Bellamy Grove farmer says ‘so far, so good’ with cold temperatures

INVERNESS, Fla. — It was a chilly Thursday night and early Friday morning for many across the Tampa Bay area.

For those in areas like Citrus County, one farmer says he had to battle frost to protect his precious crops.

“Families come out, just like you see, and they have a great time,” said Chuck Bellamy, farmer and owner of Bellamy Grove. “And the kids really like it.”

Tucked away on the outskirts of Inverness is a family farm that has been around for decades.

“What I have available is cabbage and the big, sweet onions, the Vidalia-type,” Bellamy says. “I have the U-Pick strawberries, I have Hamlin oranges and honey bells available right now, but those are going to be over in about a week or two.”

For thirty years, Bellamy has been carrying on the family business by selling roadside vegetables and operating the U-Pick strawberry farm.

“From this stage to red berry is approximately 20 days,” Bellamy says. “You can also see on the same plant many different stages of growth.”

There may be no produce he has sweeter than the strawberry. Bellamy says a few extra precautions had to be made Thursday night into Friday morning with a freeze watch threatening his crops.

“Turned on the water at 3 o’clock this morning, and it was 33 (degrees),” Bellamy says. “We wound up with a low of 27 (degrees), and so far, so good.”

Bellamy says they have about an acre of strawberries at his U-Pick farm. It takes an hour to 90 minutes to get the tiny fruit covered under protective tarps.

“This frost cloth is supposed to take it down to about 28 degrees or so in order to protect them,” Bellamy says.

It’s a lot of work but certainly worth the time because visitors showed up Friday to pick their share of strawberries.

“New people show up and, like I said, some regular people showed up this afternoon and this morning already,” Bellamy says. “This is how I make my living. So when I’m open, this is how I make my living.”