Fresh News
2008, straight from the strawberry patch.Fresh News
2008, straight from the strawberry patch.
Thursday May 8, 2008 ----- Come on and dig them
'taters! We are still pickin' strawberries but you have to hunt for them.
Blackberries are not yet ready, but we will keep you posted about them. Come see
the 3 new born goats. We need suggetions for their names! So anything that you
can come up with would be great.
Monday May 5, 2008 ----
A good crowd turned out for this past weekend that picked a lot of
Strawberries, pulled a lot of Onions and dug a lot of Potatoes. I worked
in the Horse Pen for awhile on Saturday and it sure was nice to hear a bunch of
kids having a good time. The Strawberry fields need a rest before they
will be good picking again. Today is already misting rain with more
forcast for tonight, so tomorrow should be slow also. It looks like
Thursday will be the next decent Strawberry picking.
All the red
onions have been pulled, we still have a good amount of white 1015Y onions
available.
Potatoes are in ample supply as well, based on last
weekends digging - they look like they will last for another 3
weeks.
Blackberries --- not yet. It appears we are only going to have
about one half of a normal Blackberry crop, if that much. We have some
serious cane dieback going on. I am not afraid to admit that I don't
know the exact cause. We do have some ideas and the new Primocane growth
looks good so maybe next years crop wont be in the same predicament. Some
berries are beginning to turn red now, I would expect to have a box full by next
week.
Friday Afernoon May 2nd, 2008 ---- Looks like
a good weekend coming up! I think the weather is going to cooperate, there
are plenty of: Strawberries to pick, Potatoes to dig, Onions to pull, horses to
pet, donkeys to scratch, cats to chase, goats to feed, picnic tables to relax
on, ice cream to savor, popsicles to lick, smoothies to enjoy (you HAVE to have
a Strawberry smoothie - they are incredible!), and fresh air to breathe.
Sure is nice when things come together like this.
Monday morning
April 28, 2008 --- I guess I did not realize how dry it was because the
rain that fell yesterday morning is quickly being soaked up. The aisles
between the Strawberry rows are a little damp today but I expect them to be
mostly dry by tomorrow. I do not expect a big crowd today so tomorrow
should be very nice picking and by Thursday there should be tons out in the
field again.
Potatoes --- are you ready to dig? We should start
digging this Thursday the 1st of May. I suppose we might get a little more
weight out of the taters if we waited a little longer but I am ready to get into
them now. As you know, the potatoes are ready to eat whenever you dig
them, it is not a question of when they are 'ripe'. Sometimes our
customers go after just the big ones, which is OK because I know the little ones
are what I like to eat. My only problem is that the kids are getting past
that stage where I can tell them to "go out there and collect those little ones"
and it still be fun for them. Now I have to pay them to gather those
taters.
Onions --- we are pulling away. once again, they could
probably stand a little more time in the field. We planted a lot more
onions this year so I don't want to wait until they are all ready at
once.
Blackberries ---- just around the corner. I am
GUESSING that we will start picking them around the 15th of May. The
variety that ripens first looks like it will have a good crop, the second
variety is going to have a weak crop. So, try to pick your Blackberries in
May when we will have more available.
'Texas' is growing. We
planted it in the dark this year (only because we were trying to beat the threat
of rain), so I was anxious to see how many spots I missed. Actually the
problem is not that I missed a spot but that I went over the same spot too
many times. There are a few areas where the grass is planted very
thick, we shall see if that turns out to be a problem. Other than that, it
appears to be growing nicely.
Sunday Morning April 27,
2008 --- Just have time for a quick update as we are heading out the
door to church ----- wet. It has been raining here for a hour or two, the
Strawberry fields are sure to be muddy. We will be open this afternoon
just in case someone wants to brave the mud.
Friday Evening April 25, 2008 ---- The storms just missed us, we hardly had more than a couple of rain drops at the Marble Falls farm. Tomorrows picking should be wonderful and as it stands at 11pm tonight, the field will be nice and dry.
