Closed Wednesday

The farm will be closed Wednesday, June 30.

Not sure when we'll open again but there are still a lot of berries to ripen so don't worry if you haven't
been able to get out and get some.

We'll let you know when they are ready!

Open Tuesday

The farm will be open Tuesday, June 29 from 5-8pm.  There are a lot of nice berries out there so come and get enough to last through the winter!

There are some wet spots because we have the drip lines on.
There are tall weeds because we don't use herbicides.
There are juicy, sweet berries in spite of the weeds and puddles.

We also have cookbooks for sale!

Picking is going to be nice because the humidity and temps are both down.

Open Monday

Yipeee!  The berries are ripe for picking so we'll be open Monday, June 28 from 7:30 until 12 noon.

Hope to see you there!

Closed Saturday

Lots of berries still need more time to ripen so the farm will be closed Saturday, June 26.  We're hoping to be able to open Monday so stay tuned!

Enjoy your weekend.  Stay cool.  Check in Sunday night............

Closed Friday

So sorry for the inconvenience but we will be closed Friday, June 25 to give the field time to ripen more berries.  This is in hopes of having plenty of berries for picking Saturday.

There's still quite a lot of berries to ripen so there's still time to get your supply before they are gone!

Thursday Picking

The farm will be open Thursday evening from 5-8pm. 

I keep hoping to look at the forecast and see that temps will be in the 80's with a cool breeze of 5-7 mph.  Today I finally found it!  Tomorrow it will be 81 degrees with a 5-6mph breeze...........in Minneapolis, Minnesota.  Sometimes you just have to think outside of the box!

So, tomorrow evening think Minnesota and it might not feel so hot.  Maybe.  Probably not.

Well, come prepared like these kiddos did, with some fluids.  They came in hot and sweaty from picking this afternoon but they still looked so cute!  Cuteness and sweat do not go together in the same sentence after a certain age but this group hasn't gotten there yet!

See you at the farm!

NOTE:  Our apologies to the boys and girls we got photos of last Tuesday evening.  The camera card decided to malfunction that night and all those pictures were lost.  We sure wish we could have gotten the pictures posted.

Open Wednesday!

The farm will be open from 7:30 until noon Wednesday, June 23.

Same weather as today........HOT.  Bring plenty of water!

Lots of berries

We've got lots of nice ripe berries so plan to come tomorrow evening, June 22 to pick betweem 5 and 8pm.

It's really hot so bring some water to help stay hydrated.

PICKING NOTE:  Lots of people begin picking on the bushes they come to first so the front (east) side of the field is usually more picked than the middle or back of the field. You might find more berries toward the back of the rows.

Open Monday!

Even little people can become experienced berry pickers!  She's got some nice berries in her bucket.

We have lots of berries so plan to come out and pick a bucket or two.

We'll be open Monday from 7:30 until 12 noon.

 

Open Saturday

We are opening the farm tomorrow but will only have 1/2 the field open.  The other 1/2 still has some ripening to do. 

The berries won't be as plentiful as the first few days so plan on it taking longer to fill a bucket.  That's the nature of .............nature.  You have to take it as it comes.  All the blueberries on a bush don't ripen at the same time and there are only so many berries produced.  Once those are gone there are no more for the year.  So, as the season goes on there are fewer and fewer berries.

We've got lots of berries ripening so the season isn't coming to an end.  Plan to come and get some yummy berries.

PICKING NOTE:  We have two rows that are very ripe and very sweet but the berries are really small.  Yes, it will take a lot longer to fill a bucket but these berries are perfect for muffins, pancakes, rolls and cookies!  They are my favorite berries at this time of year because they are so sweet.  I think they are worth the effort it takes to get a bucket full so if you like baking with blueberries you might consider picking on the two rows marked "Bluetta".

Picked out!

Lots and lots of berries left the farm yesterday and today and what remains needs time to ripen so we won't be open tomorrow or Friday.  We'll evaluate the field Friday to determine if we can open Saturday.

We apologize for any inconvenience.  Also, our apologies to anyone who called the farm and was told that we would be open tomorrow.  We had more berries harvested than what we'd anticipated.
Thanks for your patience and understanding.

Picture the FUN!

Lots of berries

We will be open tomorrow from 7:30 until 12 noon.  Come out and get a few buckets of sweet, juicy berries. 

It will be wet in the rows so come prepared for that.

Reminder: we don't spray our berries with pesticides so they are great eating right out of the bag!

See you there!

Ready, Set, Go........again!

Looks like the rain has cleared out so we will open the farm from 5-8pm tonight.

Be prepared for wet conditions at the farm.....water in some of the rows, wet bushes, etc.

Hope to see you there!

Rained Out!

The rain doesn't look as if it's going to stop any time soon so we'll be postponing our opening until tomorrow evening at 5pm, provided the rain has moved out and conditions are good for picking. 

Hope to see you then!

Ready, Set, Go!

The berries are ready so we will open the farm for the season Monday, June 14 from 7:30 until 12 noon!
Farm hours are the same as last year:  M, W, F, Saturday from 7:30 until noon.  Tuesday and Thursday evenings from 5 until 8pm.

Prices are the same:  $2.25/pound if you pick them.  $3.95/pound if we pick them.

It looks like a good chance of rain Monday so please check the phone message, blog, or Facebook to make sure we are open.  We don't allow pickers in the field during rain storms.  Hopefully, the rain will hold off until after noon.

Reminder:  Always call or check the blog or Facebook to make sure the farm is open the day you want to come out.  We close the farm if the field gets picked heavily to allow remaining berries to ripen.

We're looking forward to a great year of berry picking!

At last!

The seasons have at last brought us back around to berry time!  It's such a joy to see the plump, juicy berries ripening on the bushes.  The crop looks good but we have to wait a little while for more berries to ripen.  

Not long.  Maybe two more weeks.

We'll be announcing the opening of the 2010 Blueberry Season soon so stay tuned.

As always, be sure to check the blog or call the farm before you come out.

This year you can follow us on Facebook, too!

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