Growers relieved blueberries survive cold scare

APPLING COUNTY, Ga. (WTOC) - Despite some freezing temperatures over the weekend, folks in the blueberry business say they might have been spared from at least some of the damage they feared just a week ago.

Winds still blew across acres of blueberries in Appling County. Mild winter weather has berry bushes budding weeks ahead of schedule instead of staying dormant.

Freezing temperatures, teamed with heavy winds, could have wiped out much of South Georgia’s crop. But Appling County Extension agent Shane Curry says timing may have been everything.

“It didn’t get as cold Friday night as expected. On Saturday, when we had the coldest temperatures, the winds did lay down. So, guys who have freeze protection were able to run it,” said Shane Curry, with UGA Extension Service.

He says bushes that hadn’t bloomed early might have held up better in the cold. He says they’ve suffered some losses, but nobody knows how much quite yet.

They’ll have a better idea of what survived and what didn’t later this month.

Curry says that they won’t know the full extent of the damage for a little while, however they are remaining optimistic.

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