Friday afternoon April 25, 2008 ---- For sure the warm
weather of late has accelerated the Strawberry ripening. We picked 400
pounds yesterday for processing and today you can't even tell where we picked
them from. I think we will try to pick another 400 pounds today (I am
hiding here in the office to get out of picking, ha!). Each year we try to
put up 1500 pounds or so to use in Jam, Ice Cream, Popsicles,
Smoothies, Lemonade etc. So far this year the fields have been picked
so close we have not been able to get many berries for our freezer. The
warmer weather has really turned the berries on and the end of April is
normally slower customer wise so here we are trying to get as many as we can to
put up. Don't worry, there are still plenty of berries for everyone to
pick, we are only picking on the ends of the rows no one gets to. I tell
you, the best picking is always on the FAR end of the row. Do not start
picking until you have walked at least 3/4 way down the row
you choose.
Recap: This weekend will be very good
Strawberry picking, we will try to get an update here IF we get rain
tonight.
Tuesday April 22, 2008 ----- A
couple of warm days and nights (nightime temps are probably more critical than
daytime) and BOOM - we have lots of Strawberries to pick. Today will be
good picking, Thursday should be incredible picking even Friday will be
good. I do not think we will clean out the field Thursday and Friday so
the weekend looks like it will be a good one for Strawberry picking and Onion
pulling (the onions are ready!)
Saturday morning April 19, 2008
---- Today will be a good day, wonderful weather and lots of berries to
pick (many more than I expected).
Friday morning April 18,
2008 ---- Just what the doctor ordered. Thanks God for a nice
little shower of about 1/2 inch last night that should not adversely affect
picking today at all. It was getting a little parched around here,
that little shower that came through last night delivered some high winds and
just enough rain to wash the dust off the berries and
plants. There will be mud in some areas of the field so old
shoes might be in order. All in all, today should be a good day to pick
with lots of berries available.
Wednesday
Afternoon April 16, 2008 ----- Okay, here is the Strawberry lowdown
..... might be some, might not be some. Does that help? Yeah, it
wouldn't do me any good either.
Best guess ----
Thursday
morning we will have ripe berries to pick, afternoon could get iffy.
Thursday
night we supposedly have a good chance of showers.
Friday... if it
does not rain Thursday night --- we will have berries in the
morning, afternoon could get iffy.
Friday .... if it does
rain Thursday night ----- morning is sure to be wet/muddy in the field, could
dry up by afternoon if we get 1/2 inch or less. Assuming we don't get more
than 1.5 inches, the picnic and parking area will be dry enough to get around in
without being in the mud. If it rains we will try to get an update posted
here.
Saturday --- if we are unable to get into the
field Friday then we will have a good many Strawberries to pick. If Friday
is beautiful weather then Saturdays good picking won't last
long.
Sunday ---- in any scenario I do not think
Sunday will be a good day to pick.
Now, having said all that.
Normally there are ripe berries to be picked even if we have had a big
crowd. It just takes longer to find them. You must move those leaves
around and find the berries hidden below. The only time this year we
seemed not to have ripe berries is in the afternoons and Sundays. Several
hundred pounds ripen each night so the earlier you can come, the better the
chance of getting ripe berries. Note: our berry size is beginning to
dwindle. In a normal year, berry size and quantity will fall off the
last two weeks of April only to have a short lived burst of nice berries the
first part of May. In some of the cooler years we have been able to
pick Strawberries all the way to June but typically the Strawberry patch is
played out by May 20.
Potatoes --- almost ready to dig. Perhaps we
will start digging by the first of May.
Blackberries ---- the early
variety 'Brazos' looks good and should start by mid May. The 'Kiowa' are
struggling, I only expect a partial crop on this variety beginning
toward the end of May.
Texas Maze ---- has germinated and emerging
from the soil. We are trying to put water on it but can't because of the
high winds the last few days. Since we use sprinklers, the water is very
susceptable to drift and evaporation in windy situations. Sounds like God
might water the field for us tomorrow night - Thanks
God.
Saturday Evening April 12, 2008 ---- We had a
big day, lots of pickers, tons of berries picked ---- we were scratching for
ripe berries in the afternoon ---- tomorrows picking will be tough finding ripe
berries.
Friday Afternoon April 11, 2008 ---- What just
happened? Someone please knock some since into me. My calendar says
that today is Friday ---- so why did the skies part and all of these kids fall
out today? Someone said Leander ISD was out of school, or maybe Leander
just held school at our place. Regardless, the picking will be good in the
morning but afternoon might be iffy.
