BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KERO) — The National Weather Service extending its freeze warning for the Central Valley through Thursday, meaning the area is now hitting its fourth day of low temperatures. With temperatures this low for this long, oftentimes growers have to be on alert for damage to crops.
The National Weather Service extending its freeze warning for the Central Valley through Thursday, meaning the area is now hitting its fourth day of low temperatures. With temperatures this low for this long, oftentimes growers have to be on alert for damage to crops.
But for local growers, they say fortunately they're prepared to handle the extended freeze.
Jackie Green's grandfather started Johnston Farms more than 75 years ago. Back then he focused on planting potatoes. But now — they grow everything from grapes to cotton to bell peppers and also oranges.
"Sometimes like we could turn on the water and sometimes the water can help kind of insulate against the cold," she said.
Citrus orchards are among the most sensitive fruits to the cold weather. Other fruits in danger include lemons, mandarins, and grapefruit.
"Typically it's something that we would do uh we do what's called citrus freeze cutting. And so it's to verify whether there's been damage to the inside of the cell membrane and the inside of the orange." Ag Commissioner Glenn Fankhauser said. "So as long as those, it's not a very long period of time, it shouldn't be a real big worry."
While this freeze warning has lasted several days, temperatures haven't yet dipped low enough to cause concern. Fankhauser said even if they did, local growers are prepared.
"Most of our citrus growing area is kind of in the foothills and those are protected a little bit from the freezes," he said.
Green said they like many other growers also have insurance through the USDA for their oranges in times of freeze.
"When it does get cold, one of the things that we like to what we use is the wind machines that you can see in the background here," she said. "When it hits 32 degrees, they automatically kick on and it pulls in the warm air and will kind of circulate the warm air across the citrus."
She said in fact they're more concerned about cooler temperatures in March since the insurance doesn't cover their potato crops. However, she said it is rare to see temperatures that low that time of year.
Stay in Touch with Us Anytime, Anywhere:
