Sunday December 30, 2001 ---- And guess what we did this afternoon. Would you believe me if I said we picked about 85# of ripe, red Strawberries? Well, believe it because we sure did. And if you still don't believe me ....... just take a look at the front of the kids shirts.
Now don't think we are about to open for the 2002 season, in fact we are now closed until March of 2002. The berries we picked today are some plants we had covered up just for the fun of it. This variety is called 'Sweet Charlie' which are accustomed to producing early berries. The weather in November was especially mild which caused them to put on a few blooms. We thought it would be fun to protect these few blooms -- we did -- and it was fun to pick some berries. We will pick a few more berries from this section but not enough to justify opening by any means.
'Texas' was fun but now it is time to mow it down. The cane has turned brown and is slowly starting to fall over. We will mow it down, cultivate it and get it ready to plant in the spring for hopefully a spring 'Texas' that might be ready by May of 2002. Get your maps out because the new 'Texas' will be composed of very small out of the way towns. Are you from a small town that you would like to see 'on the map'? Send us an email and maybe we will put it in
Happy New Year!.
Friday December 21, 2001 ---- Merry Christmas!!!! Did you know that Santa likes to farm also???? Yes, he does because he likes to Ho, Hoe, Hoe. Everyone at Sweet Berry Farm is wishing you and yours a wonderful holiday season.
The maze is still going and we will be open this weekend if you want to come out.
Monday December 17, 2001 -- Wet, windy and cool ***** Weather has kept us from doing much at the patch lately. Our projects for the end of December and first of January include trellising blackberries, weed control between rows and filling sandbags. The sandbags will be used to anchor the frost covers we will roll out in late January and February to protect the blooms when temperatures get close to freezing or a frost is predicted. We have run out of sandbags, so my mother has crafted an array of brightly colored bags from her sewing scraps. Mom, I love you! You always come through. Now, I just found out that my sister is coming in to town with additional material for more bags ------ we might just be the only Strawberry farm in America with designer sandbags. You know, I better hide my shirts and jeans - they are liable to find them, sew the arms and legs shut, and fill them with sand.
I guess it is just the time of the year talking but I really appreciate how my wife, kids, sister, mom, dad, grandparents, inlaws and friends have continued to work and help out at the patch - THANKS you guys.
'Texas' is still standing and, at the moment, still passable. We have had a string of rainy weekends that have kept most pedestrians away. Once again, we will continue to operate 'Texas' as long as it is still standing. Check here each week to see how it is going.
Monday December 10, 2001 --- Picked our first strawberry of next season,,,,,,,, or is it the last berry of the past season? Yes, we picked a whopping 6 red ripe berries Saturday, and I did not get to taste a one. It seems the kids got their hands on them and they mysteriously vanished (other than the one that was found squished in a pocket, ughhhhh!). No, we are not about to open as these berries are just the product of a warm fall. The weather is sure to get cold enough to stop any more production,,,,, I think. We did have a heavy frost this morning that should kill any exposed blooms trying to pop out
It seems that last weekend was 'birthday' weekend as we had several groups celebrating birthdays come out and go through the maze. We will continue to be open on the weekends as long as 'Texas' is standing..
Tuesday December 04, 2001 --- Someone told me today that they had read the Monday update and asked if the new 'roads' in Texas were going to make it too easy to find the cities. I replied "nope". The new roads actually make it a little more confusing, while some cities are a hair bit easier to find the average 'seek' time is still about one hour during the day and 1.5 hours at night. So don't worry, the maze is still a lot of fun to walk through. We will be open this coming weekend and probably a few weekends after that (depending on the severity of future cold weather.
We removed the one frost cover we had deployed to find a lot of very nice berries in the making. It will be interesting to watch these berries and see how they develop.
Monday December 03, 2001 --- 'Texas' is still standing. It looks like the maze will continue to be open through this weekend for sure. I walked through it this afternoon and saw a few new roads ---- which were almost enough to confuse even me. Since I am the one that laid it out I knew where everything went and the cities were, now with the new roads I have to think a minute where they might lead. I believe that the additional pathways are making it harder because of the increased amount of choices. We had a few Girl Scout groups out over the weekend of which the girls found everything but some of the adults left without getting all the cities. So far Amarillo has been the hardest for most pedestrians to find, although Dallas is beginning to move up.
Thursday November 29, 2001 --- The day after the big freeze, sleet, freezing rain ................. and 'Texas' looks ................................... GOOD!!!!!!! The sorghum is a little nipped on the edges of the leaves and will probably turn brown one of these days but for THIS weekend everything looks super. We are of course very excited that we get to operate the maze a little bit longer. If you have not tried it yet this weekend might be a great opportunity. Everyone is having a great time going through 'Texas' --- some a little too good as we have a new road or two appear each weekend. How? you ask, some pedestrians are getting a little carried away and tromping out new roads. If you do plan to come out be sure to stress to your company the importance of staying on the path. So far the new roads have not made it much more easy but we don't want anymore.
The strawberries and blackberries are looking good too. The freezing weather does not affect either plant much. We do have eight rows of strawberries covered in an attempt to save the many blooms they are loaded with. We will not open early if these berries set - they are just for us to have at Christmas time. If we do get some we will probably use them to make jam.
Monday November 26, 2001 --- Thanks! Thanks to all of you folks that came out and had a great time going through the maze last weekend. If you did'nt come out, where were you? 'Texas' is still holding up pretty good,,,, so far. It appears we have a freeze coming later this week --- we will see what that does to Texas. If we have a hard freeze it should turn it brown but it might still stand up. We will have to wait to see how it turns out. We will update you here if something happens to it.
The strawberry plants look great! We are very happy with how they are looking at this stage of the game. We have some blooming now that we are going to cover, for the fun of it, during the upcoming freeze.
In fact, we are very happy with how the entire place is looking right now. Still plenty of things to do but we are catching up fast.
Friday November 16, 2001 --- My gauge runneth over (cup, too). Our rain gauge only goes to 5.25 inches and apparently we received more than that yesterday. Got Damage? You ask. ---------- not much I say (as I let out a huge sigh of relief). In fact, if it doesn't rain tonight we will open the maze for customer traffic tomorrow. I walked through Texas this evening and it was only a little slippery in some spots. A few places just north of Dallas and Amarillo had a little wind damage where the grass had laid over a little, but on the whole Texas is in great shape. Speaking of opening - we have decided to also open next thursday (Thanksgiving) evening from 5 pm to 9pm.
Monday November 05, 2001 --- We are having fun again! I always enjoy the patch but the times that we feel almost caught up (I don't think we would ever feel like everything was done) is the best time of all. The Strawberries are almost all planted (just a few replacements to make and a row or two to finish), the Maze is almost fully functional (need to close a few 'roads' down that someone made through the cane), the grass is almost all cut (need to shred a little with the tractor), the weeds are almost all taken care of (we need to till between the Strawberry beds yet), the store is almost cleaned up from pumpkin selling (odds and ends need to be put in storage), the blackberries are almost trellised (well, not quite... actually, we have a long way to go on the blackberries but 'almost' sounds better) the Maze signage is almost all in place (we still need to make a big cutout to put on the fm1431 billboard), the Maze advertising is almost done (we still need to send out a lot of press releases and maybe get a commercial made) and the place is almost cleaned up (we get behind on putting things away when we get so busy, and now we have a new barn! a 42 foot 18 wheeler trailer that is rain tight, almost) --------------------- you know ......... I felt a lot better about the patch before I started writing this.
