The Polly Hale Newsletter June 1997: Steve’s Corner

For most of you, below-freezing temperatures are as natural as winter itself, but for Florida citrus growers, we start worrying when temperature dip below 32 degrees. That’s when damage can occur to the citrus crop, and if it stays below freezing too long, the trees themselves will suffer. This past January we had a close call when temperatures around Florida went down into the 20’s. Fortunately, Indian River citrus grown nearest the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulfstream breezes protects us from the worst of the cold. Sometimes it gets so cold even the Gulfstream isn’t enough to protection, but this past January. It did the job. Cold, but not freezing temperatures in the 40’s and 50’s slow down the tree’s metabolism and that makes the fruit even sweeter. So next winter, look at the weather page in your local newspaper. You will see that Vero Beach temperatures tend to be warmer than cities in the center of the state, Like Orlando for instance. Incidentally, during the long, hot Florida summers, that same breeze keeps us cooler than most of our friends around the state. It’s another reasonHales’ Indian River citrus is the Best in the world.