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First frost leaves local farmer with a shorter season

75% of Irvington Spring Farmโ€™s crop was wiped out overnight Monday

LYNCHBURG, Va. โ€“ Irvington Spring Farm in Lynchburg is one of the most vibrant places around, but the chilly weather is posing a challenge.

โ€œWeโ€™ve been growing flowers here for 25 years. My folks started the business, and Iโ€™ve been managing the business for the past three years,โ€ Manager Maggie Moomaw said.

Moomaw is in charge of running the flower business, which includes the farm, as well as wedding and event flowers. During their growing season, you can come and make your own bouquet.

โ€œWe have a self-service system here. Everything is by the honor system,โ€ Moomaw said. โ€œYou can just come pick out flowers from the cooler and then pay us and be on your way.โ€

But Moomaw said the farm looks different than it usually does at this point in the season โ€“ the first frost of the season wiped out nearly 75% of their crops Monday night.

โ€œUp in the upper field area was fine,โ€ Moomaw said. โ€œIt was kind of weird, the frost kind of settles down in here.โ€

The farm typically can extend its season til the end of October, or even early November, but this frost cut the regular season short.

โ€œWe usually have a little bit of time. Especially with the dahlias, they usually get prettier and prettier throughout the fall,โ€ she said. โ€œSo, itโ€™s a real bummer for those that they didnโ€™t get to live out their full life.โ€

Moomaw thinks this early frost is the future of farmers everywhere.

โ€œThis is the future, that weโ€™re never going to know whatโ€™s going to happen,โ€ she said. โ€œAnd itโ€™s probably going to be bigger shifts like that where frost may come earlier but then itโ€™ll be 80 degrees.โ€

One way to keep plants alive in colder conditions is to cover them. Irvington Spring has several high tunnels to protect its remaining crops.

โ€œIt blocks out all the frost, it blocks out all rain, so growing under any kind of protection you get to decide how much water the plants are getting, how warm and cold theyโ€™re getting, kind of,โ€ Moomaw said.

There isnโ€™t always access to protection like this, and grants are often required to obtain them.

โ€œIf you donโ€™t have any protection for growing, youโ€™re pretty much at the whims of nature whenever frost comes,โ€ Moomaw said. โ€œFarmers need more access to grow things under protection so that you have a little more control and youโ€™re not just at the whims of whatโ€™s going on in the environment.โ€

Irvington Spring Farm is shifting its focus to finishing out the season the best it can.

โ€œOne thing that weโ€™re focusing on is how can we be versatile,โ€ Moomaw said. โ€œHaving dried flowers is a great way to extend our season and have another option for people once the frost comes.โ€

You can learn more about Irvington Spring Farm here, and see their location below.


About the Author
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Abbie Coleman officially joined the WSLS 10 News team in January 2023.