We are having a ton-o-fun with the Maze. It seems that everyone going into the labyrinth is coming out with a smile on their face And most of the pedestrians have been able to find all eleven cities. I think I might go in and close a few roads though, the little-over-an-hour average time to find all eleven cities, seems to easy.
Monday October 29, 2001 --- Finally! We finished planting Strawberry plants today, well almost - we are close enough to say we are finished. Yipee, we are certainly happy to see that job completed. Now we just have to get them to GROW!
The Maze is now open. It is fun and probably unlike anything you have ever done before (most of you anyway). Come on out and give it a go. I'm glad I was never a little smartalick (how do you spell smart al ick?) kid who thought he knew it all. I am getting a little bit of pleasure when they come out of the maze not being able to find all the cities. I just say ---- oh I'm sorry, did little johnny think he could find them all ----- ha!.
The pumpkins are almost finished it has been fun.
Monday October 22, 2001 --- Are you ready to Waltz across Texas? Yep, I believe 'Texas' will be open for travel this weekend. The 4 acre Sorgum-Sudan Grass field cut in the shape of 'Texas' is ready for pedestrians. After entering Brownsville travelers choose and follow pathways throughout 'Texas' in an attempt to find 11 cities (Corpus Christi, Austin, Marble Falls, San Antonio, Houston, Tyler, Dallas, Lubbock, Amarillo, Del Rio and El Paso) which are marked with signs. Not all pathways lead to cities, some to dead ends and others to detours. On average it is taking between 40 minutes to 1.5 hours to find all the cities, if you can find them. This maze is mostly for ages 8 and up as smaller kids normally tire out to early and become confused. The grass height ranges between 3 and 6 feet and the 'roads' are only about 42" wide. To make it harder we will soon allow travelers to enter the maze at night armed with only a flashlight.
The Strawberry planting is coming along nicely. We are trying to take our time and get them planted with a little tender lovin care since the plants are a bit on the small side and not as well rooted out as we would like. I believe they will be OK in the long run, we just need to baby them a little bit to get them growing. We have planted 60 of the 100 rows ( about 4 miles worth) and hope to be finished by early next week.
We are also still selling Pumpkins, taking Hay Rides, stuffing ScareCrows, painting Faces and painting Pumpkins on the weekends. So we hope to see you soon.
Tuesday October 16, 2001 --- 8,000 down, 52,000 to go. The strawberry plants arrived last Friday and today was the first day it has been dry enough to plant. The first day always goes slow because of all the adjustments that have to be made (tractor, implement, water etc...) so we are very happy to have 8,000 in the ground, especially with only 2 planters and 1 driver.
Have you got your pumpkin yet?? If not, I know where you can find one - a good one - probably better than any pumpkin you ever had ---- in fact, I can see you tellin the grandkids "ya know, the best punkin I ever had came from a little farm in Marble Falls, Texas. It was way back in 01. Boy, those were the good ole days - when a punkin was really a punkin". Here at Sweet Berry Farm we give memories away for free, and just sell a few strawberries, blackberries and pumpkins on the side.
'Texas' is coming along nicely. Unfortunately this cooler weather has slowed growth. Maybe if we can get another foot on it we will be ready to open it up. The pathways have now been mowed. I think I am going to pay the kids to frolic along the paths and sing to it - maybe that would help it grow ---- you think?
Monday October 08, 2001 --- And another good pumpkin weekend, were you part of the fun last weekend? If so, thanks for coming out, we had fun too.
Here they come! The Strawberry plants should be coming in this week and shortly thereafter we will begin planting. Do you want to help us plant? This year we are going to allow 'guest planters' to help us put out the 60,000 plants. We have a 4 seat planter that pulls behind the tractor, the front 2 seats will be for 'guest planters' and the back two for the veterans. It is very simple and easy to do. The planter will simply punch a hole in the plastic covered bed, fill it half full with water, and then the planter person will remove the plug plant from a tray and insert it in the hole. It's just that easy ........ unless you have a little problem getting the plants out of the tray and the holes keep coming, then it turns into more of a comedy (such as the 'candy factory' episode of 'I Love Lucy') as the planter tries to stay up with the tractor. Luckily, you have a person sitting in the seat behind you to catch all the holes you miss.
'Guest Planters' will receive a 3.5" floppy disk with pictures of them planting, a certificate designating them as an "Honorary SweetBerry Farm Strawberry Planter" and a coupon good towards their Strawberry purchase next spring. We will also indicate on the certificate which rows they planted in order to check on the plants next Spring. All this for only $10 per row (about 800 total plants, or 15 - 20 minutes worth) or $15 for two rows. We have room for two 'guest planters' at a time. If you are interested you can send us an email to fruitman@sweetberryfarm.com in order to schedule a planting time. We will be offering this program Sat. Oct. 13 through Sat. Oct. 20 (excluding Sunday). We do plant in light rain but not in heavy rain. The same individual must occupy a seat the entire row. This program is for 10 yr olds and up
You know, not everyone can say they are a 'Strawberry Planter'. Now you even have the chance to fill in that blank spot on your resume, to add to the long list of your accomplishments (who needs Mt. Everest when they have the opportunity to be a 'planter'). Strawberries are considered to be a 'Romantic' fruit, now you can get in touch with your romantic side by planting the 'seeds of romance'. Who only knows what might happen if you and your 'significant other' plant together.
We began blazing the trails through 'Texas' again today with the help of Todd Holland and 'SurvTex Land Surveyors' (one of the best surveyors in the country! for your surveying needs call them at 830-798-8850). It is growing nicely, another two feet of growth and maybe it will be ready to open up for all of you explorers out there. Since the weather has turned a little cooler, and the days a little shorter, it might take 2 - 3 weeks for that to happen. So we are shooting for the end of the month to have it ready.
Monday, October 01, 2001 --- Punkins for Sale, come and get your punkins! What a great first punkin weekend. We had a lot of fun. Along with the Hayride, pumpkins and kid maze we plan to add 'scarecrow stuffing' and 'pumpkin painting'. We are having a lot of fun, come and join us.
Would you like to plant some of our Strawberries? Be on the lookout for the announcement of our 'Guest Planter' program. We are aiming to make a few folks 'Honorary Farmers', would you like to be one of them?
Wednesday, September 26, 2001 --- Are you ready for some PUNKINS!?!?!?!???
I know 'pumpkins' is the correct spelling, jest cuz i furmer am dunt meen i nut spill rigt - any how, 'punkins' sounds better. My poor kids, I have renamed them "punkin head 1" and "punkin head 2". Now before you get hot and bothered by that statement let me explain .... we have some beautiful wonderfully shaped pumpkins so maybe I am just giving them a compliment (do you think my wife would buy that if I called her a 'punkin head'?).
Beginning this Saturday we will be OPEN for you to come and get your Pumpkins, Gourds and more. Through the month of October, Hours of Operation will be: Thurs, Fri, Sat - 10am to 7pm, Sun - 1pm to 5pm.
