MCLENNAN COUNTY, Texas (KXXV) — As local farmers prepare their crops for the freezing temperatures, Hunger Relief Farm explains how their plants and produce in the cold, and how the cold affects their bottom line.
- Hunger Relief Farm in Lacy Lakeview prepares for freezing temperatures by using frost cloth to protect crops and focuses on seasonal produce, including carrots, spinach, and kale, which thrive in colder conditions and become sweeter due to natural processes
- Garden Manager Grant Hall highlights the challenges posed by the cold, noting that attendance at the Downtown Waco Farmers Market directly impacts their income, making customer support crucial for their success
- The farm has begun growing spring crops such as tomatoes and peppers in their greenhouse, taking necessary precautions to protect them from the cold temperatures by either providing additional layers of protection or bringing them indoors overnight
To find out more about how farmers tend to their crops when cold temperatures hit Central Texas:
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
“We’ll lose some, and there might be some patches of the beds that get more damage,” said Hunger Relief Farm Garden Manager, Grant Hall.
25 News Reporter Dominique Leh made a visit to Hunger Relief Farm in Lacy Lakeview — ahead of the freeze, Garden Manager Grant Hall prepped the produce to survive cold.
“Another thing we’ll do is put frost cloth — it just acts as a blanket that gives a few extra degrees of production for our crops,” Hall said.
To avoid crops dying, aside from protecting the produce, Hall says the farm grows seasonal crops.
“We grow a diverse array of crops that are specifically selected for cold extremes — so carrots and spinach and Kale do exceptionally well this time of year," he said.
"Then there are other things like chard that can handle the cold but need a little more love."
Those plants actually thrive in the cold — bringing out even more flavors.
"They actually turn their carbohydrates into sugar to act as an antifreeze, and it thus makes them sweeter," Hall said.
"The carrots this time of year are brighter orange than you might get from the supermarket, and they’re also far sweeter."
But the cold affects farmers and gardeners in more ways than one — Hall says they’re only source of income comes from the Downtown Waco Farmers Market, and if it’s too cold, that could mean less people out shopping.
"The biggest ebb and flow is dictated by who comes to the market," Hall said.
"When you rely on one income stream for now, like we do with the farmers market we rely on the customer support."
The Hunger Relief Farm has already begun growing spring produce like tomatoes and peppers in their greenhouse.
Hall says in these cold temperatures, they either have to add a layer of protection for them, or bring them inside overnight.
