The workhorses of the blueberry farm

Our farm employs thousands of these little guys.  THEY are the reason there will be berries to pick in the summer.  Pruning is important  but pollinating is essential.  Without honeybees pollinating the bushes there wouldn't be luscious berries to enjoy.  In fact, one third of our diet comes from insect pollinated plants and honeybees are responsible for 80% of that pollination according to the USDA.

Today I spent some time in the field watching the bees at work.  Not only do they pollinate the flowers that will give us blueberries, they also gather nectar from the flowers and make honey! 

A walk down the rows at this time of year is a very sensory-filled experience.  You can hear the buzzing all around you, watch the bees, and smell the fragrance of the flowers.   All the bees buzzing and flying around you would be a little unsettling if you didn't know that the bees were in a friendly mood.  Working from flower to flower in the warm sunshine puts the them in a good mood.   Combine flowers, sun, and warmth and you have all the ingredients to make happy bees.  On cloudy, cold days with no flowers they are usually grumpy and unfriendly.

Bumble bees like the blueberry flowers too!

So, when you are picking all those plump, juicy berries this summer remember who did the work to help make them.

The humble honey bee!

April Flowers

My favorite time of year is spring.  Everything is fresh and new.  Greens are the most vibrant at this time of year.  And the outburst of flowers sends intoxicating waves of fragrance through the air.  April is flowering time for blueberry plants.  A freeze at this time of year will put an end to the blueberry crop as we all found out a few years ago!

But things are looking pretty good this year!

Just think......every flower represents one blueberry!  I wonder if that's where the term "Flower Power" came from?  Remember that from the '60's??  Anyone? 

Wait Five Minutes

Friday, March 19 was the last day of Winter.
The temperature was in the upper 60's that day!
A wonderful day for pruning.  We've had a number of mild days this month so we were able to get out in the field.  Finally.
In fact, Friday, March 19, the last day of Winter, was our last day of pruning.

The weather was gorgeous so we got a lot done.

We cut and hauled loads of canes to the burn pile.

I took a quick look around the farm and saw evidence of Spring, which would officially be here the next day.

The bees were out enjoying the warm sun foraging for I'm not sure what but whatever it was it had them in a good mood.  Not good enough, however, for me to move in close for a close-up.

Flowers were blooming.......

Ahhhhh, Spring!

Well, enough of this joy riding around the farm.  I knew I needed to get back to work.  I was, after all, here to prune.  The team needed me and I didn't want to let them down so I high-tailed it back to the bushes to get the job done.

I got there just in time, too.  Just in time to snap some shots of the last bush being pruned.  Man, it's a good thing I had my camera and could document the moment.  A fact none of the others seemed impressed by.  I think they thought I was using my photography as a way to get out of pruning.   Not me.  I accomplished two jobs that day....pruning and photography.  I was willing to put in the extra effort. It's just the kind of person I am.  Sacrificial.  But, I don't think they get it.

Anyway, here's the picture I snapped of the last branch being pruned off the last bush.  They all look pretty happy to be finished.  And it wasn't just a put-on.  We were happy.  So happy in fact that we decided to celebrate the close of another year of pruning by going to Sonic for some treats.  We also celebrated the first day of pruning with a trip to Sonic.  We've done it every year so we felt we needed to keep the tradition going.

The weather was so nice we were able to sit outside at Sonic!  I didn't get a picture of that but I had my camera with me intending to.  I was just more occupied with munching my treats so the photo opportunity came and went and I didn't discover my oversight until we were on the way home.

In our family we like to celebrate things and we had decided that Spring was worthy of celebrating. So we had grilled pizza that evening.  One of the girls made a cake decorated with spring colors that we enjoyed after dinner.  There were even some spring decorations hanging from the ceiling.  Tomorrow was the official start of Spring and we were not going to miss the opportunity to celebrate.

There is a saying in Missouri:  "If you don't like the weather just wait five minutes.  It will change."

That saying has never been more true than it was the next day, March 20th....the first day of Spring.

We woke up to temperatures some 30 degrees lower than when we went to bed!

   This is what the first day of Spring looked like outside the window after a snow storm that lasted all day.

  This is our back yard on March 20th, otherwise known as the First Day of Spring!

The sunny yellow flowers of yesterday were buried under 7 inches of snow.    The warm balmy breezes were gone and in their place was cold harsh wind mixed with snow and freezing rain.