We have big (120 pound) to small (1 pound) pumpkins along with an assortment of decorative and unusual gourds. You can choose your pumpkins and gourds from the store displays or wonder through the vines in search of the 'great' one.
Now if you are not familiar with pumpkin vines - they are spiny and prickly. You don't want to wonder through the vines in shorts or sandals. Most people want a pumpkin with a large stem still attached. If you just pull a pumpkin from the vine the stem will normally break off where it joins the pumpkin, therefore the stems have to be cut adjacent to the vine with shears. We don't really want to give folks pruners to go out into the vines, so we will precut the pumpkins that are ready and leave them where the lay. It appears that the worms are taking of the leaves at the moment making it easy to see the 'kins out amongst the vines.
On Saturday's and Sunday's we will have a hayride for the kids along with some other activities we are working on now (soon to be announced). The picnic tables will be set up should you want to use them for lunch or dinner.
In other news - - - the Maze is growing quite nicely, perhaps it will be ready in late October, we'll just have to wait and see. It is hard to believe we will soon be planting Strawberry plants. In another two weeks we should have plants and begin putting them in the ground.
Hope to see you Saturday.
Note: since our UT friends were not really able to find a strawberry resembling their school sign (see ''Aggie/Horns Berries' link off of home page) we have decided to go with mostly Orange pumpkins this year in order to make them feel better. We even have some that are Orange and White for UT fans to gloat over. I know, we Aggies just seem to have a big heart that way.
Monday September 17, 2001 --- Seems like we are doing a lot of work and not getting much done -- have you ever had that feeling? I am glad to report that the Strawberry beds have been built and are almost ready for plants (have to hook up the irrigation first). I guess we ended up putting in about 7 miles worth of beds. The plants are scheduled to arrive the first of October and we will start planting them soon after.
The Maze is coming along nicely. We are currently trying to get the sprinklers set back up so we can give it a drink or two. Lets see ...... it is about 4 inches tall now --------- only 5 feet to go and we'll be ready to open! I know, you are saying "no way, that'll take months". Well, we will see, you might be right. I believe though that with a little water and fertilizer we can get between one to two inches of growth per day (averaged out, because some days it will grow faster than others due to the weather). One thing working against us now is the increasingly shorter days. It will be interesting to see what it does but maybe it will be ready to go in late October.
A few pumpkins are starting to get Orange, won't be too long now. We are planning to have pumkins the month of October. Stay tuned as we still have not worked out the 'Open' schedule yet.
Monday September 10, 2001 --- Hey, hey, hey - it looks like things are going are way for a change. A very good friend came over today with his tractor and we made about 40 Strawberry beds (a little over 3 miles worth). Just 58 more and we will have them all made and waiting for the plants. The beds look very good so far, nice tight and pretty straight. We have a new bedding machine that is doing a good job and making a little bit taller bed than before. Last weeks rains helped out by making the moisture content in the soil just right. In some of the heavier soils we have chisled it in order to get it to dry just a little more. Tomorrow we will tackle the new area of Strawberry land. If you don't remember, half of the Strawberries were displaced at the end of the season with Blackberries. In order to plant the same number of Strawberry plants we had to prepare a new area.
We replanted the 'Texas' maze last week and the new grass is shooting up. It is about 2 inches tall so far (only 5.5 feet to go). We will soon put the water and fertilizer out on it in order to push growth. With God's help it will be ready in late October.
Tuesday September 4, 2001 --- OK, I'm not saying one word about rain anymore! I heard a quote on TV that pretty much summarizes the weather at the patch "one long drought broken up by periods of flooding".
We did get the hay baled and off of 'Texas', it was still a little wet and is not going to be real good but we could'nt wait any more. Maybe tomorrow we will replant 'Texas' in hopes that it will be ready by late October.
As soon as it dries up enough for us to get in on the Strawberry land we will begin making beds. About 5 weeks till planting!
We have some pumpkins peeking out. We plan to have pumpkins and gourds for sale the last of September and all of October, keep watching for more updates on the pumpkins.
Monday August 27, 2001 --- Last Tuesday we had the Maze cut down, the cane needed to sit on the ground for a couple of days to dry out before it could be baled ----it is still laying on the ground because now it is raining. It will be a couple of days after the rain stops before it dries out enough to bale - then we can work on getting it going again.
We might start putting a few Strawberry beds in tomorrow. It is a little early but we want to utilize the moisture while we have the chance. Just think, we will be planting the Strawberry plants in only about 5 weeks. I have relaxed on the issue of having straight rows. The plants have grown just fine on crooked rows, so whats the big deal (maybe by writing this I can make myself beflieve it)?
We have Pumkins! and I'm not talking about our kids. We decided to see if we could find some baby pumpkins on the plants today, and sure enough there they were. We plan on opening the patch with Pumpkins in late September, be on the look out.
Monday August 20, 2001 --- It appears we might have announced the maze a little early. After 42 rainless days, we received 2.6 inches yesterday morning. The rain came down in sheets along with high winds subsequently knocking down most of the cane. The 'panhandle' was about 6.5 feet tall, while the rest of 'Texas' was between 4 and 6 feet in height. Well, most of it is about 6 inches tall now. We will remove all the sprinklers tomorrow in order to have it cut and baled starting Wednesday. Maybe by the first of next week we will replant it and try it again If all goes well we should have it ready by late October.
It's too bad that it blew over, we were going to open up the first of September. We are very dissapointed especially after putting in the long hard work to get it going. These things happen and we will just try it again, remember - Romans 8:28
Tuesday August 14, 2001 ----
Here it is, a 4 acre 'Texas' maze for you to get lost in. The object will be to enter at McAllen (south Texas) find Corpus Christi, San Antonio, Austin, Marble Falls, Houston, Dallas, Tyler, Del Rio, Lubbock and Amarillo and finally exit El Paso. Much more info will be forthcoming.
Monday August 13, 2001 --- I feel kinda like Moses - the rain clouds came right at me today - and then just seemed to split and go right on by on each side. Oh well, maybe tomorrow.
We went flying again today to take another look at the surprise - it's lookin good. We took some pretty good pics that should be on the site before long. The panhandle has grown almost 6 feet tall, now if we can just get west Texas to grow we will be in good shape. I suppose it is about time to let everyone in on the 'surprise' and tell you what we are up to ----- maybe tomorrow, I'm kinda sleepy tonite.. Watch for those pics!
Monday August 06, 2001 --- Now we have a new problem --- the birds are so fat from eating the worms they can't fly. I am afraid Berry the patch cat is going to eat all the birds and then the worms will come back. Ah ha, but my mind didn't stop working yesterday, I will take Sugar the dog out to the patch to chase Berry the cat and keep him from eating all the birds!
We did have the opportunity to go up in an airplane last weekend (thanks to a very good friend!) to see how the surprise is doing. We were just aMAZEd! It still has a ways to go but it is starting to take shape. We did finish blazing the trails through west Texas today, whew.
