The abrupt swing from hot weather to cold across the Northeast didn't just have people scrambling for discarded jackets, it also is affecting some farmers.
BRIDPORT, Vt. — An abrupt swing from hot weather to cold across the Northeast is frustrating some flower and fruit farmers who have had to either harvest blooms extra early or fear they could lose some crops altogether.
Frosty nights aren’t unusual this time of year. Across the region, the average date of the last frost ranges from mid-April to early June, according to the Northeast Regional Climate Center at Cornell University. But the first half of AprilBoston saw temperatures climb into the high 70s last week, with cities including New York, Philadelphia and Washington, D.C. reaching temperatures in the 90s , according to the National Weather Service. By the weekend, temperatures across the region dropped into the 50s , with some areas in New England seeing snow showers. And the cold continued into this week: The National Weather Service issued a freeze warning for Monday night and Tuesday morning for parts of Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Maryland and North Carolina. In Ohio, the warm weather pushed peach and apple trees to start budding early at Apple Hill Orchards, which includes about 80 acres in Mansfield and 110 acres in Fredericktown. But the temperature then dropped into the low 20s , ruining one variety of peach, said owner Anne Joudrey. “Farming is farming, and you never know what you’re gonna get, but we had a pretty good bloom, so we were expecting a pretty good crop,” she said Monday. The apples were doing OK, she said, and it helps that the trees are planted on high ground so cold air drains away.In Vermont, the temperature swing affected operations at Understory Farm in Bridport, which grows cut flowers. Tulips that were supposed to be ready for Mother’s Day in mid-May have already bloomed in the farm’s greenhouses, said owner Gregory Witscher. “That just means that we have to harvest them all at the same time,” he said. “We have to harvest them and store them with the bulbs on in crates in a walk-in cooler for longer.” Witscher grows about 50 varieties of flowers for wholesale markets. Weather fluctuations require flexibility, he said, and it’s become more common for small vegetable and flower farms to have row covers or heaters to protect plants from cold or shade cloth for extreme heat. “With the hot weather and then the cold weather, I think it’s intense, and it makes things challenging,” he said. “The longer I do this, the more I want to have as many options as possible and have a lot of tools and resources available to be extremely nimble.”Rocky River High School baseball team coaches resign after incident with fraternity members in Myrtle Beach, SCFather kills 7 of his children plus another child in shooting after domestic dispute, police saySummit County sobriety checkpoints to be conducted Friday nightStudent dies after shooting herself in cafeteria of Valley Forge High School
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Northeast flower and fruit farmers grapple with whiplash weatherThe abrupt swing from hot weather to cold across the Northeast didn't just have people scrambling for discarded jackets, it also is affecting some farmers.
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Northeast flower and fruit farmers grapple with whiplash weatherThe abrupt swing from hot weather to cold across the Northeast didn't just have people scrambling for discarded jackets, it also is affecting some farmers.
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Northeast flower and fruit farmers grapple with whiplash weatherThe abrupt swing from hot weather to cold across the Northeast didn't just have people scrambling for discarded jackets, it also is affecting some farmers.
Read more »
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