Local farmer concerned for peach blossoms with changing weather conditions

WEXFORD, Pa. — It’s warm, cold, then warm again. And one local farmer is concerned that the peach blossoms could be vulnerable to a late frost.

“So that’s green and you can tell that one is still viable. That one is still good,” said Adam Voll, Farm Manager of Soergel Orchards.

It may be spring on the calendar, but the recent cold nights are concerning for farmer Adam Voll.

He checks peach blossoms to make sure they’re still thriving at Soergel Orchards.

“We are shaping these trees into what we want we can maximize the yield and the quality,” said Voll.

Even though these young trees take up about an acre worth of farmland in Wexford, Voll says up and down temperatures are not good for the blossoms.

“The big thing about apples, peaches, cherries, you basically have one shot at the beginning of the year and if those all get frozen off and those blossoms die, you don’t have anything for that whole year, until the following year,” said Voll.

Voll says last year’s peach crop wasn’t good across the country.

And consumers felt it with higher prices in the supermarket.

“Last year our own peaches were very limited,” said Voll.

As for your home garden, certain flowers can withstand the cold.

“So the best flower with frost on the horizon are actually pansies, they are a lot more tolerant to cooler temperatures,” said Soergel.

Cameron Soergel several vegetables can handle chilly weather too.

“So like cauliflower, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, those are all cold hardy crops related to the cabbage family,” said Soergel.

He says you can protect your vulnerable plants with cloth or burlap, not plastic.

“Use a cloth to protect them, you don’t want to use plastic because water can freeze through plastic,” said Soergel

He says May 15 is normally the last chance for a late frost, they’re hopeful these blooms survive beyond that date.

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