| spring has sprung |
When Moultrie wakes to spring
Local businesses shape first signs of season in soil, stitches, and stems
words & photography by Akilah C. Clarke
By the time most of Moultrie is still rubbing the sleep out of its eyes, the fields at Southern Valley Fruit & Vegetable Inc. are already awake.
For Kent Hamilton, spring doesn’ t arrive on the calendar. It shows up in the dirt— in the way the wind changes, in the feel of the soil under its boots, in small signals most people would miss if they weren’ t looking for them.
“ We laid all our spring plastic back in December,” he said, standing at the edge of a field that still looks bare to anyone driving by.“ We had to get it done before the real cold hit. We don’ t have workers in January and February, so we try to stay ahead.”
That kind of planning is just part of vegetable farming in South Georgia— staying one step in front of the weather, the labor schedule, and growers across the Southeast who are all racing toward the same markets.
Inside the greenhouses, trays of peppers, eggplants, cucumbers, and squash are already pushing upward under warm lights. Cabbage is in the ground, sturdy enough to handle the cold. Everything else waits for the right window.
The earliest signs of spring don’ t come from the thermometer, Hamilton said. They come from the trees.
“ Somebody told me this morning they’ d already seen pollen on their car,” he said with a laugh.“ That’ s about right. First of February, the pine trees start letting you know.”
Days stretch a little longer. The air shifts. The soil softens just enough to work. None of it happens all at once, but farmers notice. Spring on a farm isn’ t just hopeful— it’ s risky.
“ We can keep the greenhouses warm during the day if we’ ve got sunshine,” Hamilton explained.“ But once that sun goes down, and there’ s wind? It’ s hard to keep those plants warm enough to grow like they ought to.”
Kent Hamilton kneels beside a fresh row of spring crops, checking the plastic and the early growth that will set the pace for the season.
A cold snap can undo weeks of preparation. A strong front can lift plastic off the beds. Too much rain can wash things out. Too little can stall growth entirely. Still, this time of year carries something farmers depend on— a reset.
10 MoultrieScene MARCH 2026