Bill Wickham of Wickham Farms in Penfield, lights Duraflame logs at 3 a.m., and places them between the rows in his apple orchards to trying to keep the buds from freezing overnight as temperatures dipped near 30 degrees. Wickham has five acres and 5,000 trees. He used nearly 200 logs. Rochester Democrat and Chronicle

When Bill Wickham saw a weather forecast that dipped below 30 degrees early Saturday morning, he decided he wasn’t going to let his apple crop be ruined without a fight.

The owner of Wickham Farms in Penfield in Monroe County, he headed out to his 5-acre orchard at 2:30 a.m. He set 200 Duraflame logs amid the trees and lit them on fire. His hope was to make the air temperature rise a degree or two — which could make all the difference in whether or not he has an apple crop this year.

It’s hard to say whether or not the fires made a difference, he said. But given the same situation on a clear, cold, still night, “we’d definitely try it again if a couple of degrees would make a difference,” he said.

The trouble with the prolonged spell of unusually cold weather in May is that there’s not a lot of data on what its effects will be on fruit trees.

“Nobody knows,” Wickham said. “It’s not ideal. What we don’t know is what impact it has on the crops.”

Down the road at Schutt’s Apple Mill in Penfield, owner Evan Schutt said his concern is his Empire apples, which are an early variety. Those trees have pink buds and are further along than most of the other varieties, making them more vulnerable to the effects of the cold.

In addition to 30 acres of apples, Schutt grows peaches, raspberries and cherries. Schutt said the weather has felt like playing Russian roulette for the past 10 days.

For him, cherries are the biggest concern because they are in bloom. Bees need to be buzzing between the blossoms in order to pollinate them; without pollination, the trees will not produce fruit. His hope is that the blossoms will stay on the trees just long enough for the bees to come out when the weather warms up later this week.

Further east in Sodus, Wayne County, Kendra Burnap, owner of Burnap’s Farm Market, expressed similar concerns about her apricots, nectarines, sweet cherries and other stone fruits. Her trees have been in bloom for almost 10 days. “I haven’t seen any bees moving, and in order to get pollination you need to have some nice days for the bees,” she said.

Peaches are a particular concern for both Schutt and Burnap. “They are a finicky fruit,” Schutt said. His peach trees are planted on the highest ground of his land, which tends to be warmer. Burnap said her location near Lake Ontario helps keep her orchard 2 to 3 degrees higher than farms south of Route 104. “That’s always been a positive for our peaches, because they are very susceptible to cold,” she said.

Wickham also grows vegetables for the farm’s annual CSA program. Cole crops like broccoli, kale and cabbage have been planted; they can handle cold weather, but need warmth to start growing. They have held off on planting more tender plants like early varieties tomatoes, eggplant and melon.

On Tuesday, Wickham was headed back to the store to spend $750 on more logs; a freeze is in the forecast.

If nothing else, it made us feel better,” he said. “We’re doing something — anything.”