South Florida farmers prepare for weekend's cold snap
MIAMI - Austin Accursio geared up for the predicted cold weather coming to South Florida, "during this wind this is our only form of irrigation that is effective for sealing up the land" told CBS4 Ivan Taylor, reiterating that sealing the land is critical to his vegetable crop.
He grows squash, zucchini, and beans in his property, just a mile off the Everglades.
According to Accursio, water on dry hot soil protects the crop.
"It retains the moisture to not allow the cold air that's coming to penetrate the soil," he said.
Vegetable farmers do not start irrigating their crops the day of the cold weather, or hours before as we have seen in homestead nurseries.
"We started a week ago" reiterated Accursio, whose family have been farming for 75 years in South Florida.
A few miles northeast, in Homestead, John Alger's strategy is similar.
"I grow snap beans and sweet corn."
He has been in the business for over 40 years.
His main concern: beat the clock.
"As long as we get it wet before the freeze, we have a better chance of surviving," he said.
According to Alger, if the cold weather wreaks havoc, the price of vegetables in South Florida could be higher.
"It's all about demand and supply," he said.