We were also blessed today with a brand new baby gusher - water that is. Western Water Wells came out and did a marvelous job of putting another well down for us. I was a bit worried when he had gone 20 feet and hadn't hit water (ha ha) but my worries were soon laid to rest as he hit water at 28 feet and went on down to 75 feet before hitting Granite. He estimated about 90 gallons per minute if we wanted to pump that much (we won't, we will probably put a 50 gpm pump in the hole). Have you ever stopped and considered how important water is to you? There is no way we could attempt to grow anything without a promise of supplemental water. The cane seed that has not been watered has not come up, whereas the seed that has been watered is 3 feet tall. Farming makes it easy to understand some of Jesus' teachings. If your faith is not being watered, it is not going to grow (especially in the summer).
Wednesday August 01, 2001 --- Well, I have a new strategy for the army worms eating the surprise. It's a good strategy and I am sure it will work because I thought it up. I have a piper and am looking for someone named Pied. As soon as I find him/her we will begin playing a tune to attract every bird in the county to the patch. They will know where to come because I am going to put up "free lunch' signs for them to read. We should also leave the water on in case the birds get thirsty.
It is a good thing that the kids and I are memorizing Romans 8:28, I am able to sleep easier knowing these calamities will pass. The cane is growing well with or without worms. We have now mowed out the inside of east Texas and will move on to the rest of Texas later this week. I believe that we will overcome the worms and drought to have it ready by late September. It is going to be a lot of fun that you will not want to miss out on.
Monday July 23, 2001 ---- And yet another cool day out at the patch. Nothing like working out in the blazing sun through the afternoon. I did cheat a little by deciding that I needed to check each and every sprinkler watering the surprise. It is important that each sprinkler is putting out cool water and the only way to determine that is to get in there and personally check each one.
Speaking of the surprise ---- 'Texas' has now been cut out. It is ironic that we have a few places that are not growing as well as the rest, guess where they are --- you guessed it, West Texas and South Texas. So we are trying to apply a little extra water to these areas to encourage more growth. I thought the grasshoppers might be a problem, I did not expect INCH WORMS to invade. The surprise is six acres big, was nothing but Mesquite trees and cactus two months ago --- where did the worms come from? They are all over the new patch, how can that many just show up? What is the plan, you ask - try to grow it faster than the worms can eat it!
Most of the pumpkin seeds have now germinated and appear to be growing nicely. Now if we can just keep those grasshoppers off them.
Finally, we have finished pruning out the dead wood from the Blackberries and have now trellised up all the new growth. The canes look very good for this time of the year. If you thought you had seen the largest Blackberry ever this year, wait until you see them next year. About 1200 of the newly planted Blackberries are looking good, the other 300 are having a tough time since the grasshoppers ate all their leaves.
Monday July 16,2001 ---- If this doesn't make sense - it is not my fault - I am sleep writing. I just realized we will be building Strawberry beds in 6 or 7 weeks ---- arghhhh!
A little water here and a lot of water there is making the surprise grow, grow, grow. Did I mention that if you got lost in it, you could possibly chew on some in order to keep your strength up?
Since no one took us up on the lovable Grassus Hopperus' we now have a byproduct to sell (Grassus Hopperus 'number two'). Be sure to come by and get some of the naturally fertile product for your own garden.
We are almost finished pruning the Blackberry canes -- next project? dunno, can't think past 24 hours.
Monday July 9, 2001 ---- Where did the rain go? It is drying up in a hurry so we are trying to get the irrigation set up for the M....., ooopppps I almost let the secret out. Speaking of the surprise, it has been planted and the parts we have irrigated so far are coming up - Grow Baby, Grow! We are going to try to have it ready for the month of October and maybe some of November.
Elsewhere, the Strawberry beds have been removed and soil plowed - the newly planted Blackberries are starting to grow, soon we will install a trellis for them to grow on - and the mature Blackberries are being pruned and groomed. Hey, life is easy (why am I so tired then?).
Monday July 2, 2001 ---- Yeee Hawww, nothing like an inch of rain in the month of July to cheer a feller up. It certainly was nice. I know what you're asking yourself, you are one smart reader. You're asking yourself, "Why do they need rain when the Strawberries are finished and the Blackberries are irrigated?" aren't you? Well let me tell ya, you are right on the first two but forgot to remember the 'Surprise'. If all goes well we will be planting it tomorrow. We're so excited, just can't wait to see if it works. It should be ready in October, along with the Pumpkins.
We still have a lot to do at the patch. So much that we were having anxiety attacks, so now we just take it one job at a time and let God handle the rest. I guess taking off in the afternoons and going swimming with the kids is not helping, sure is fun though.
Monday June 25, 2001 ---- Have you seen the latest fad in Japan? It is so cool, and we have some out at the patch too. We will begrudgingly sell them just so your kids will be the first ones on the block to get some. I think we can let them go for as little as a dime each Of course I am referring to those lovable, cutable, gotta have'em Grassus Hopperus. We have lots of colors to choose from.
Life at the berry patch is just a little easier now that we are closed for the summer. Now we can settle down and get some work done. We have partially finished the high fence around the new addition, at least far enough that we don't have to worry about those renegade cows next door. Now we are frantically working on the soil in the 'surprise' area. We want to plant this area next week. It is not easy going from a rough Mesquite and cactus infested patch that has not been cultivated in 50 years (I think Cain was the last one to work it and his plow did not go very deep) to a sculpted, massaged, aerated and aromatically correct plot of conditioned growing media. One of these days we will get pictures on the site so you can see the transformation process.
Not to mention the other projects we are working on: drilling a well, installing irrigation, putting in Blackberry trellis', pruning out the old Blackberry canes, removing the old Strawberry beds, preparing a new patch for Strawberry planting this fall and erecting more high fence. Shoot we just might be finished by the end of the week.
Monday June 18, 2001 --- Not really going ....... we took a long hard look at the Blackberries today and there is very few left to pick. Soooo, I believe we are going to go ahead and close for the summer. We will probably keep the gate open in the mornings the remainder of this week just in case someone wants to look around. Thanks for a wonderfull Spring and stay tuned here for information on the Fall crops.
Sunday June 17, 2001 --- Still going, but not for long. We are still picking Blackberries but we don't think they will last too much longer. I believe we will have berries through the 24th, if there is a change we will let you know right here.
The local company hosting our website is having problems and as a result the site has been down several times over the last week. I apologize if it hasn't been available when you needed it. The pics are still not loading, we should get them straightened out soon.
Monday June 11, 2001 --- Whew! it is getting hot in the afternoons, if you are coming to pick Blackberries - I would definitely come in the mornings. Speaking of Blackberries, they are still producing and customers are picking some gorgeous berries in the mornings (the ripe ones for the day are normally picked by the afternoon). Thursday morning is still the best time to come since we are closed on Wednesday. I would expect the blackberries to continue producing through next week. A few new pics have been put under the 'Blackberry Harvest" link, check them out.
We have finished planting another 1500 Blackberry plants. This should almost double blackberry production next year. Hopefully we will then have plenty of blackberries for everyone to pick.
A lot of people have been trying to figure out the surprise. Only a few have got it so far. Customers of late have noticed the additional 12 acres we are working up. We will be planting some of it to Strawberries (the area displaced by the additional Blackberry plants) and some of it to other Spring things and a lot of it to one fall thing. We do plan to have pumpkins this fall but that is not the surprise. Actually I don't want to tell you what it is because if I can't get it to grow right, we would be a failure. So this way all our bases are covered. I will give you a hint - it is not edible.