Thursday Evening April 10,
2008 ---- The bad weather last night missed us ---- thank
Heavens! We did get a little rain, enough to make it wet this morning but
by afternoon all was good. Tomorrow and Saturday should be fantastic
picking. I just can hardly believe that we are going to have two weekends
in a row with marvelous weather and lots of berries to pick.
Wednesday April 9, 2008 ------ The Strawberry fields
are beginning to recover from last weekend, the weather was so wonderful that
folks just wanted to get out and enjoy it. Saturday the fields were a
little bare by late afternoon so the ripe berries on Sunday did not last
long. When the nighttime temperatures are warm as they are, lots of
berries will ripen overnight. So even if we had a good crowd the previous
day, there will always be some to pick the first of the next day.
Typically berry supply builds through the week and by the weekend the picking is
great. Right now I think I can hear the berries ripening. The
weather this weekend looks to be equally as nice as last. We will have
lots of berries to pick Saturday morning. Depending on the turnout, late
afternoon might be a little iffy.
We planted
'Texas' last night. We had a little problem getting seed so it was a tad
later getting planted than we like. So, yesterday between the mayhem I
disced up the ground (and boy did it smell good!). I never get it as
smooth as I would like but had to draw the line somewhere as we were fighting
the daylight. Just before dusk I had the grain drill on the tractor and
making the first round. I thought about saving the rest for today
but noticed the lightning in the distance. It would be a real setback to
have it rain on the field before we get it planted so 'give it a little more
gas'. It seemed like the storm was getting closer so 'speed it up a little
more'. By the time I finished I must have been flying and since it was
very dark I am not sure if it was 'Texas' that got planted or any other
neighboring state. This grass grows extremely fast. I expect to have
6 feet tall functioning maze in 50 days (end of May).
'Brazos' Blackberries are in full bloom now.
'Kiowa' are struggling a little, I don't think their chilling requirement was
met over the winter. Regardless we are looking for a good Blackberry
crop.
Onions, Potatoes and Tomatoes are growing
great. May for Potatoes and Onions. Late May on Tomatoes.
Saturday Evening April 5, 2008 ---- It was an absolutely beautiful day!! and it was good to see so many people enjoying it with us. The fields were worked over pretty good today, we will have ripe berries for tomorrow but they might not last the entire time we will be open. We are open 1 to 5 on Sundays, you will greatly increase your odds of getting ripe berries by arriving close to 1. There are sooo many berries on the plants just waiting to ripen. It looks like the crop will be good if we can escape any weather calamities.
Friday April 4, 2008 ---- We were drying out, another
inch and 2 tenths this morning has set us back a bit though. The wind
is gusting pretty strong which will dry things out fairly quickly. Even
now, everywhere but between the rows of berries is dry enough to get around
without dealing with mud. I would think that by this afternoon the aisles
will be dry enough to get into and by tomorrow most of the field will
be dry enough to pick without slipping and sliding. Don't worry, we
will still have a few muddy spots for the kids to get into while you are not
looking. By the way, did one of you leave your shoes here last week?
Wednesday April 2, 2008 --- Hey, we are drying
out. Not completely dry but at least enough to get to most of the good
berries. The Strawberry plants are really putting on, incredibly so.
Tomorrow and this weekend should be good picking. The plants are starting
to get big enough now that they will hide many of the big berries under their
leaves. It is important to move the leaves back and forth so you can find
those good ones. I tell you a lady found one the size of a lime the other
day after a bunch of people had already picked that spot. You won't find
those incredible ones if you just walk down the row and look for them from
overhead. Remember, go to the far end of the row and pick back.
Don't look down before you get there are you will stop before you get to the
ones that jump in your basket as you walk by.
Monday March 31, 2008 ---- It is a bit wet, with another little off
and on shower this morning, and the aisles between the Strawberry rows are sure
slippery in spots but that has not stopped quite a few folks from gathering
their bounty of Strawberries. To be honest, the aisles were muddy.
It is a good thing we were dry before this rain event because the land seems to
be soaking up the water pretty quickly. Tomorrow the farm will be mostly
dry and surely by Thursday we will be in great shape.
