DADE CITY, Fla. — It could be tough timing for kumquat fans, weather-wise.
There’s cold weather in the forecast for Tampa Bay, with lows in the mid-30s near downtown Tampa this week, but temperatures will likely dip below freezing in some of the areas to the north.
That’s a big concern for farmers -- particularly those who grow kumquats, a small citrus fruit which just so happens to be the highlight of a festival this weekend in Dade City.
Greg Gude is a kumquat farmer. His Dade City crop is often the big supplier at the annual festival.
“Anything under 29 degrees is when I get really concerned,” Gude said.
Gude could have had his pickers out clearing the trees Monday afternoon, but he’s waiting just one more day. It’s a risky decision, knowing even a couple of degrees colder could be disastrous.
“Yes, we are gambling,” he said. “But we want them on the tree as long as possible, so they are fresh when they get them, so there’s no issues about the freshness, but we also want them to color. And the cool weather is great for color.”
Fans of the bite-sized citrus fruit who are looking forward to the festival hope Gude is right. Some travel to the area just to get a taste of the lesser-known citrus crop.
Kumquats are a small, tart, orangey fruit with a sweet edible skin.
“I don’t know, it’s easy to just pop the whole thing in your mouth,” said Ed Mills, a big Kumquat fan. “Yeah, I like these a lot.”
It was just two years ago that the Kumquat Festival had no fresh kumquats. A cold snap nearly wiped out Gude’s entire crop.
The forecast in mid-January of 2018 called for an overnight low of about 28-29 degrees. That, he says, his plants could’ve tolerated.
But instead, the temperatures dipped into the low 20s, and it wiped out two-third of his kumquat crop.
So this time, Gude Is using every defense he knows to protect his kumquats.
He’s insulating the smaller plants with dirt around the base, fending off frost with nets on some of the bigger trees. And he’s turning on tiny sprinklers that coat the tees with an insulating, thin layer of ice.
“You know, putting an icicle around it, putting an ice sleeve around it -- it’s not going to get below 32 degrees. The tree will tolerate 32 degrees,” Gude said.
Even if the fruit freezes there will be no shortage of Kumquat pie, jellies, Jams -- even kumquat beer.
“But, it would be better with what we come to eat,” said Phil Hollinger, who plans to attend the festival. “The original kumquats.”
That’s why Gude hopes his gamble to wait-out the winter blast is the right call.
“There will be fruit,” he said, slapping his hands together. “We pray.”
This year‘s Kumquat Festival takes place this Saturday in downtown Dade City. It runs from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
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