THOMAS COUNTY, GA — A recent cold snap is testing whether South Georgia can truly become the next big citrus-growing region in the U.S.
WATCH FULL REPORT BELOW:
Thomas County citrus growers spent a frigid night riding through ice and running water on their trees to protect thousands of plants and their entire season from a 19-degree freeze.
With temperatures dropping over the weekend, Jason Goldman, a citrus grower in Thomas County, said he didn't get to bed until around 1:30 in the morning. He had to turn the water on before temperatures dropped too low. Waiting too long could put his trees in serious danger.
Goldman said the technique works by using groundwater, which comes out at around 60 to 65 degrees, to change the air temperature around the trees.
"So what I'm doing right here, it's 29 degrees. These trees probably wouldn't make it unless I was running a crazy amount of water. So the water comes out of the ground probably around 60, 65 degrees, but even if it was 40 degrees, this would still work. And what's happening is, we are changing the temperature of the air around the trees," Goldman said.
Timing is everything in the process. It's important to know both when to turn the water on and when to turn it off.
"We need to turn the water on before it gets freezing…but if you turn it on a little too late, the hoses will freeze," Goldman said.
Dale Aldridge, who has been growing citrus in Monticello for more than a decade, said knowing when to shut the water off is critical.
"So what you do the next day when the sun comes out, you start watching for that ice to fall off on its own. And when that happens, you can turn the water off. If you turn it off prior to that, you can destroy the whole grove," Aldridge said.
Aldridge and his crew monitored their trees throughout the entire night.
"We'd check them all night long. We never quit riding," Aldridge said.
Despite the expense and exhaustion of freeze protection, Aldridge said the investment is worth it, and he believes the region has a bright future in the industry.
"We think this may be the next citrus growing area in the state, probably will be, could be, and it could be in the country even," Aldridge said.
Growers say part of what makes the area well-suited for citrus is the soil, which holds water better than sandy areas. They have also developed techniques with help from the University of Georgia.
The industry is already expanding. In Thomas County, Goldman is planting more acres and doubling down on citrus, and he says the economic benefits extend well beyond the grove itself.
"Citrus is really good for the local economy too, because just these racks, there's thousands of them out here, and they all came from Monticello. Each tree has four stakes, so there's over 10,000 stakes on just 10 acres. And all those stakes came from Thomas County. They were made here, and that's just frost protection," Goldman said.
Aldridge said this likely won't be the last freeze of the season. He expects another round of freezing temperatures around Easter, which he described as typical for this time of year.
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