The past two weeks have been challenging managing a strawberry crop that is at least two weeks earlier with blooms than they ever have been! We have covered the fields with fabric frost blankets; which work well to warm the air and soil beneath the blankets when outdoor temps get down to about 25-degrees. Open a strawberry blooms cannot survive frost or freezing temperatures, see pics of blooms with brown centers. Despite some mornings in the low 20s, we did see viable strawberry blooms (yellow centers) when we uncovered the fields, along with cold damaged blooms. Each field had a different degree of damage; ranging from 20-60% loss of open blooms. I am telling you all this to let you know that we will still have strawberries in mid-late April and all of May 
; just not as much to start with. We are trying our best to feed, nurture, and protect the plants til then in our “2nd or 3rd winter”! 
; just not as much to start with. We are trying our best to feed, nurture, and protect the plants til then in our “2nd or 3rd winter”! Blueberry Update:
Our early varieties in our blueberry crop got hit hard with cold damage the past two weeks. We had some open and emerged blooms that got too cold. However, our later producing varieties only had tight or emerging buds and survived.
Pray for all fruit growers this time of year! We put our whole energy into our work; to provide wholesome food for our communities. It hurts us down deep when the weather doesn’t cooperate. 