Growers brace for freeze

WALNUT COVE

For Mike Rogers, it's annual right of passage — the arrival of cold temperatures, Easter and spraying water on his strawberry and blueberry plants to save them from freezing temperatures.

Rogers and his family will spend tonight in their fields at the Mabe's Berry Farm off N.C. 8 near Walnut Cove, checking the wind and the temperatures.

Forecasters predict that temperatures tonight will drop tonight into lows 30s in the Triad to the high 20s in Northwest North Carolina. The National Weather Service has issued freeze warnings for both regions and for much of North Carolina.

Two to three inches of snow were reported at Beech Mountain on the Avery-Watauga county line earlier today.

At the farm in southeastern Stokes County, irrigation lines have been set up among the rows of strawberry and blueberry plants, Rogers said this afternoon.

"When it hits 33 degrees tonight, we will crank it up and spray water on the plants," he said. "The more water we add will keep the plants from dying from the cold."

Rogers said that it will take several hundred gallons of water to cover the 3 acres of strawberries and 3 acres of blueberries. The plants are beginning to bloom, and cold snap could kill them. The water will keep the plants alive at 32 degrees.

Rogers said he expects the temperatures in his area to dip tonight to 28 or 29 degrees. He typically sprays water to protect the crops five to seven times a year.

"We expect to save everything," he said. "The only thing we expect to lose right now is a lot of sleep."

The low temperatures will remain in the Triad and Northwest North Carolina through Wednesday night, said Brandon Vincent, a meteorologist with the weather service in Raleigh. The lowest temperatures are likely to occur about an hour before daybreak on Wednesday when it will be will 31 or 32 degrees.

"We are not expecting a hard freeze," Vincent said.

A cold upper-level system over East Coast today and Wednesday is bringing the cold air to the state, Vincent said. Light winds will persist throughout the night.

The temperatures Wednesday will range in high 50s in the Triad and mountain counties with mostly sunny skies. Cold air will return Wednesday night with temperatures dropping to the low 40s and high 30s.

The low temperatures could kill the crops and newly planted annuals and perennials, the weather service said.

A freeze on this date two years ago killed about 30 percent of the strawberry crop and more than 90 percent of the blueberry at the Mabe's Berry Farm, Rogers said.

The temperature dropped to 17 degrees in much of Stokes County, and his family lost several thousands of dollars of income, he said.

"We are afraid to ask the accountant how much we actually lost," Rogers said. "We take the bad years and combine them with the good years. We make sure we have good years to keep doing it."

Rogers and his family sell most of their strawberries and blueberries to people who come to their farm and to employees at various locations in Winston-Salem.

Other farmers and gardeners should take steps to protect their crops and their vegetables that they have planted, said Derek Morris, a horticulture technician for the Forsyth County Cooperative Extension Service.

People should cover their gardens and crops with paper or cloth such as burlap, Morris said. They avoid using plastic to cover their plants because it can conduct the cold onto the plants.

Perennials and tender annuals also should be covered, he said.

"It's not that odd for us to get a freeze this time of year," Morris said.

Gardeners and farmers also should protect vegetables and fruit trees that grow apples, peaches, pears, cherries and plums, he said. They can use cardboard, sheets and light blankets to cover the plants.

"If people don't cover those up, you could lose the fruit," Morris said.

People also can follow the Rogers family's plan and water their plants about an hour before sunrise Wednesday, Morris said. They should water their plants for about 15 minutes.

"After tonight we should be OK, hopefully," he said.

John Hinton can be reached at 727-7299 or at jhinton@wsjournal.com.