We are now in the process of fencing off the new area. We will soon be drilling another well along with frantically trying to work the soil (which has not been broken in 50+ years and is full of left over Mesquite roots and cactus pears).
Friday June 1, 2001 --- Let me make something perfectly crystal clear - in no way, shape, form or fashion did my wife, any relative or non-relative enter my mind when mentioning 'the HEALTHY lady' in the last update. In fact, it probably wasn't even a lady at all - it was a man. Yeah, thats it, it was a man.
Now that we have that cleared up - those Blackberries are still producing. The same rule of thumb is still holding true though, those customers coming early are finding ripe berries, those coming later in the day are having a tough time finding a box of ripe ones. We have just planted an additional 1000 blackberry plants and should plant another 500 next week. This should effectively double our blackberry production next year. These new plants should be more than enough to make it where everyone can gete berries at any time during harvest.
Step one of the Strawberry plant removal is almost complete. The majority of the plants have now been mowed down. Just a few more to go and we will start pulling up the plastic. We also have been working up an additional 12 acres next to us. What is going there? It's a surprise, maybe you will see it by this fall.
Sunday May 27, 2001 ---- I was in the Strawberry patch today and heard something unusual ------ it was hard to determine at first ---- so I walked a little farther down the row ----- now it was evident, I knew exactly what it was. It was singing, in fact it was a fat lady singing. Those Strawberries really are finished producing for this season. They did great and it is hard to see them go but all good things must come to an end I suppose. Now we just have to mow all the plants down, remove all the plastic mulch and drip pipe, knock the beds down, cultivate the soil all summer, build the beds again in September, plant another 60,000 plants in October, watch for freezes through the winter and we will be ready for harvest again next spring. Sounds simple enough.
Blackberry harvest is underway. The berries are slow to ripen so we are not experiencing a glut of berries. In fact, at the moment we only seem to have enough ripe berries for customers that arrive in the first hour or two of opening. After two or three hours the berries become increasingly difficult to find. Therefore, if you are coming for blackberries - come early in the mornings.
Tuesday May 22, 2001 --- It had to happen, we have been spared too many times. But everything is OK, we are still picking berries. It was just a little bit, minor damage, more of a nuisance than anything. It did take a little work to clean up afterwards. Some wires had to be tightened, tposts straightenend, lots of things picked up. What was it???? A pretty nasty looking thundercloud that dropped a little over an inch of rain, a little hail and a lot of wind, on us Sunday night. Some of the Blackberry trellis' were bent over (which were easy to straighten out) and a few of the berries experienced hail damage. Everything should be back to normal by Thursday or Friday.
We are still picking a few Strawberries and now a few Blackberries. Strawberry harvest is almost over and Blackberry harvest is quickly gaining steam.
Friday May 17, 2001 --- What is this? Could we still be picking a few strawberries? Yes it is true, the strawberries are hanging on, but only by the hair on their chinny chin chin. Folks are still picking a few berries, not without a challenge though. We have seen some very nice boxes of berries go out this week --- the key is to look in and under the plants. No longer can you just walk down the row, waiting for the berries to leap into the basket (as they once did, especially if you whistled). Now is the time for the serious picker, the one that will get in there amongst the plants, one that will search high and low, one that will not be denied but emerge triumphant through it all. A wise man once said (that would be my dad --- don't tell him I called him wise) "He that parteth the leaves, leaves with a full basket".
Shhhhhh, listen closely......... concentrate, I know you can hear it ........ hear that! It's a snap, crackle and pop and it's not coming from your bowl of cereal ----- its' coming from the Blackberries and that would be the sound of the berries ripening. It is only a slow rumble now but it will soon be roaring so get ready.
Saturday May 12, 2001 --- Say 'Good night'. It is time to put the 2001 Strawberry picking season to bed. We are now scratching pretty hard for any available strawberries. We sure do hate to see them go but all things must come to an end.
Our season started late, April weather was great! We are glad you didn't wait. You came from all over the state, and made this strawberry season the best on slate. Blackberries, Blackberries looking so good, just as we thought they would. Bring back your strawberry box, you know you should , It's getting sunny and warm so don't forget your hood. (This sounded a lot better late last night when we were half asleep!!).
The Blackberries are about one and a half weeks away from harvest. A few berries are beginning to show a little color now. Harvest should be well underway by the first week of June. We expect to pick Blackberries through most of June.
To Glove or not to Glove --- that is the question. The Blackberries are pinned up on a trellis so it makes the picking much easier but you still have to be careful. I can pick a full box of blackberries with getting stuck only a time or two. It is that big giant juicy one that you see down in the middle of the plant --- you know you have to pick it ----- you sneak your hand in ever so slowly ----- all is well so far ------ you gently pluck the berry from its perch --------- and somehow the plant knows of your thievery and attacks your hand and arm ------ now you might as well just cut your arm off and leave it in there because it is going to hurt when you pull it out.
Monday May 7, 2001 --- Whewwwwww! Some friends just to the NorthEast of the patch had their garden decimated by hail last night. Luckily, we were spared at the patch. We did get almost 2 inches of rain so some areas of the patch are wet. A few dry days and all will be fine for picking this Mothers Day. The Strawberries are still producing. Berry size has diminished quite a bit but most of us feel like the smaller berries are sweeter anyway. .
Blackberries seem to be the topic of interest now. They are looking good, just not ready yet. We are still holding to our late May prediction for Blackberry picking.
Monday April 30, 2001 --- Can I fall over now??? We have been running like mad lately trying to stay up with the fruit and customers. We had a wonderful weekend and picked a ton of Strawberries ----- are there any left???? Yep. The berries are not quite as thick as before but are just as good. We are seeing a few runners (strawberry plantlets that the mother plant puts off in an attempt to multiply) begin to emerge now, this means that the plants are going to switch their emphasis from fruit production to vegetative production. We should pick Strawberries through May but each passing week will bring a smaller and smaller supply.
Blackberries are still coming!!! We are anxiously awaiting their arrival, which should be in late May. (Hurry UP). I don't understand --- people don't believe me when I say they are big enough to eat like an apple.
Thursday April 26, 2001 --- Wow!
Wowww!
Unbelievable!
I can't believe it!
No way, I must be seeing things.
Just a few of the comments on the amount of Strawberries available for picking (I have to admit, even I am astonished at how well the plants are producing). The plants will not keep us this pace for long so if you have been waiting to get your berries - don't wait any longer. Now is the time to pounce like a cat (update: Berry the patch cat has a hurt foot, he has to stay at home for awhile) while you still can.
Blackberries are still coming - another couple of weeks and we will be picking. You won't want to miss these Blacberries, they are so big that you eat'em like an apple!
here is a picking tip: No matter which row you choose to pick on - go to the far end and pick back.
Sunday April 23, 2001 ---- Still Going! The Strawberry plants are still producing very well, NOW is the time to get them. Before long the weather is going to warm up and Strawberry production will begin to dwindle. Surprisingly, the majority of the berries are still very large. Normally we would see berry size begin to shrink by this time of the year. Not this year though, the plants are still producing some extra large and beautiful berries.
