Fun fact, AGRICULTURE of Florida citrus began in the 1500’s when Spanish explorers planted the first orange trees in St. Augustine and today Florida oranges produce about 3/4 of the United States orange juice.
Below freezing overnight temperatures hit central Florida this past week. Growers protected their crops by turning on water sprinkler systems which creates a layer of ice protecting the trees and fruit from damage. I stopped by an orange grove to see how effective this icing practice was.
The grove was staggered planted with early season, mid season and late season varieties of oranges. So there were trees with fruit that was ready to pick, fruit blossoms, fruit just set and the blossoms were fading and fruit that had begun to mature and it was still green.
Here are a few examples of what I saw in the grove.
The skin of juice oranges aren’t eye appealing like the oranges we buy at the market.
The new blossoms on this tree appear not to be affected by the cold temperatures.
Newly formed fruit approximately 4 – 6 mm with with fading blossoms look unaffected by the cold.
A cluster of maturing green oranges ranging in sizes between chestnuts and golf balls also seem to be unscathed however, the leaves surrounding the fruit shows evidence of weather stress.
From the walk I took through the grove it appears to these untrained eyes that the practice of icing to protect from frost works well.
BTW another fun fact, cold temperatures sweeten the juice but prolonged periods of time with freezing temperatures can ruin a crop.
Do You See What I See…
© PC PHOTO 2012 All rights reserved
Sorry there aren’t any photo’s with the ice on the trees, I’d have to get up too early.
Very interesting report and accompanied by informative and well taken shots…great job
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Why thank you Steve!
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I love that you took this theme to the next level by telling a photo story. I’m from New York and have never even seen an orange tree (or even a farm for that matter). Orange blossoms are beautiful!!
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Glad you enjoyed and happy to share my oranges with you!
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So bright a citrus series, love this so much.
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Thanks Tony – glad you enjoyed!
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Love the photos and the story behind them.
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Thanks John & Lois! It was a fun time.
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Very cool. Love all of the interesting info in your post. I’m glad the fruit and flowers made it through OK.
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Glad you enjoyed Rhonda! It was fun to explore and share this info!
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I never knew how they kept the plants warm in freezing temps…interesting facts and even better pics! I must like it to be cold a bit….I LOVE the sweet oranges! 🙂
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I really like the sweet ones too! Have you ever tasted Page oranges? They are early, small and very sweet!
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Very interesting….I like how you followed the progression of the fruit from those tiny beginnings on the flower.
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Thank you! Guess the timing of my stop at the orange grove was perfect because I have never seen the tiny fruit like the ones I shared here. Glad you enjoyed.
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for us it is the Murrembidgee Irrigation area but there problems differ. Last years floods have resulted in the best growing season on record and the markets for the best eating oranges in the world are drying up due to the economic problems so thousands of tons are left on the tree as it costs too much money to harvest something that no-one will buy. Elsewhere in the world people are starving to death – Madness.
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The joy of agriculture. We are at the mercy of nature.
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Great success story told through your photos, your blogs always contain interesting info for those of us less travelled.
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Thanks Jacki! I would love to explore your part of the world and so appreciate your views!
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Great colorful shots! I love the selective coloring!
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The selective color is one of my new favorite edit processes – glad you enjoyed!
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Good to see them blossoming despite the cold weather. Great shots.
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Yes, and we are experiencing another cold snap and it looks as the blooms will be spared again.
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I love the explanations and the pictures. Learning things along the way is great. 🙂
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Thanks for stopping by Charlotte! The learning part is the fun part, don’t you think!
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Hi!
Great photo story. I knew they used frozen water on fruit ready to pick, but I didn’t know they used it on the whole process, blooms and baby fruit. Have a great day!
Sherrie
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Thanks Sherrie! Thanks for stopping by!
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Interesting story and great photos to go with it.
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Thanks! Glad you took time to stop by!
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Thanks so much glad you enjoyed!
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Love the top image. Selective coloring is very effective here, making the background seem very cold indeed and setting off the fruit.
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Thanks Bobbie! I had the same thoughts about separating the background to appear cold – glad that translated in the process.
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Fascinating .. I read about this practice and for several years I’ve sprayed the blossoms on the wisteria when a late frost is forecast.
I must say, I really don’t see how this works. I was told it’s because the slight rise in temperature as the water spray evaporates keeps the frost from biting, but it doesn’t sound plausible to me, nor can I see how a layer of ice would be any better for the plants than frost … however, as you say, it DOES seem to work, and in the years I’ve sprayed, we haven’t lost any blossom. If a frost has not been forecast and I haven’t sprayed, the whole lot will drop over the next day or so and we have no flowers.
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I know it is a wonder the difference between a frost and deliberate freezing. Nice to see you again!
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Excellent story and great pictures! Thank you for sharing.
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Awwww, thanks Steve!
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Orange blossoms are so fragrant! Nice shots!
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One of my favorite scents! Thanks for your comment and for stopping by!
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Great story which I enjoyed along with your illustrative photos. We always spray our garden flowers with water if a freeze is threatened…seems to help stave off the inevitable. Much more important effect when your livelihood depends on it. Was just hearing in the news about the contaminated imported orange juice that is somehow making its way into our supply. Why????When we have plenty, I’m sure, that is produced in the US that meets the standards for not using the banned fungicides. Some of these trade agreements are for the birds!!
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Yes, your heart has to go out to growers when seasons are harsh!
The suspected tainted oranges were from Brazil – guess this is where the other one quarter of oj comes from. Thankfully reports are now saying there was no threat from Brazilian oranges.
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Fun to learn something new, and got some gorgeous pictures, in particular the first one with the oranges. There is just some great graphical quality to it, the shades around the oranges and the contrast between the warm orange colours and the cool winter background.
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Thanks for stopping in and taking time to comment. I so appreciate your input and happy to learn that what I was attempting to portray came through in the images!
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Nice photos, and I especially like the presentation of the first photo.
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Thanks Kim and thanks for stopping in!
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Fascinating information. Your pictures are beautiful.
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Hi Teresa! Glad you stopped by. Thanks!!!
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Love the closeup of the single blossom.
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Thanks Lorri!
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Loved your series of photos from the blossom to the ripe fruit.
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This was one of those unexpected days that produced a lot of fun for me too!
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great story and some fabulous images.
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Thank you Cathy, so happy you stopped by and enjoyed the post!
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Wow, I would have thought those were lemons, not oranges! I love the processing, and thanks for the interesting OJ trivia! 🙂
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Great post and pictures! We live in FL and fresh-squeezed orange juice is a staple in our daily breakfast!
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Can’t get juice any fresher than here! Thanks for stopping by and your kind words.
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