I think today I could hear the berries ripening. We
are heading into what is typically the peak of the season. From now to
April 20 we should be wide open Strawberry picking.
Saturday Evening March 29, 2008 ---- Slish Slosh. Whew, the skies
opened up last night and let us have a drink or should I say - gulp. I am
probably the only farmer in Texas that does not have a rain gauge out, but I am
pretty good at walking out the door and saying "gee, I think it rained".
Who needs a rain gauge when you have million pieces of junk in the boneyard that
will hold water. Just head back there with a tape measure and you have
your rainfall.
As promised, the Strawberries picked today where
very nice. A good many customers braved the mud and won a sweet reward to
take home. I suppose there is nothing like pulling your shoes off and
getting mud between your toes. Some kids that came out today got mud in a
lot more places than between their toes. I thought we were going to have
to wrap them in a trash bag before they could get in their
car.
We picked rows 20 - 30 pretty good, don't worry, in a
couple of days these rows will be loaded again.
Tomorrow the picking in Marble Falls will only be decent. Be sure to get down and move the leaves of the plant as those big ones are hiding. The picking at the Lexington farm will be very good tomorrow and it is not muddy there. If you are trying to decide which farm to go to - Lexington will have more berries to pick from.
Friday Evening March 28, 2008 ---- Unbelievable!! Even
I am in awe of the Strawberries being picked right now. Berries the size
of your fist (maybe a little exagerration but not much) are being plucked from
the vine. It is very hard to check people out because all we want to do is
reach in their box and grab a few to eat. Every box that comes through we
say is the best one we have ever seen. Not only are they big but they
taste great (I just got through walking through the field munching on them as I
go). I felt like my grandmother did when she was out in the patch a few
years ago, she would walk along and pick one berry for her box, then the
next one she picked she would say "oh my, isn't this purdy" and then eat
it. I think the only reason she put one in her box is because it gave her
enough time to swallow the last one she ate so she could get the next
"purdy" one in. Well, that is just what I did as I 'inspected' the
field. Since no one was around to hear me I went ahead and said "oh my,
isn't that one purdy" as I ate that big one that took my two hands to pick
it. I thought maybe someone had planted melons out in the field but
when I walked up on them they were Strawberries! Just last week we were
scraping for ripe berries but now the tide has turned. And if you happen
to be coming out tomorrow (saturday), go straight down to row 23 in the field
next to the parking lot, don't look down until you get at least half way
down the row, then open your eyes and pinch yourself to make sure
you are not dreaming. If someone has already beat you there then go on any
row between 20 and 30, at least half way down. Now if you come out in
the afternoon, go to the back field and pick on any row 1 through 60,
the closer you get to the donkeys, the better the picking will
be.
Speaking of Donkeys!!!! Jenny had her baby yesterday.
It is a cute little girl that needs a name, any suggestions? It has to
start with a J though, see Jack and Jenny had JJ first, now this is their
second. Sorry we are not going to name it JackA_ _
either!
Monday Evening March
24, 2008 ----- What a difference a day, sunshine, mild temperatures and
a slow Easter Sunday makes. There were some beautiful Strawberries picked
today and everyone seemed to get all they wanted. The plants are not
producing wildly yet, that should come in about a week or two, but every sunny
day that goes by will ripen more and more berries. So far this looks like
it might be a good Strawberry season. I hate to say anything because it
can change in a moment but for now -- things are looking good. Since we
are closed on Wednesdays, Thursdays automatically become a great day to
pick.
The Blackberries are starting to break bud now, we
even have few blooms popping out. Look for ripe Blackberries in mid
May.
We are planting Tomatoes now ---- anyone know if we
are going to have a late cold spell? We will not breathe a sigh of relief
until late April. A few years ago we went down to 19 degrees on April
14. The Mesquite trees are leafing out well but our Pecan trees are still
pretty tight. Dareen says that it thundered on February 15 so that means a
cool spell on April 15, keep your fingers crossed that it is only a 'cool'
spell.