It was quite a slap in the face for those of us who had been reveling in the springtime conditions of yesterday.

But, that is Missouri.  It's a state where you can enjoy a good taste of all four seasons.  Sometimes from one day to the next.  Really.........if you don't like the snow just wait five minutes, spring will be here in no time!

You'll be glad to know that the berries are fine.  The buds are forming but not open enough to be harmed by the cold. 

March 19, 2010

March 20, 2010

February Pruning Report

No pruning. 
The end.




I suppose you deserve more explanation than that.  But, there isn't too much to say.  Either the weather didn't cooperate or our schedules didn't mesh with any nice weather we had in February.  So, no pruning.

It was a busy month in other ways.
We attended the annual Small Fruit and Vegetable Growers conference and enjoyed learning some new things and talking with fellow growers.

Well, March better prove more productive!

Waiting

In January we usually start watching for days that are mild enough to get out in the field and prune the bushes.  Pruning almost 1,000 bushes takes many days and many hours so we really like to get started as early as possible.

The following is a pruning/weather report for January 2010.

January 1-10:  Temps well below 30 degrees most days.  We had a really nice 6 inch snowfall in late December and it's still on the ground.  No pruning.

January 11-24:  There was a warming spell with some days seeing temps as high as 63!  The snow melted but left behind some very sloshy ground.  Getting down on your hands and knees or sitting on wet, muddy ground while you prune is no one's idea of fun.  So while the weather was picture perfect for pruning the ground conditions weren't.  No pruning.

January 25-31:  Temps went back down into the 20's and we had another 5-6 inch snowfall.  No pruning.

The month of January was pretty quiet at the farm.  There's a peacefulness that blankets the bushes waiting to bud, the bee hives waiting to bustle with activity, and the pond waiting for life to take on it's spring and summer energy.

And yet with all the stillness there is a lot going on that can't be seen.  New buds are forming and waiting to flower and become the new crop of blueberries we'll all enjoy this summer.  We'll wait for the berries and we'll leave the pruning to another day while we wait for mild weather and dry ground in February.

The Golf Course Connection

Q: What do golf courses and this blueberry farm have in common?

Is it:

1. They both have sand pits.     No, the berry farm doesn't have any sand pits.

2. They both have a swanky club house where you can enjoy a nice luncheon.      No.  No swank of any kind at the berry farm.  It's a "bring your own lunch" kind of place.

3. They both have an abundance of bermuda grass.     Correct!   Bermuda grass is the common thread that connects our berry farm with every golf course in the country.

Bermuda grass does wonderful things to golf courses.  It grows thick and fast.  It's very hardy.  It's very green and can tolerate abuse and still look great.  It's the bermuda grass that makes those putting greens and fairways so beautiful.

Bermuda grass at the farm doesn't achieve the same affect.  All the qualities that make it the grass of choice for golf courses: hardy, durable, thick, fast growing, and tolerant, make it a real pain in the neck at the farm!

Bermuda grass is what we do when there are no berries to be picked.  It has to be pulled, raked, hauled, piled and burned.  It grows into the blueberry bushes and if left unchecked grows quickly into a thick tangled mass that's difficult to pull out.

This young man LOVES golf.  He plays golf, watches golf, dreams about golf in his sleep.  We told him that golf courses and the blueberry farm have a lot in common.   Right now he's not seeing it.  He doesn't get the connection.  But he keeps on working in hopes that somewhere a lush fairway will emerge.  We told him that he would see it better this summer when things green up.  He'll get to mow the "fairways".

This is the bermuda grass at the farm.  After the close of the berry season we spend days and days in the fall pulling, piling and burning.

Yes, there is a connection to golf courses here at the farm.  In chilly November, down on your knees it's a little hard to grasp but it's there.  You just have to imagine really hard.

CLOSED for the season

This comes as a disappointment to us and I'm sure to you as well. The berries that we anticipated getting ripe have not ripened or have been eaten by birds. I know some of you were counting on getting out to the farm one more time but there just aren't enough berries left to open for public picking.

We thank all of you for coming out this season. We look forward to seeing you all next year.

We'll continue to post updates to the blog; recipes, farm work notes, etc. so check in every once in a while to keep up with what's going on. Most importantly we'll let you know when the berries are ripe next season.

