BURLINGTON, Vt. (WCAX) – Freezing temperatures in some areas this weekend could add stress to an already challenging farming and gardening season.
Due to the cold and wet spring, many farmers planted their crops later than normal. The combination of drought and frost can pose difficulties for crops that need some extra time to ripen.
Experts say broccoli, spinach, kale, and similar plants should be fine in the cold, but pumpkins, squash, eggplants, and other tender plants could have trouble unless they are covered up.
“To get landscape fabric that you can put over your crops — something that is thick enough to protect it from the frost but that’ll still let sunlight and water through,” said Izzy Wright with Common Roots in South Burlington.
“It’s been a challenging year overall, and those farms that need the extra time to get crops ripened and mature, you know, if they have a way to protect the crop,” said University of Vermont’s Heather Darby.
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