Friday Evening March 21, 2008 ----- Sadly, the Marble Falls
farm is 'picked out' of ripe Strawberries. High picking pressure over the
last two days coupled with the earliness in the season means that we will
not have ripe Strawberries for the remainder of this weekend. The berry
crop looks like it is going to be good but we need to wait until the end of
March and the first of April for production to pick up dramatically.
I think the next best time to pick ripe Strawberries will be next Thursday
(27th) and beyond. Believe me, the berries are out there - just not
ripe yet. The farm will still be open the remainder of this weekend
and all are welcome to come out and enjoy the outdoors, pet the
animals, picnic and maybe pick very few Strawberries.
The
Lexington farm has a decent supply of ripe berries available for
tomorrow.
Monday Evening March 17, 2008 ---- The
Strawberry plants are trying to keep up but it is just a little too early in the
season. In a normal year this production amount would be just right but
with some Spring Breaks last week, some this week and Easter rounding out the
week we just don't have enough ripe berries to go around. So far most of
our customers have been able to get want they wanted but we are concerned about
this coming weekend. Typically, Easter weekend is very busy for us and we
will not have anywhere close to the amount of ripe berries we have had in the
past for this event. Sooooo, I would suggest Friday morning will be the
only time we have a decent supply of ripe berries to pick. Everyone is
welcome to come anytime over the weekend, visit the goats and donkeys, have a
picnic and enjoy the outdoors just don't expect a lot of ripe berries to pick
from.
But not to worry!!! the berries are coming
and the harvest looks like it will be great ------ but not until the month of
April.
Friday Evening March 14, 2008 ---- Woaaaa,
not quite so fast. You are the best customers in the world and we
appreciate your eagerness to pick those lusciously good and full of
flavor fresh Strawberries but it is still early in the season
and berry production is just getting started. My wife and I just
can't stand for someone to come out to the farm and not be able to get all the
berries they want, we had plenty of berries to pick yesterday and
today but I am concerned about tomorrow. We almost always have berries in
the mornings so my advice is to try to come out before 11am on Saturdays or
right at 1pm on Sundays to make sure you get the pick of the day. I think
this scenerio will hold true through next week then all through April we will be
begging for everyone to bring every person they have ever known to come and
pick.
Actually, I think the Lexington farm will have more ripe
berries available for tomorrows picking.
Monday, March 10,
2008 --- We are getting a nice shower as we speak. It is coming
at a good time, just what we needed to freshen things up. It would be nice
to get less than an inch but we I guess we will live with whatever comes our
way.
Strawberries ---- we uncovered the patch
last Saturday (good thing we had the covers out because Friday night we had a
freeze) only to find some little red bundles of delectable joy waiting for me to
eat. I believe we will officially open this Thursday (13th) for
picking. PLEASE be advised that the picking will be slim for a week or
two. There will be berries to pick but it might be more of a hunt now as
compared to 3 weeks from now. For you Strawberry aficionados, we have
3 varieties in the front block - all of which have a little variation in
taste. The first 4 rows next to the parking lot are Sweet Charlie,
which are producing well. These berries do not last long after they
have been picked and are light red when ripe. The middle of the block
is Chandler, which is not producing well yet. These berries are my
favorite, they are dark red when ripe and hold up reasonably well after
picked. The last 3 rows, next to the Blackberries, are Festival.
These plants are not producing as much as the Sweet Charlie but more than
the Chandler. Festival berries are dark red when ripe and are firmer than
the other two varieties. My wife likes these berries to dip in
chocolate because they hold their shape the best.
Blackberries -- beginning to show a little growth.
Potatoes --- a few were nipped by last weeks freeze but most have not
sent a plant up out of the soil yet.
Onions
---- we have always had some but they always get pulled early, so
this year we planted 3000 maybe a few will make get a little size on them
before they get pulled.
Donkeys ---- Jenny is
pregnant and due any day now (like I know! I thought she would have it in
Feb.)
Horses --- have gone for a
little training, they should be back in mid April.
Goats ---- enjoying a little pasture time right now, we should bring a few over
this week to put in the pen for kids to
pet.
Chickens --- cackling and laying up a
storm, dad will be selling eggs when you come out.
Cats
----- annoying! someone please come pet them!
Dogs
--- upset because their free reign on the farm is about to come to an end.
As soon as the farm opens we will keep them over at the house because they are a
little to protective.
