NORTHEAST TALLAHASSEE, FL — An exceptional drought dried up lakes, soil and crops across Tallahassee, making it harder for local farmers to grow.
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But recent rains are bringing signs of recovery.
At Sienna Lee Gardens, a local blueberry farm, the drought caused significant concern.
Co-Owner Denise Smith says it was a point of worry earlier in the season.
“This is the first year we had to worry about the drought,” Smith said. “The main worry was that if my blueberry plants are getting enough water, and if they're going to produce as well as they did last year.”
With the rain back, Smith and farmer John Desrosiers say there is not much to recover from besides repairing irrigation systems damaged during the dry stretch.
“We had to fix the irrigation system constantly because the animals didn't have any water, and when the irrigation wasn't running, the drips of water weren't coming out, so they chewed the lines to get the water,” he said.
Molly Jameson with the UF/IFAS Leon County Extension says even more farmers are seeing lingering impacts from the drought.
“We've had so little rain that, you know, a lot of the top of the soil, it gets so dry and like a crust can form on top,” she said.
She says a full recovery would take significantly more rain this summer and into the fall.
"It can take some time to really recharge deep into the soil profile before it becomes real available to the plants that are near the top," Jameson said.
Despite the drought's impact on some operations, Smith says it did not stop them from having a successful first U-pick harvest Saturday.
"We're very grateful for the community to come and support our farm, and we're very grateful and very pleased with the outcome," she said.
To prepare for the future, Desrosiers says they are improving their drainage to handle heavy rains and grafting new drought-resistant blueberry plants to their existing bushes to protect the next harvest.
***This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.***
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