FREEZING COLD WEATHER CHALLENGES

Though it is going to slowly warm up there are some long-term effects worth consideration:

Prices will continue to stay high until the supply side stabilizes. Prices and availability are the most unstable often in December and January. One thing to remember is that most of the US is pulling produce from the same area that we do at this point in the season.  Demand is great – supply isn’t. 

Price and quality do not track side by side. Often higher prices reflect difficult growing conditions and veg has more cosmetic challenges than we are used to. Most vegetables are comprised mainly of water and water expands when it freezes causing various types of defects. Leafy greens can tolerate the frost up to a point or they can tolerate a few frosts but then damage shows up.   Epidermal peel occurs when the outer layer of the leaf freezes, partially dies and then begins to peel. The leaf will have a translucent look. Tip burn happens when the leaf cells break down from extreme temperature causing the outer edges of the leaves to turn black. Cracking can be seen along the stem or ribs and slight frost damage is noticeable on outside leaves.  Blistering causing the epidermis on the outside leaves to begin to fall apart.

Epidermal Peel on Romaine Lettuce and Tip Burn on Green Leaf Lettuce

Planting, transplanting and germination of seeds can be very hard or delayed when the ground becomes real cold or freezes.  Down the line in about 40-60 days we will start to see the gaps in supply caused by the planting challenges of today.

To see one of the last true examples of a supply and demand economic model, look no further than the fruit and veg industry. There are no price supports, no subsidies and you can charge as little as you want or as much as you want. It either sells or it doesn’t, so to speak.  Organics is a smaller industry, so prices are even more reactive in a time like this. We can expect to see high prices for at least a few more weeks on all cool season wet veg and herbs such as tarragon, chives and basil. Warm weather crops will also be high but because many of these are greenhouse/hothouse grown the supply side has not been affected as much as the field grown crops.