Tuesday, March 4, 2008 ----
I am whipped, wind whipped that is. It seems like the last few
weeks have been a constant battle with the wind -- one day it is blowing 50
miles an hour out of the North and the next day, 50 miles an hour out of the
South. I think mother nature is just trying to figure out what side of my
head my hair needs to part on. Well, I have her fooled because when it
blows out of the North - I just walk around facing East and when it blows out of
the South - I walk around facing West. So don't think ill of the odd
fellow walking sideways when you come out - he is just trying to maintain "the
look".
The wind is also wreaking havoc with our frost
covers. It is hard to keep a 50 * 300 foot blanket in place when the wind
is whipping. This time of year is difficult to manage because there is a
potential freeze at night and 70's or 80's during the day. We need
the covers in place to protect against freezing temperatures but don't like them
out when it gets that hot. Then you must consider the leaf damage the
whipping covers are causing to the plants. For instance, yesterday the 30
mph winds blew several of the covers partly off. Since it is extremely
hard to pull a cover against the wind and with an impending freeze we find
ourselves fixing covers in the middle of the night after the wind has died
down a bit. Now today it is going to be beautiful and bump 70 degrees,
tomorrow 75 ---- wonderful you say, lets' pull off the covers and let the plants
air out a bit, give the Bees a chance to work some flowers over. But wait
a second, Thursday night looks like another freeze. It takes about 4
or 5 hours (depending on the wind) to cover all 3 acres and Thursday has a good
chance of rain so we would have to recover tomorrow. If we had to recover
tomorrow then what is the point of spending most of today uncovering? But
the plants really need some airing out time ------- so, what should we do?
I think we will uncover the Sweet Charlie, pick the ripe berries underneath,
remove some of the covers we did a poor job of fixing last night and then leave
the rest of the field covered up.
We have not opened up for the
season yet but are picking a few early berries to make Jelly with. I think
we will have enough berries to open up for the season late next week, perhaps
Thursday (13th). Remember, production is not overwhelming at first.
We will open slowly, production will build and by the first week of April we
should be rocking ---- depending on the weather. We will only announce our
opening here and on the phone message so picking pressure should not be too
heavy at first. Oh my, my stress level just went up now that I said, and
realized, we are opening next week ----- I better get to
work!
Monday Evening, February 25, 2008 ---- Well,
the time has come. I have fought and fought, tried with all my might to
prevent this. Ignoring it has not helped, denying it has not helped, postponing
it has not helped, the inevitable has arrived and I don't like it one
bit ------ it is time to increase the font size here in the Fresh News so I
can see it. I used to be able to see Spider Mites on the bottom of a
leaf with my naked eye, now I need a magnifying glass. Maybe it is just
because the Mites are getting smaller --- yeah, that has to be
it!
Today is was 90 degrees and here I sit planning to put out
Frost covers tomorrow. Even as I write this the wind has switched around
to the North and is howling. If the wind keeps up like this it will sure
enough be fun putting out those covers. We left some in place from last
week and I am wondering if that was a good idea or not. I don't have
a problem with the covers being left on the plants for an extended time frame
but am not crazy about them being deployed in this kind of heat. I sure
hope they are still there in the morning, it is a huge pain in the neck to have
a cover blow off in this kind of wind.
The immature
Strawberries are progressing nicely ---- surely we will have berries in two or
three weeks? stay tuned, we will keep you posted here. I saw a few
Blackberry canes popping out and some Peach buds beginning to swell ---- Spring
is coming!
Tuesday February 19, 2008 ----- Wow, February is flying by! The spare tire around my waist says it
is time to hit the grindstone again, my brain says that is has been fun
using our posterior, but my mouth overrules everyone by saying with a
loud voice "get to work or go hungry!".
The Strawberry plants sure do think it is time to get going. Right now
they are still covered from last weeks application but I expect when we uncover
them today we will find some perky plants and emerging blooms. Even though
the temperatures did not get near as low over the weekend as I
expected, it gave me a piece of mind knowing they where protected 'just in
case'. Covering them was also a good exercise to make sure all the covers
are 'good to go' when we have to put them out in a hurry (are we going to have a
late freeze this year?). Every year we don't know what we are going to
find when we get them out of storage. We have started fertilizing them now
and with a little mild weather we hope to get them
energized.