If you aren't on our email list and would like to be notified by email about the first day of picking next year you can sign up at info@heritagefamilyfarms.net .

Thanks again. See you next year!

Celebrate the 4th with this great pie!

This pie is really impressive and a great dessert for the 4th of July with it's red, white, and blue colors! We won 2nd place in a pie contest with this recipe. Tastes as good as it looks!

Blueberry Lemon Cheesecake Pie

1 pie crust recipe-single crust
**Prepare pie crust. Roll out and line a 9-inch pie pan. With extra crust cut out stars with 2-3 inch star cookie cutter. Bake crust in a 450 degree oven until lightly browned.
Stars: 2 tablespoons melted butter
2 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons grated lemon peel.
Brush over stars. Bake at 450 for 6-8 minutes.
Allow crust and stars to cool.

Filling
8 oz. package cream cheese, softened
1/3 cup sugar
1 to 2 teaspoons grated lemon peel
1/2 cup whipping cream, whipped
In small bowl, beat cream cheese, sugar and lemon peel until light and fluffy. Fold in whipped cream. Spoon into cooled pie crust, spread evenly. Spoon cooled blueberry filling over lemon filling.

Topping
You can use a 21 oz can of blueberry pie filling but if you have your own blueberries here's how to make fruit filling for the top. (**Note added later: This will make more topping than you need for one pie, about 6 cups. Cut it in half or make 2 pies. Sorry for any confusion.)

6 cups fresh or frozen blueberries (thaw frozen berries completely and reserve juices)

3/4 cups sugar
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/4 cup flour
1/8 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
Combine the above dry ingredients in a saucepan.
Add:
1/2 cup water/ blueberry juice
2 teaspoons lemon juice
1 Tablespoon butter
1 teaspoon vanilla
Whisk into dry ingredients until smooth. Cook over medium heat until bubbly.
Decrease heat and cook and stir for 2 minutes.
Add fruit and stir until evenly coated. Remove from heat. Allow to cool before topping cheesecake.

Refrigerate at least 1 hour before serving. Garnish with star cut-out strawberry fans and whipped cream.

Strawberry fans: use firm berries with stems. Starting at tip, cut into thin slices almost to stem. Spread slices to form open fans.

Rain.......

We do not allow pickers to pick in the rain. Looks like there is a good storm system coming this way this morning. We will call people out of the field if it begins to rain and not allow any picking until the storm passes.
Thanks for your cooperation.

Friday picking...........

The farm will be open Friday morning from 7:30-12 but you need to know that the picking will be more difficult. We had a huge turn out tonight (over 800 pounds picked in 3 1/2 hours!) and the bushes were picked heavily.

We will not be open Saturday, July4.

We'll evaluate the field Sunday to determine if we'll be open Monday.

Happy 4th of July!

OPEN Thursday evening

The farm will be open for picking Thursday evening from 5-8pm. There are a lot of
ripe berries now so come out and get a bucket or two!

Friday: We'll evaluate the field Thursday evening to determine if we'll open Friday morning.

We will not be open Saturday, July 4. Enjoy the holiday!

Hope to see you at the farm.

Closed Wednesday

Still need some ripening time. We'll evaluate the field tomorrow and let you know if
we will be open Thursday evening or not. Lots of berries are ripening.........
Thanks for your patience!

Closed Monday and Tuesday

The farm is closed today and Tuesday evening. We probably won't open until later in the week. Stay tuned for updates.
There are a lot of berries that still need to ripen so the season isn't over yet...........

Blueberry Cobbler

This is really good with homemade ice-cream or fresh cream!


6 cups frozen blueberries
1/3 cup plus 4 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 1/2 cups plus 2 tablespoons flour
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 sticks cold butter, cut into small pieces
2/3 cup milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract




Preheat the oven to 375°. Butter an 8-by-8-by-2-inch baking dish.
Mix the blueberries with 1/3 cup of the sugar and 2 tablespoons of the flour. Spoon into the baking dish.
In a large bowl, whisk together the remaining 1 1/2 cups of flour and 3 tablespoons of sugar with the baking powder and salt. Cut the butter into the flour mixture with a pastry blender.
Add the milk and vanilla and stir with a fork to form a wet, sticky dough. Drop rounded teaspoons of the dough over the top of the blueberries to cover them.
Sprinkle the remaining 1 tablespoon of sugar on top of the cobbler.


