Lincoln growers rush harvest amid freeze warning

LINCOLN, Neb. (KLKN) — With the potential for a freeze this weekend, local growers have had to get creative to keep their vegetation alive and thriving. 

“It will kill everything that we haven’t harvest,” said Ethan Vanneman with Shadow Brook Farm. 

Peppers and lettuce are just some of the vegetation in the farm’s fields just southwest of Lincoln. Those veggies, along with many others, don’t handle frost. 

That is why the farm was asking for volunteers to help save as much of its produce as possible.

“We need to pick everything, cut everything or cover them with tarps to help prevent the frost from killing them,” Vanneman said. “Luckily this is just a very brief touching frost for a few hours, so some things could survive, but it’s not worth risking.” 

But frost might be good news for farmers growing crops like corn and soybeans.  

When the crop has matured, it can be beneficial. 

“This time of the year, it will end up being a good thing for the most part because it helps kill off either the soybean or the corn plant if they’re still green, which would mean that they go through the combine better,” said John Hansen, president of the Nebraska Farmers Union.

Vanneman said if you want to help local growers and also get some of the year’s last fresh produce, you can visit the farmers market in the Haymarket from 8 a.m. to noon Saturday.