S. Florida Farmers Preparing For Chill
MIAMI (CBSMiami) – A chilly weekend about across South Florida is about to get a little colder come Monday morning.
Temperatures could be in upper 30s inland and lower 40s near the coast.
When it comes to growing fruits and vegetables, the weather is king.
"It's definitely a break, its good for the plants, it's good for production," said Shawn Housh from Curbside Market and Milkshakes in Homestead.
"We have tomatoes, onions, cabbage, and red cabbage. We have broccoli, squash, zucchini, collard and mustard greens we have a field full of beautiful strawberries," said Housh. "Just about anything you could find in a grocery store."
Housh and his wife Amy have welcomed the sudden dip in temperature with open arms.
"Actually the cooler weather is better for us, the colder weather sweetens up the strawberries and makes them taste a lot better," said Housh. "The hot weather does tend to make them a little more bland tasting and also leaves them more susceptible to bugs."
Housh said that as long as it does not freeze, his crops should be in good shape.
However, less than a mile away on the Alger farm, John Alger took a more cautious approach with his growing snap beans.
"When the forecast got a little dicey we started watering our fields weighing them down so we could seal up the soil," said Alger.
Sealing the soil helps keep the ground warm and could ultimately mean the difference between a healthy crop and unhealthy one, according to Alger.
"Beans and sweet corn and squash are very, very succulent and susceptible to cold damage," said Alger. "When the weather has been as good as its been this last winter there is a lot of production so in order to make a market, sometimes you need to trim off a little bit of the crop, you just hope you are not the trim."
South Florida 's chill won't be around for too long.
Monday we'll warm up just a little. Expect lots of sun and high temperatures in the upper 60s and low 70s.
On Tuesday the warm up begins as high pressure moves off to the East. High temperatures Tuesday and Wednesday will be in the mid to upper 70s.
On Wednesday night another cold front is forecast to drop the temperatures a bit. Lows will be in the lower 50s with a high of about 70F forecast for Thursday afternoon.
Friday expect highs in the mid 70s and lows at night in upper 40s to lower 50s.