OHHHHH Man!!!!! I just remembered I left the water going!!!! UUUUGGGGGHHHHHHH!!!!! Here I go out to the patch to turn off the water (at 11:30 pm) Maybe I will be able to run off some Racoons to make the trip worthwhile.
Quickly - all is doing well, Blackberries still look good - am expecting them around end of May. There is some nice stuff in the store - it is doing very well, you will not want to miss it when you visit. Hope to see you soon.
Monday April 17, 2001 ---- Boy howdy!!!! that Easter StrawBunnyBerry sure did get carried away last weekend. We picked and picked and the field never went dry. Everyone had a grand ole time finding all the berries they wanted. I don't think the field is going to let up very much either, so come on out and get in on the harvest. The recent warm weather has us a little concerned. We do not want it to get too hot or else the Strawberry plants will stop fruit production and shift into vegetative (runner) production.
A lot of folks are wondering when the Blackberries will be ready ------- about May 25th at 9:36am. As mentioned before, the canes are in incredible shape but the bloom seems to be a little weak. The blackberries will ripen over about a five week period, so it only stands to reason that the blooming period will last as long as well. We are in about the second week of bloom so the canes still have time to get going. There are some pictures of the Blackberries off the home page, just hit the "Blackberry 01pics" link.
Thursday April 12, 2001 ---- Waaaahoooo,,,,,,,,, again. We are just so happy that we have tons of fruit for everyone to pick. It is a great time to come get those little red bundles of sweet juice. I believe we will have plenty of berries for the Easter Weekend so load up the family and come on out. The plants are looking good and blooming like crazy (still).
Sunday April 08, 2001 ---- Waaahoooo, finally we are picking those strawberries. I would do a little dance but I'm too tired. We picked alot of berries over the weekend with still much more to come. Noone had any difficulty in picking a full box of the biggest, reddest, juiciest berries you ever did see. If you have'nt already done so - come on out and pick some of these delicious strawberries, you'll be glad you did.
The Blackberries are looking pretty good. I expected them to be in full bloom by now but they are still a week? away. They are growing great guns just not blooming yet. I still think it will be late May before they begin to ripen, we will keep you informed right here.
Wednesday, April 04 2001 ---- Have you ever seen a strawberry that is as big as an apple??????????????? Neither have I, but we are picking some that are pretty close. Yep, that much anticipated, much longed after, much sought after, craved for, prayed for, and yearned for, day has finally arrived. We are now open for the 2001 season and it is starting out with a bang. The berries are just incredible, they are still not thick as thieves (that should happen about late next week) but man do they taste good!.
Never have I seen the plants loaded with fruit as they are right now. Each plant has 50 plus fruiting structures ranging from blooms to ripe berries. Lets see....50 berries per plant * 65,000 plants = 3,250,000 berries divided by 6,000 customers = 541 berries per person. So when you come out make sure you count the berries to get your right amount (you better take two boxes). Now I sound like a research scientist, take a few plants and extrapolate the numbers out over a large area to come up with unrealisticly high production yields (......... sounds good though). Really, the plants are just incredible - you should come out just to marvel at what God has done.
By the way, the Blackberries are looking very good. They are even starting to pop open a few blooms.
Saturday, March 31, 2001 ---- Could it be (said with a raised eyebrow and smirkish grin)?????? I have been at a fruit growers meeting the past two days and did'nt get in until after dark tonight,, so what do we do? Get the trusty spotlight and head out to the patch to see what is going on. First thing going on was two Racoons having a little strawberry feast at our (your) expense!!! I knew something was up the other day when I saw some bright red coon poop, not to mention the occasional chomped berry. We told them to get out and never come back - --- I am sure that will work just fine, right?
Getting back to the berries, we did see quite a few berries beginning to turn red. This means that we most assuredly should open in the coming week. As soon as we got home we pulled up the weather to see some 80+ degree days forcast ------ Ye Haw, strike up the band and lets do a little do-si-do. I don't know if I will be able to sleep tonight, I am seeing visions of bright red, plump and juicy Strawberries. . I will say that the plants are loaded with fruit like we have never seen before. If the weather turns out as predicted ------ wow (with a capital w) the fruit will be plentiful. Get ready!!!!!!!!
Tuesday, March 27. 2001 --- Nope (said through cold, chattering and wet teeth). 49 degrees for a high today.
Sunday, March 25, 2001 --- Cows, cows for sale! My wife and I have had at least 4 or 5 apiece. The strawberries are not ready yet. A little color is starting to appear but not much. We really need just a few days of mild weather and we are just not getting it. I just saw a forecast for below normal temperatures in the coming week - this will not help ripen up any berries. Stay tuned, the have to ripen eventually.
Wednesday, March 21, 2001 ---- I can see that after 12 years of raising Strawberries I still haven't figured them out. Lets put it this way - we should be open sometime before May. I checked them out pretty good this afternoon and feel that it will be next week before we can open. I'm sorry - I really did'nt intend on treating you like a YO-YO by stringing you on. I have never seen anything like this, they just won't ripen. I do feel the warm weather today and future forcast will go a long way in warming the soil and getting them moving again.
The Blackberries look great, they should be blooming in about 1.5 weeks. The weather has not seemed to effect them much - so far.
The Store looks great also, be sure to take a peak at the: one of a kind crafts, potporri, jams & jellies, t-shirts, honey and more when you visit.
Finally, be sure to get on the Elist. We will notify you when we do open and will also send you a coupon to use on your visit. Just click on the 'Email List' link off the home page (don't worry, we will not send you a bunch of junk mail or give your address to anyone else).
Monday, March 19, 2001 --- give me a break! What's up with this weather? It was so cold yesterday and this morning that I think the green berries were turning back into blooms. Now I am wondering if we are going to get a frost/freeze tonight. Lets see ,,,, the cows were standing up, I saw a pelican flying out of the west, a few Mesquite trees are budding out (not Pecans yet though), the Horses were standing facing south my weather rock was kinda cold, my knees feel fine (big toe kinda has a twitch in it though) and the goats were jumping around like a bunch of monkeys ----- whats all this mean??? I have no idea.
The weatherman said he did not think it was going to feeze but it might be close to a frost. We are going to take a gamble and not put out the frost covers. As I write this I wonder about the wisdom of that decision. I really don't expect to have any damage, if we do have some I believe it will be light which would reflect on the berry production in late April.
We are supposed to get some fantastic growing weather the remainder of this week - if this happens then we should be in business by Friday the 23rd. Get ready!
Saturday, March 17, 2001 --- I feel that cow kicking, boy those berries better hurry! Normally it is about 28 to 30 days from blossom to ripe berries, I believe with this weather pattern it is about 80 days from bloom to fruit. After marvelous weather friday, it was cold and damp today. We have had to turn a large number of people away because the berries are not quite ripe yet. Very few have turned but there seems to be a lot that will all ripen together. Actually the plants have more green berries and flowers than I have ever seen before. When we do start picking it is going to be katy-bar-the door - they aill be every where. I said two weeks ago that we would be open yesterday, and then last week I predicted opening the 20th ------ I wonder if I could get a job as a weatherman because I am not doing a very good job forcasting. They just have to be ready some time next week ------- I am pretty sure (I think).