The onions and potatoes have been
planted. The Blackberries are sitting pretty right now. We
removed one row of Blackberries planted to a variety that did not perform well
here and replaced it with "Oauchita" a Arkansas variety that is thornless.
We have not had much luck with the thornless varieties in the past but maybe
this one will break the mold.
Get ready, it won't be long
before we are picking berries!
Tuesday February 12,
2008---- Yeah, that getting out of bed when the Rooster
crows thing lasted about two days. Here I know sit procrastinating an
impending task. Sure I could use the excuse that I am just waiting for the
wind to die down or let it warm up just a bit more but the truth of the matter
is that I am just putting it off. We pulled the covers off the front block
Sunday afternoon to get a good look at the plants. Now I am afraid it is
going to be close to freezing tonight and this weekend so today we should put
all the covers out. It is really not that hard to do, we have plenty of
jobs that are much less appealing and I should go get after it ---- as soon as I
finish this, which could take a while. I mean after I finish writing this,
I'll have to publish it, then the email will need to be checked, check the
weather one more time (all 5 forecasts), maybe answer a call or two, by then it
will surely be close to lunch and I would not want to get started and then
have to stop to go to lunch so ..... perhaps this afternoon we will
cover.
One thing for sure, the
plants that were covered in the front block look very good. The 'Sweet
Charlies' are blooming well, not far behind are the Festival and even a few
blooms on the Chandler are popping out. Now that I think of it, I really
should go cover now especially since we have not covered the back block this
year.
Healthy blooms on the Sweet Charlie now =
berries not too far away, maybe Mid March!
Tuesday
February 05, 2008 --- Here we are, early Tuesday
morning. It is time to start getting out of bed when the Rooster
crows. Speaking of Rooster ..... a fellow down the road thought he would
play a joke on us by throwing two of his gamey looking chickens in with
ours (as if we wouldn't know). We pretty much figured out they did not
wander up on their own and it did not take us long to guess 'who dunnit'.
During the interrogation he quickly fessed up and assured me they were both hens
(in case you did not know, it is very hard to distinguish the sex of a young
chicken - you almost have to wait until they fill out, observe their behavior
and listen for the familiar "cock a doodle do" ). Having a Rooster is not
a big deal if you realize: he can not lay an egg, he can be noisy, you
might be eating fertilized eggs (I am not afraid to admit I do not like the
thought of eating fertilized eggs) and you can't sell fertile eggs. I have
never seen a hen hatch her own chicks, so for now, maybe we will just keep that
Rooster around and see what happens
Down on the farm
things seem to be going well. We have two Strawberry varieties (Sweet
Charlie and Festival) that tend to produce berries a little before our main
variety (Chandler). Last week we were forecast to go into the low 20's,
their are not many blooms showing but there are a lot down in the crown on the
early varieties about to come out, so we covered up that block with the Frost
Covers. We have not taken them off yet because I thought it was going to
get into the low 30's tonight. I probably should have pulled them off
since it has been in the upper 70's the last few days - we'll see what happens
because there is no turning back now.
We are still
shooting for ripe Strawberries by Mid to Late March ---- stay tuned.
Tuesday January 29, 2008 ---- Yipee Yi Yea, Yipee
Yi Yo, here come them, big fat lusciously sweet juice drippin
Strawberries. Well, not exactly .......... the plants have not even
started blooming but weather like this is sure to get them going. The days
are getting longer and the temperatures are creeping upward, it is a sure sign
that we are about to turn the corner and head into Spring. Just as soon as
I say that it will probably turn off cold next week, but for now I will remain
in my prophetic mode and say "Yipee, Spring is coming". We have to watch
out for an Indian Summer, two or three weeks of mild weather followed by a
strong cold snap, which normally happens about this time of the year. The
Strawberry plants are easy to be fooled, a little mild weather and boom - they
are blooming up a storm. So now is the time we will get all the Frost
Covers out and be ready to cover them up when the cold weather comes
back.
