Plant owners protect crops from cold weather

FLORENCE, Ariz. (KSAZ) - As the sun goes down farmers and plant owners are doing what they can to protect their plants against the frigid temperatures gripping the valley.

"We're going to water early in the morning, we'll start watering around 4 a.m. and well take that on through until the frost dissipates, and that will hopefully let our vines survive," said Harold Christ with The Windmill Winery.

The vines are about 4-years-old and survived a frost 2-years-ago.

"These were also hit, the whole area was hit as you can see pretty heavily," said Christ.

Harold says many of the grapevines were damaged by the cold Saturday night.

Just like the plants many have at home, protecting the root system is key, even if the leaves don't look so hot after being exposed to hours of near-freezing temperatures.

"They're tough, and they're gonna make it so we're confident we'll have a good crop this year, just gotta get them through this week and we'll have some good wine to drink," he said.

Experts encourage plant owners to cover their plants with a sheet or blanket and not to cover plants with plastic.