Spring 2011

Working at a nursery, or greenhouse, or grove, or strawberry field, during a freeze is a one-of-a-kind experience. For one thing, you are on-call for 24 hours. Days are spent covering and preparing, and nights are spent monitoring fires, “smudge pots”, sprinklers that cover plants with ice, and fans to circulate the air. All to help protect the plants from the dreaded drop below 32 degrees, and especially below the critical 28 degree mark. That’s when I learned that citrus crops, for instance, that are below 28 degrees for four or more hours can be ruined. Go lower and it kills the trees. I remember the pickers out in the groves during a freeze trying to pick as much fruit as possible and get it to the juice plants…while the fruit was ruined for eating, the juice could be utilized still if the oranges were picked and processed quickly enough. Nowadays, I’m sure so much is monitored by computers, and thermometers are programmed to call cell phones with the alarm if the temperature gets too low. It was mostly human observation in the early ‘80s, which is really not long ago.

I’m going to go out on a limb and say that 1982 was the year that all the land between downtown Orlando and Disney World, about a 25 mile or so stretch, was opened up for development. It used to be that you could drive down I-4 from downtown Orlando to Disney and see nothing but orange groves. This freeze killed them, the land was sold off by the growers (who were afraid to replant or couldn’t), and the sprawl began. Years later, I drove this same stretch and it is solid sprawl from Orlando to Disney and beyond. I know this would have happened anyway, with time, but I do think that bad freeze got things going.

Moving ahead to now, I am reminded lately of that long-ago freeze in Florida because I have been dealing with ice and snow damage here for the second year in a row—and covering so many plants in my garden these last few days because they are so vulnerable to damage due to tender, new growth. It never stops amazing me how quickly Mother Nature can do her thing and cause a lot of damage. We gardeners must always stay vigilant and pay attention to the weather. Gardening and weather are so very intertwined. I think my garden has dodged the damage bullet this time, thank goodness. I’m hoping that this letter finds us all finally enjoying moderating spring temperatures. I’m ready to get out and spend hours in the garden, without feeling chilly.

Winter Travels >

 

Woodland Cottage • 2268 North Upton Street • Arlington, Virginia 22207 • Phone: 703.525.4540