing area. This year, the festival's 11th, the major activities will be Jan. 26.

The kumquat can be eaten whole or used to make jams, jellies, sauces, cookies, cakes and pies. It is also an ingredient in some Asian dishes.

A shortage of kumquats could put a damper on the festival, even though organizers still would be able to showcase prepared products made from kumquats, such as the relishes and jams.

The kumquat growing and shipping season runs generally runs from mid-November to mid-March.

East Pasco's other well-known packing house, Citrus Country Groves in Dade City, mainly ships oranges it buys from growers across the state. Wednesday's cold spell didn't knock out the available supply of fruit, owner Jim Guedry said.

"We're in great shape," he said.

As a precaution, as many as six truckloads were harvested from groves to the north in Brooksville on Wednesday, before low temperatures could imperil the fruit.

Reporter Jo-Ann Johnston can be reached at (352) 521-3062 or jfjohnston@tampatrib.com.

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