The National Weather Service is warning farmers about a frost advisory early Friday morning for northwestern Massachusetts, southern Vermont and southwestern New Hampshire.
Temperatures could drop to the low-to-mid 30s, and the weather service says “sensitive vegetation” could be damaged.
Sharon Wyrrick farms in Clarksburg, Massachusetts, on a little over a half acre – selling at a farmers market and to local restaurants. She’s going to cover her tomatoes, eggplants, peppers and winter squash.
“And I’m going to put a little heat in my greenhouse, even, just up to maybe 40 degrees so that everytjing stays happy in there,” Wyrick says. “But that’s about it. That’s about all we can do. Fall is here.”
In Deerfield, Ben Clark isn’t too worried about the impact on his fruit orchard. It’ll cause some fruit to fall, he says. But actually, “Certain varieties like McIntosh like cold nights because it helps them color up,” Clark says.
The National Weather Service office says this is not all that unusual a time of year for the state to start seeing patchy frosts like this.