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Good For Apples, Bad For Most Plants: Wintry Weather Visits October

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- The calendar still says it's October. The weather outside tells a different story.

The floor at Settergren's of Linden Hills in Minneapolis is already stocked with the essentials.

"People are buying snow blowers, and that's mostly from last year," said Manager Joe Young. "We are going to see people wanting to buy rose cones and burlap, try to save the plants for a little while."

Young says customers are getting prepared, but they aren't getting too worked up -- yet.

"At the end of the day, we are all Minnesotans. We are hearty stock and we know it's going to be 50 degrees next week and we aren't panicking right now," said Young.

Over in Jordan, some farmers are welcoming the winter blast.

"We wish there would have been frost about two weeks ago," said Joe Wagner of Wagner Brothers Apple Orchard,

He says the cold turns the apple's starch to sugar, making the fruit taste better.

"The frost works wonderful for apples," Wagner said. "They almost instantly will turn solid red, and you can start at one end and you can just pick everything as you go down."

As long as the temperature stays above about 25 degrees, Wagner says his orchard will be open for picking for those who still want to take a bite out of fall.

Even though it feels early for the winter-like conditions, the National Weather Service says we are about a week behind on the first freeze of the season in many locations. That frost is expected to hit on Friday night.

Marielle Mohs Looks At Home Some Minnesotans Are Handling This Glimpse Of Winter!

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