We have been working hard trying to get every thing cleaned up and the store finished. Overall we are pleased with how everything is turning out. The store is almost complete, we just need to make a few more shelves. We have done a much better job this season controlling weeds (up to now ---- thanks mom! (champion weeder)). The plants really look good, we just need some mild weather for them to take off with.
The Blackberries are looking wonderful. They should be blooming the first week of April and ready for harvest in Mid May. I call this variety of blackberry the "Oh Man!" variety. Why? because when you see the shear size and beauty of the berries you can't help but say "OH MAN!".
Saturday, March 11, 2001 --- If those Strawberries don't hurry up and ripen I am going to give birth to a cow! Folks have been stopping by but the berries are just not ready yet. I was hoping we could open by the 16th but that might be pushing it. I now think it will be at least the first day of Spring (March 20th) before we open.
Not only am I going to give birth to a cow - I am growing fins! I hate to complain about something that is so good but ------ the patch is wet! We have been getting a steady supply of rain all winter long. We have one low spot that has not dried out for at least 3 months. Oh well, God knows best.
We have been working on the store lately, you can see a few more pics under 'Storepics' (off the main page). There are also a few current pics of the plants under 'Marchpics'. Overall, the patch is in pretty good shape - just waiting not so patiently for the berries.
Thursday, March 01, 2001 --- Not yet. The berries are not ready for harvest yet but maybe in two or three weeks. We would expect to open somewhere around mid-march ------ if we can ever get this weather straightened out. After a few warm days earlier this week, it has turned very cold. 35 degrees this morning. We have all the covers out just in case a freeze sneaks up on us, Sunday night might get close. Putting the covers out and taking them back up is a necessary part of growing strawberries, even though it is a pain. We were open last year at this time with some very nice berries, it has been a much colder winter hence the later start. Hang on - it won't be long.
Tuesday, February 20, 2001 --- We uncovered some of the plants today to see how they were doing under the covers. I am happy to report that they looked very good. We still don't have a huge flush of blooms but there seems to be a lot on the way. I would say that in a week or so the field should be white with blooms. This means that the end of March, first of April should be an outstanding time to pick. We are still holding to our mid-march opening date but I believe production will start out slow. If you scroll down to last years update for this date you will notice that we opened Feb. 29, 2000 - I do not believe that will happen this year. We seem to be about 2 weeks behind last year. Starting late should not affect overall production. I expect that harvest will just be a little more concentrated in 2001.
Saturday, February 10, 2001 --- We covered the plants for the first time this year (see 'Coverpics' off the main page) last night. We are trying to protect the majority of the blooms from freezing now. Some people I have talked to did not realize that the bloom is what develops into the berry. It takes about 30 days from the time you see an open bloom to a ripe fruit. We are working hard trying to get everything ready for the upcoming harvest season.
Our store suffered its first setback of the season, I ran into it with the tractor. I know, I debated whether or not I was going to admit to such a boneheaded act but it happened and it is kind of funny as I look back on it. Don't worry, it is repairable, I just broke a few boards (this is where I say I did'nt like those boards anyway and wanted them replaced). I am happy to report that the store did not budge and is structurally sound.
Saturday, February 3, 2001 --- What a glorious day! The weather yesterday and today was gorgeous. What a joy it is to be outside on days like this. We worked on a little store addition project today, you can see pics under the 'storepics' link. We also put up a few shots of some of the first blooms of 2001.
Thursday, February 1, 2001 --- ditto the last update. We have quite a degree of variance from this winter compared to last (see Feb. 2000 update). We are not showing any blooms right now. We do have a good many down deep in the crown ready to pop out given a little mild weather to stimulate growing. The temperatures have seemed to warm somewhat. I would expect a proliferation of growth and bloom by late next week if the temperatures will remain moderate. A couple of good sunny days would help immensly just by warming the soil, therefore encouraging growth.
At this point, I would not expect us to open by the first of March. I believe mid - March will be a more reliable potential opening date for 2001. We of course will keep you informed through 'Fresh News'.
Thursday, January 18, 2001 --- wet and cold! Soggy would be the appropriate term used to discribe the patch right now. Cold, wet and cloudy days have prevented much growth lately. The plants are a tad small for this time of the year but we are not concerned. It seems that most of the things we think are a problem turn out to be a blessing. I am sure this string of cold, wet cloudy days will be a blessing too. We do have a lot of blooms down deep in the crowns just waiting to come out. The cold weather is a benefit in that it is preventing those blooms from coming out and getting froze - see there, a blessing already. We are trying to get everything lined out for the coming season. Now is the time to prepare marketing plans and budgets.
Friday, January 12, 2001 --- Yeah, the Blackberries are now trellised, primed and ready to yield a bountiful harvest starting in Mid May. When you see the shear size and beauty of these berries your jaw is going to drop, maybe we should rename them, something like the 'Oooo My!' variety. The trellis' form a 'wall' of canes almost 6 feet tall and 300' long each (we have 14).
The Strawberry plants are looking good. The forecast is calling for several days above freezing, which will be good for the plants. I suspect that if we warm just a tad bit more the plants will begin to push blooms. I would look for them to be blooming somewhat by the first of February. Remember, it is only 30 days from bloom to fruit ------ sooo we could be picking berries before you know it.
Sunday, January 7, 2001 --- It was a glorious day in the patch yesterday, the weather was absolutely marvelous. Too bad we did not have anything to pick, you could have come out and spent the day with us. Of course, you could have come out anyway just for the fun of it. We spent all day building a little addition to the store, I will put up pictures as soon as we get a little farther along.
The Blackberries are almost all trellised now, just half a row to go. Just think, after harvest, all the canes we have been working so hard to trellis will have to be cut down and removed. Then all the new canes will have to be trellised up for next years crop.
Monday, January 1, 2001 --- Happy New Year! We hope you had and are having the very best Christmas/New Years Holidays yet.
It has been a tad bit cold at the patch lately, it is hard to believe we should be harvesting big, luscious red Strawberries in just 2 months. The colder weather has caused the plants to be a bit smaller than normal at this time of the year. The plants will quickly catch up if we get a week or two of mild temperatures in Jamuary and February. Don't worry though, we are expecting to have plenty of Strawberries for everyone to pick. And don't forget about the Blackberries - they canes are looking wonderful, we expect to have a bountiful crop beginning harvest about May 18, 2001.
Friday, December 22, 2000 --- Merry Christmas!!! We have given all the plants off for Christmas so I doubt they will do much growing. No need though, they are in pretty good shape. We are still trellising Blackberries, only 3 rows to go.
Now don't think we are about to open for the 2002 season, in fact we are now closed until March of 2002. The berries we picked today are some plants we had covered up just for the fun of it. This variety is called 'Sweet Charlie' which are accustomed to producing early berries. The weather in November was especially mild which caused them to put on a few blooms. We thought it would be fun to protect these few blooms -- we did -- and it was fun to pick some berries. We will pick a few more berries from this section but not enough to justify opening by any means.