The Blackberry plants are still deep in their winter
sleep. It has been so dry here lately that we have been giving them a
little to drink. I am not sure if the roots of the plant ever go
completely dormant. We will want to tidy up the rows and pin up a few
branches before long. It is a lot easier to work with them when they are
without leaves.
Tuesday January 22, 2008 --- It seems we are going
through a cold wet spell here. Everyone I see has asked "are the
Strawberries covered" to which I answer "Nope". Once again, the Strawberry
plant can handle temps into the low teens without much damage, the Strawberry
bloom (which eventually turns into the berry) on the other hand is very
tender. When the plants start blooming, hopefully soon, we will cover them
up when threatened by a freeze. The Marble Falls farm is particularly
susceptible because the berry fields are in a low spot by the creek where cold
air tends to settle. Therefore, one of the items on the agenda soon will
be getting the frost covers out and checking them
All in
all we are very happy with the condition of the farm. Last year was a
great year and we are hoping that we can string two good years in a row
together, that would be awesome!
Monday January 14, 2008 ---- I went to the Lexington farm
today and ........... am pleased to report the Strawberry plants are looking
pretty good! I had worked the fence over late last year so I thought we
had the deer situation under control. Unfortunately I found some deer
damage today so off to the back fence I went. What do you think I
found? Yes, I was mumbling under my breath the entire time I was fixing
it! AARRGGGHHH! Although there is some deer damage, it is nothing like
last year and I expect to make a good crop in Lexington this year. Today
we fertilized those plants and removed the sprinklers in preparation for frost
covers. I think we might go ahead and put the covers out in Lexington and
just leave them on for a month or so.
The Strawberry
plants here in Marble Falls are looking very good as well. I continue to
be amazed at how the planting date affects plant growth and production. I
don't understand this concept because you never know what kind of Fall you
are going to have (warm, cold, wet etc..). For instance, we planted the
plants in one block on a Thursday and the plants in the other block the
following Wed., Thurs and Fri. It was a very warm weekend in between
planting dates. The plants planted first are covered with runners that we
are going to have to pull off, the later plants hardly have a runner on
them. The object is to pick just the right date so the plants develop 4 or
5 crowns which will give you the optimum yield and size. Plant too early
and ours go right into making runners, way too early and they will make too many
crowns yielding small fruit. Plant too late and production is affected
greatly. I wish I could say that we strategically pick the planting dates
but the fact of the matter is that we put them in the ground whenever we can
break loose from a busy pumpkin season. The dates we would like to get
them planted and the actual planting dates very seldom
match.
The vegetable beds have been made and we should
begin planting Onions soon, not far behind will be the taters. As soon as
the seed potatoes come in we will get them over to dad so he can cut them into
pieces for us. He will cut all 500 pounds by himself ---- Thanks Dad!
Wednesday January 10, 2008 ------ This is what we wrote last year at this time:
"We have had a wonderful Holiday season and we hope you have had the same. Not too much is happening on the farm right now. We have almost finished cleaning up after the past Fall pumpkin season. The goats are eating the last of the leftover pumpkins now. A few more things need to be put away and the farm will be ready for the upcoming Strawberry season. The Strawberry plants are in pretty good shape right now. They are not growing much on the top but you can be sure that they are establishing a root system. It would be nice for us to get a week or two of cold weather right now. We have had a few cold spells so far this winter but nothing sustained. If I could order up the weather I would ask for a couple of days of freezing weather to kill some bugs and fulfill a dormancy period in the plants. I know one thing for sure, we will live with what we get."
That pretty much sums up where we stand this year as well. Today we hope to make some Vegetable beds in preparation for Potatoes and Onions. We will wait until March to plant the Tomatoes and other misc. vegetables but it will be nice to already have the beds built. For us this is a pleasant time of the year -- we have plenty to do but we don't have any pressing deadlines looming. We always get lulled into slowing down and then the weather will break in about mid February and we will catch ourselves saying "why didn't I already have this done?!" Oh well ...... since this has gone on for several years I certainly would not want to break the cycle now. I suppose I will mosey on out the door, maybe it has warmed up enough for me to get outside. The sun is brightly shining today -- good, I need to work on my tan.
For Fresh News from previous years, just click the link below:
Somewhere along the way we lost Fresh News 2000. I have some old pc's in the barn, maybe I can find it there.