Florida strawberry farmers combat freezing temperatures (below 32°F) by spraying fields with water, forming an insulating ice layer that keeps plants at a constant 32°F, preventing deeper, fatal freezes. This “strawberry igloo” method is essential for protecting crops during cold snaps, often saving the harvest but causing temporary supply dips and requiring intensive, all-night monitoring by crews.
Key Aspects of Florida Strawberry Freezes:
- Protection Method: Constant overhead irrigation creates a “warm” ice blanket. As long as water keeps freezing, it releases heat and keeps the plant from dropping into the 20s.
- Impact on Berries: Cold weather often produces sweeter, more concentrated berries because it slows down the ripening process, according to Instagram users.
- Production Risks: Prolonged freezes, especially near Valentine’s Day, can slow down production, reduce yield, and destroy early buds.
- Critical Temperatures: Flowers are damaged below 30∘F30 raised to the composed with power cap F 30∘𝐹, while young green fruit can handle 30°F but suffer damage at 28°F, says the Strawberry Center.
- Labor Intensive: Farmers work around the clock to manage pumps and check for damage
Winters in Plant City, Florida, can be a scary time of year. When the temperature drops below freezing, the strawberries in this self-proclaimed “winter strawberry capital of the world” get rowdy. Roads begin to buckle, schools are closed, and homes are swallowed up by the earth. The culprit? Sinkholes. Sinkholes caused by the 8,000 acres of strawberry fields surrounding the city.
Under normal circumstances, fields of strawberries are quite harmless. The problems start when near-freezing temperatures threaten the crop and farmers turn on the sprinklers. As the water freezes on the plants, it releases just enough energy to keep the plants themselves from freezing. That’s the risk of growing strawberries in Florida in winter; if the temperature drops too low you could lose your entire crop. Freezing that many strawberries, however, takes a lot of water — a lot more than you might think…