Local Growers Hope Springtime Hasn't Sprung Too Soon In ' 90
BY RAHN ADAMS
Evidence that an "early spring" is
bursting out all over Brunswick
County is plain to sec.
Though spring doesn't officially
begin untii late March, flowers al
ready are blooming, fruit trees arc
blossoming, strawberries arc getting
ready to bear fruit and local farmers
are working from sunup to sundown
preparing their fields and groves for
what could be a long growing sea
son.
The fear, however, is that Old
Man Winter is lurking around the
corner, wailing for a chance to liter
ally nip local crops in the bud.
"Probably the biggest thing is
what the weather will do over the
next six weeks," Brunswick County
Agricultural Extension Agent Billy
Barrow said last Thursday. "We
normally get a warm spell in Janu
ary, but it usually only lasts a couple
of weeks."
After record cold temperatures in
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has experienced unseasonably warm
weather since mid-January, with av
erage temperatures ranging from six
degrees to 10 degrees above the
long-term seasonal average, accord
ing to weather data supplied by
Shallotte Point meteorologist Jack
son Canady.
For the six-week period nf Jan 7
through Feb. 12, the average daily
temperature in the Shallotte area
was 52 degrees, which was five de
grees to six degrees above normal.
Temperature extremes ranged from
a low of 24 degrees on Jan. 2 to a
high of 74 degrees on Feb. 7.
Canadv said Frirlav that Ions
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range weather forecasts indicate
that warmcr-than-normal weather
will continue through April. How
ever, he cautioncd that a "good out
break of very cold air" with the pos
sibility of frozen precipitation could
occur within the next four weeks to
six weeks.
"1 would not want to run out and
be too hasty and say spring is here
just yet," Canady warned. He noted
that our recent warm weather has
been caused by a westerly wind pat
tern in the Northern Hemisphere's
jet stream, an upper-level wind cur
rent that either brings our region ei
ther warm air from the Pacific or
cold air from the Arctic.
"Until that (westerly wind) pat
tern breaks," he said, "then you
won't see any really cold winter
weather." He added that conditions
in our region also will remain rela
tively dry, as long as the jet stream
doesn't take a more wave-like,
north-to-south route across the con
tinent.
The warm, dry weather over the
past few weeks has been a boon to
local farmers, according to Barrow.
"It's giving them a chance to gel
their fields worked on in advance,"
he said, noting that tobacco grow
ers, in particular, need mild condi
tions to prepare tobacco beds. Also,
the county's wheat crop ? whose
germination process was delayed by
frigid Dcccrnbei iciupcraiuics ? has
had time to get re-established.
Grissettown area farmer Kelly
Holden said he spent most of last
week in his fields, where he even
noticed that bluebirds already were
beginning to nest in birdhouses on
the farm. "It has given us a lot more
time to work the fields and get
ready for spring," Holder, said, later
adding, "If we don't get any cold
weather, I'll be selling strawberries
in about three weeks."
But the problem with an early
spring is that fanners ? like Holden
and Hickman's Crossroads area
fruit grower Sam Bellamy ? must
get an equally early start in setting
up their irrigation systems to be
ready to protect their fniit crops
against frost Bellamy's nectarine,
plum and peach trees were already
in bloom last week.
Both Holden and Bellamy indi
cated that this spring seems to be
patterning itself after last spring,
when unseasonably warm weather
in January and February was fol
lowed by scattered frosts in March.
When temperatures dip into the 20s,
the fanners "frost-coat" their crops
by spraying them with water and in
sulating the plants with thin coats of
ice.
"Ice never gets colder than 32 de
grees; the air does," Holden ex
plained. However, he also noted that
last year's extremely early spring
resulted in one of his shortest straw
berry seasons in recent years, be
cause the March frosts disrupted the
berries' growing cycle even without
doing major damage to the plants.
While farmers know how to han
die different growing conditions.
Barrow pointed out that home own
ers, in particular, shouldn't be fool
ed into starting their spring chores
early. "The big thing for home own
ers is not to encourage it to go any
faster than it's going now," Barrow
said.
The agricultural agent advised
that lawns shouldn't be fertilized
any sooner than normal and that
trees shouldn't be pruned any earli
er than necessary, since fertilizing
and pruning stimulate plants and
trees to grow.
Local farmers aren't particularly
worried about the early spring, even
though frigid weather within the
next few weeks could spell disaster
for some crops. "I'm not really that
concerned about it," Holdcn said.
"It's just another chance you take
fanning."
Bellamy's father, Kendall Bell
amy, perhaps stated the sifjatior.
best: "I don't know that there's such
a thing as a perfect spring."
Local 'Winter' Temperatures
Week
Avg. Avg. Avg. Above/Below
Hi Lo Temp Normal
1st Week Jan.
1988
1989
1990
2nd Week Jan. 1988
1989
1990
3rd Week Jan. 1988
1989
1990
36
59
61
52
62
59
56
59
67
28
39
41
28
45
34
41
36
43
32
49
51
40
54
46
48
48
55
14 below norm
3 above norm
5 above norm
6 below norm
9 above norm
near norm
2 above norm
3 above norm
10 above norm
1989
1990
j /
70
64
Jl
40
40
44
55
52
2 below norm
10 above norm
6 above norm
1st Week Feb. 1988 54 39 46
1989 63 45 54
1990 67 46 56
near norm
8 above norm
1 0 ahovp norm
1989
1990
57
61
68
33
32
38
45
46
53
2 below norm
near norm
6 above norm
SOURCE: LOCAL METEOROLOGIST JACKSON CANADY
LOCAL TEMPERATURE READINGS since 1988 show that the
Shallotte area has enjoyed especially balmy weather in January
and early February for the past two years. Except for one week
in January, average temperatures so far this winter have
remained from five degrees to 10 degrees above normal.
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FARMER KELLY HOI JO EN shows a strawberry plant that was
getting ready to bear fruit in his fields near Grissettown last
week.
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b AkMhk KENNY BELLAMY inspects blossoms on plum trees at his family's farrt near Hickman's
Crossroads last week.
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