So far, so good for strawberries

PLANT CITY - So far, so good: the strawberries weathered the first night of really cold temperatures.

But it was a late night for farmers. Carl Grooms, from Fancy Farms in Plant City, watched as Mother Nature played havoc with his livelihood.

"Last night it was just a vigil of watching the thermometers and the watching the clouds, watching the wind, to make a decision on when we were going to crank the water up," Grooms said.

By 2 a.m., the thermometer hit between 30-32 degrees. Grooms made the decision to turn the sprinklers on. It created an icy blanket to hold the heat in.

The cooler weather is actually good for one crop, as long as it doesn't get too cold. Ellis Hunt Jr, of Hunt Brothers Inc believes the cold we're seeing is good for their citrus. His company sells whole citrus, but also makes Florida's Natural juice.

"It'll help color the fruit up, we still have a little pale green, so we need a brighter color. This week will help color up. This week helps sweeten the fruit, helps ripen up," he said.

Citrus is not impacted until we reach 28 degrees or lower for four hours or longer. Hunt says in agriculturem you have to be optimistic.

Mark Kerby is trying to be optimistic too. His family has owned Kerby's Nursery in Seffner for 30 years. They are working to keep their tropical plants out of the cold.

"We'll check our heaters once before we go home. Make sure they cut on and that's it we'll keep the sides closed and the heaters on and that's it. We haven't had a problem," he said.

They are all hoping that continues throughout the week.