Farmers work to save summer crops after freezing temperatures

The time to pick berries in the Capital Region is just weeks away.

Wednesday night’s freeze put farmers on high alert and meant a night of no sleep for many as they diligently worked to save as much of the fragile blooms as possible.

Farmers across the Capital Region sent NewsChannel 13 photos of their efforts to save the crops.

Photos from The Berry Patch in Stephentown show how growers used irrigation to cover the crops in frost. It keeps them from getting any colder than freezing, but the overnight process means there’s no time for sleep.

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Kevin Bowman and his wife spent Wednesday evening covering the strawberries at Bowman Orchards in Rexford.

Bowman showed NewsChannel 13 how to tell which crops made it — by looking at the color of the flowers.

He said the cold hit at a difficult time, just when the strawberry plants are blooming.

“When any of the plants, whether it be apple, any of the fruits are in bloom, that’s when they’re most susceptible to a freezing event. Strawberries right now are in full bloom, so it was a little anxious last night,” he said.

Bowman was able to save most of the strawberries and said they will be ready to pick in just two weeks.