Warmer winters, no deadly frosts help fruits and vegetables

“The main differences are a slightly warmer winter and a drier spring/summer,” said Phillip Carnley, Clemson Extension commercial horticulture agent for Orangeburg and Calhoun counties. “This warmer winter prevented peach production from suffering from a damaging late frost. With the lack of frost there was an increase in production.”

It was the first time in at least three years that peaches, blueberries and strawberries didn't suffer from winter thaws and spring frosts.

Vegetables also benefited from the drier, sunnier weather, particularly cucurbits.

“With fewer cloudy days, growing conditions were better and provided a more uniform crop at harvest,” Carnley said.

Where there is good news, there is usually less good news close on its heels.

In this case, Mother Nature was a double-edged sword.

“I believe the biggest issue fruit and vegetable growers have faced this year has been the unpredictability of the weather,” Carnley said. “There have been periods of extreme drought followed by several inches of rain. These conditions made the cultivation of certain crops such as sweet potatoes quite problematic.”

Madison Turnblad of Edisto Blueberries, based in St. Matthews, grew about 3 acres of blueberries at the U-Pick operation at 192 Longview Road on U.S. 176.

“Great harvest this season with no late frosts,” Turnblad said. “This is the first year in recent memory that I haven’t had to protect the plants from frost.”

Turnblad found that while the harvest was good, the market was not so good.

“The wholesale market has been weak this year, due in part to a bountiful harvest across the Southeast, but primarily to an increase in foreign imports,” Turnblad said. “The increase in imports has really limited the domestic market share. Local retail and yard sales have been stable.”

Anna Hill, Bamberg County Clemson Extension horticulture agent, said Tropical Storm Debbie caused a lot of flooding in areas of Bamberg, but that happened after summer crops had been harvested and most fall crops had been planted.

“The fall melon harvest had just ended when Hurricane Helene came through,” Hill said. “Pecan yields will be reduced this year due to the hurricane. The drought did not have much impact on fruits and vegetables grown under drip irrigation, but dry fruits were affected.”

Hill said another issue facing fruit and vegetable growers in 2024 is H-2A (temporary) labor.

Hill said the program could be a useful source of labor for large farms, but the costs involved make it unsustainable for smaller farms.

“Small farms are struggling to find good, reliable local help,” Hill said.

Farmer Scotty Sandifer from the Bamberg district grew drip-irrigated watermelons on around 400 areas.

“We had a good watermelon crop and good prices,” Sandifer said, noting that the dry weather benefited the watermelons. “We didn’t have too much disease pressure from wet fields. We didn’t have any outbreaks of the normal diseases and there wasn’t too much insect pressure.”

The hot, dry weather also resulted in a sweeter crop and plenty of the crop came to market.

Sandifer said it was successful in bringing the crop to market. “We were able to move everything.”

According to the Farm Service Agency, 1,319.57 hectares of watermelons were grown in Bamberg County in 2024.

Hill said there were challenges growing the crop as windy conditions early in the season caused the fruit to be sandblasted in some fields, making it unmarketable when harvested.

“Other challenges early in the season included Fusarium wilt and Pythium dieback,” Hill said. “Several breeders have planted grafted plants that are resistant to Fusarium.”

Later in the year, farmers struggled with gummy bear blight, downy mildew and powdery mildew.

“Some fields have experienced fruit damage due to the barkworm complex,” Hill said. “Despite these problems, it was a year of high production for vegetables and fruits in general.”

No watermelons were grown commercially this year in Orangeburg and Calhoun counties.

No melons were grown commercially this year in Orangeburg and Calhoun counties.

There was a slight increase in the area under sweet potato cultivation in the Bamberg district.

About 6 acres of the crop was grown this year in Orangeburg and Calhoun counties.

Local strawberry farmers also faced a new challenge.

“This year, strawberry farmers faced a shortage of strawberry transplants due to a disease outbreak in nursery production,” Carnley said. “This shortage has resulted in farmers using varieties they didn’t previously have, so there will be a learning curve with these new varieties.”

Carnley said he would recommend a preventative fungicide treatment before planting as a precaution.

“As with most other crops, certain varieties are better suited to our climate than others, the main variety being Camarosa,” Carnley said.

About four hectares of blueberries were planted in both counties.

“The spring crop was slightly better than average,” Carnley said, noting that the lack of a killing frost in late 2023 and early 2024 benefited the crop.

“Subject to a late frost event and proper crop pruning, the spring 2025 crop should be about the same,” Carnley said.

One challenge for blueberry farmers has been prices.

“The price bottomed out in wholesale markets due to the influx of berries from other countries, but local markets appeared to remain stable and strong,” Carnley said.

That year, Turnblad stopped growing strawberries and devoted more time to growing his lawn business. The company he founded last year has grown from 100 to 400 hectares.

He grows the crop in Cordova, Cope and Salley with his father-in-law, Monty Rast. The company is called Local Sod. Turnblad also grows peanuts, cotton and corn with Rast.

About 5 hectares of blackberries were grown.

“This was the first season of production for these berries, but overall the crop looked great,” Carnley said. “Dry conditions benefited them by extending the picking time. These drier conditions also improved the quality and firmness of the fruit as they allowed the grower to control irrigation and keep the fruit drier, thereby preventing fruit rot.”

About 300 acres of asparagus were grown in Orangeburg and Calhoun counties, and the harvest was average.

About 3,000 acres of cucumbers were grown in Orangeburg and Calhoun counties.

“The overall crop was better this year than last,” Carnley said. “Fruit size and vine health increased and fungal infections were reduced due to more hours of sunshine and drier conditions.”

In 2024, about 1,400 acres of green space were cultivated in Orangeburg and Calhoun counties.

“Overall the harvest was good,” Carnley said. “Recent cooler conditions have benefited foliage production.”

Due to the hot and dry conditions in the spring and summer, the crop struggled somewhat. This was accompanied by insect pressure, which affected yields.

Robert Norris, owner of St. Julien Plantation in Eutawville, said after three straight years of difficult harvests, 2024 is a “home run” year.

“Everything was marketable and the amount of fruit was really good,” Norris said. “It was a much more productive year.”

Norris has about 700 peach trees, from semi-free stone to free stone. The types of peaches provide information about how much of the fruit remains in the peach stone.

Carnley said Norris' story is the same as other peach farmers in the state.

“Because there was no killing frost early in the season, there was a dramatic increase in sellable fruit,” Carnley said. “We still had some cold damage/injuries, but not a total loss like last year.”

“A few colder nights during peach development saw an increase in the number of peaches with split pits and a few outbreaks of brown rot, but nothing too serious,” Carnley said.