Bake for 45 minutes, or until the top is golden-brown and bubbling.
Let the cobbler cool for at least 20 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Closed Saturday

The berries need time to ripen so the farm will be closed not only today but for the next few days.
We'll let you know as soon as we open again.

Thanks for your patience.

Chocolate Covered Blueberries

This recipe is a snap to make yet it has a bit of gourmet flair. Serve them for a party or a quick dessert. They store well in the refrigerator for a few days. We passed these out at the farm last Saturday and they were a big hit. Even the kids can help make these!

Chocolate Covered Blueberries
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

1 tablespoon vegetable shortening

2 cups fresh blueberries, washed and thoroughly dried. (Dry is very important or the chocolate won't stick)

In a double boiler or medium bowl over simmering water, melt chocolate chips. Stir in shortening. Add blueberries and gently stir until well coated.
Drop by teaspoonfuls to form small clusters onto a waxed paper-lined baking sheet. Chill until firm. Once the clusters are firm transfer to a container. Serve on a plate or in paper candy cups. Keeps for 2 to 3 days in covered container in the refrigerator.

Here's a thought....If you use dark chocolate you get a treat loaded with health benefits and very little guilt. It's a well known fact that blueberries are loaded with good things like antioxidants and vitamins so a dessert with blueberries just has to be good for you. If you use dark chocolate then you get even more health benefits. Dark chocolate may lower blood pressure, lower cholesterol, and contains antioxidants. Seems like a win, win dessert to me. I'm all for healthy but yummy!

Enjoy!

Closed Saturday

Sorry for the inconvenience but the farm will be closed Saturday. In fact, we are closing for a few days so stay tuned and we'll let you know when we'll be open again.

We've had a lot of people picking in the past week and the ripe berries are picked out. The berries that remain need time to ripen. Not sure how long that will take so the best we can do is let you know on the blog or on the phone message. Keep checking back for updates....

In the meantime I'm going to post some of our favorite recipes. All of them include blueberries of course! I'll get started on that later today.

Have a great weekend. Stay cool...........

Open Friday

The farm will be open Friday from 7:30-12:00pm.

There are ripe berries but you will need to look for them a little harder than you did at the start of the season. Look for berries in places most people don't pick---up high, down low, and in the middle of the bush.

See you there!

Questions and Answers about orders

Just in case you were wondering what happens when you order pre-picked berries....

Q- Where do the pre-picked berries come from
A- We fill orders with berries harvested from our farm.

Q-When are the berries picked?
A- The berries are harvested on the day you are scheduled to pick them up. To give our pickers time to harvest the berries we ask you to pick up your order at the end of our business day, 11:30am or 7:30pm.

Q-What happens to the berries after you pick them?
A- Berries are sorted by hand to remove stems, leaves, bugs, damaged and under-ripe berries. They are then weighed, bagged, labeled, and stored in our walk-in cooler until you pick them up.


Q-Do you wash the berries in my order?
A-No. We do not spay our berries with anything so there are no chemical residues to remove. Dry berries store longer than berries that are wet. Rinse your berries just before use.

Q-How do you fill an order for frozen berries?
A-The same way we fill orders for fresh berries. Orders for frozen berries are filled with berries from the current season. They are sorted,weighed, bagged, labeled, and then quick frozen immediately. This ensures you are getting the freshest berries possible.

Q-Why don't you hold fresh berries for pick up on another day?
A-We want your berries to be as fresh as possible when you pick them up so you get the benefit of high quality berries. Also, we do not operate the walk-in cooler when the farm is closed so there is no way to keep fresh berries cool. Orders for fresh berries that aren't picked up the day they are harvested are put into the freezer. We can sell them to you frozen or re-pick your order at a later time. We apologize for any inconvenience.

Q-Why do you stop taking orders?
A-Orders come in quickly once the season begins. Because we fill orders the day they are picked up we are limited in how many orders we can fill each day. As the season goes on the amount of berries in the field decreases and it becomes more difficult to fill orders. We don't want to promise berries to you and then not be able to fill the order. After we have caught up we sometimes begin taking orders again.

Open Thursday

We will be open for picking Thursday evening from 5-8pm.

We won't be taking any more pre-pick orders. We are backlogged
through July 7th and can't be sure that the field will supply enough
berries after that. Sorry for any inconvenience.