'Texas' was fun but now it is time to mow it down. The cane has turned brown and is slowly starting to fall over. We will mow it down, cultivate it and get it ready to plant in the spring for hopefully a spring 'Texas' that might be ready by May of 2002. Get your maps out because the new 'Texas' will be composed of very small out of the way towns. Are you from a small town that you would like to see 'on the map'? Send us an email and maybe we will put it in
Happy New Year!.
Friday December 21, 2001 ---- Merry Christmas!!!! Did you know that Santa likes to farm also???? Yes, he does because he likes to Ho, Hoe, Hoe. Everyone at Sweet Berry Farm is wishing you and yours a wonderful holiday season.
The maze is still going and we will be open this weekend if you want to come out.
Monday December 17, 2001 -- Wet, windy and cool ***** Weather has kept us from doing much at the patch lately. Our projects for the end of December and first of January include trellising blackberries, weed control between rows and filling sandbags. The sandbags will be used to anchor the frost covers we will roll out in late January and February to protect the blooms when temperatures get close to freezing or a frost is predicted. We have run out of sandbags, so my mother has crafted an array of brightly colored bags from her sewing scraps. Mom, I love you! You always come through. Now, I just found out that my sister is coming in to town with additional material for more bags ------ we might just be the only Strawberry farm in America with designer sandbags. You know, I better hide my shirts and jeans - they are liable to find them, sew the arms and legs shut, and fill them with sand.
I guess it is just the time of the year talking but I really appreciate how my wife, kids, sister, mom, dad, grandparents, inlaws and friends have continued to work and help out at the patch - THANKS you guys.
'Texas' is still standing and, at the moment, still passable. We have had a string of rainy weekends that have kept most pedestrians away. Once again, we will continue to operate 'Texas' as long as it is still standing. Check here each week to see how it is going.
Monday December 10, 2001 --- Picked our first strawberry of next season,,,,,,,, or is it the last berry of the past season? Yes, we picked a whopping 6 red ripe berries Saturday, and I did not get to taste a one. It seems the kids got their hands on them and they mysteriously vanished (other than the one that was found squished in a pocket, ughhhhh!). No, we are not about to open as these berries are just the product of a warm fall. The weather is sure to get cold enough to stop any more production,,,,, I think. We did have a heavy frost this morning that should kill any exposed blooms trying to pop out
It seems that last weekend was 'birthday' weekend as we had several groups celebrating birthdays come out and go through the maze. We will continue to be open on the weekends as long as 'Texas' is standing..
Tuesday December 04, 2001 --- Someone told me today that they had read the Monday update and asked if the new 'roads' in Texas were going to make it too easy to find the cities. I replied "nope". The new roads actually make it a little more confusing, while some cities are a hair bit easier to find the average 'seek' time is still about one hour during the day and 1.5 hours at night. So don't worry, the maze is still a lot of fun to walk through. We will be open this coming weekend and probably a few weekends after that (depending on the severity of future cold weather.
We removed the one frost cover we had deployed to find a lot of very nice berries in the making. It will be interesting to watch these berries and see how they develop.
Monday December 03, 2001 --- 'Texas' is still standing. It looks like the maze will continue to be open through this weekend for sure. I walked through it this afternoon and saw a few new roads ---- which were almost enough to confuse even me. Since I am the one that laid it out I knew where everything went and the cities were, now with the new roads I have to think a minute where they might lead. I believe that the additional pathways are making it harder because of the increased amount of choices. We had a few Girl Scout groups out over the weekend of which the girls found everything but some of the adults left without getting all the cities. So far Amarillo has been the hardest for most pedestrians to find, although Dallas is beginning to move up.
Thursday November 29, 2001 --- The day after the big freeze, sleet, freezing rain ................. and 'Texas' looks ................................... GOOD!!!!!!! The sorghum is a little nipped on the edges of the leaves and will probably turn brown one of these days but for THIS weekend everything looks super. We are of course very excited that we get to operate the maze a little bit longer. If you have not tried it yet this weekend might be a great opportunity. Everyone is having a great time going through 'Texas' --- some a little too good as we have a new road or two appear each weekend. How? you ask, some pedestrians are getting a little carried away and tromping out new roads. If you do plan to come out be sure to stress to your company the importance of staying on the path. So far the new roads have not made it much more easy but we don't want anymore.
The strawberries and blackberries are looking good too. The freezing weather does not affect either plant much. We do have eight rows of strawberries covered in an attempt to save the many blooms they are loaded with. We will not open early if these berries set - they are just for us to have at Christmas time. If we do get some we will probably use them to make jam.
Monday November 26, 2001 --- Thanks! Thanks to all of you folks that came out and had a great time going through the maze last weekend. If you did'nt come out, where were you? 'Texas' is still holding up pretty good,,,, so far. It appears we have a freeze coming later this week --- we will see what that does to Texas. If we have a hard freeze it should turn it brown but it might still stand up. We will have to wait to see how it turns out. We will update you here if something happens to it.
The strawberry plants look great! We are very happy with how they are looking at this stage of the game. We have some blooming now that we are going to cover, for the fun of it, during the upcoming freeze.
In fact, we are very happy with how the entire place is looking right now. Still plenty of things to do but we are catching up fast.
Friday November 16, 2001 --- My gauge runneth over (cup, too). Our rain gauge only goes to 5.25 inches and apparently we received more than that yesterday. Got Damage? You ask. ---------- not much I say (as I let out a huge sigh of relief). In fact, if it doesn't rain tonight we will open the maze for customer traffic tomorrow. I walked through Texas this evening and it was only a little slippery in some spots. A few places just north of Dallas and Amarillo had a little wind damage where the grass had laid over a little, but on the whole Texas is in great shape. Speaking of opening - we have decided to also open next thursday (Thanksgiving) evening from 5 pm to 9pm.
Monday November 05, 2001 --- We are having fun again! I always enjoy the patch but the times that we feel almost caught up (I don't think we would ever feel like everything was done) is the best time of all. The Strawberries are almost all planted (just a few replacements to make and a row or two to finish), the Maze is almost fully functional (need to close a few 'roads' down that someone made through the cane), the grass is almost all cut (need to shred a little with the tractor), the weeds are almost all taken care of (we need to till between the Strawberry beds yet), the store is almost cleaned up from pumpkin selling (odds and ends need to be put in storage), the blackberries are almost trellised (well, not quite... actually, we have a long way to go on the blackberries but 'almost' sounds better) the Maze signage is almost all in place (we still need to make a big cutout to put on the fm1431 billboard), the Maze advertising is almost done (we still need to send out a lot of press releases and maybe get a commercial made) and the place is almost cleaned up (we get behind on putting things away when we get so busy, and now we have a new barn! a 42 foot 18 wheeler trailer that is rain tight, almost) --------------------- you know ......... I felt a lot better about the patch before I started writing this.
We are having a ton-o-fun with the Maze. It seems that everyone going into the labyrinth is coming out with a smile on their face And most of the pedestrians have been able to find all eleven cities. I think I might go in and close a few roads though, the little-over-an-hour average time to find all eleven cities, seems to easy.
Monday October 29, 2001 --- Finally! We finished planting Strawberry plants today, well almost - we are close enough to say we are finished. Yipee, we are certainly happy to see that job completed. Now we just have to get them to GROW!
The Maze is now open. It is fun and probably unlike anything you have ever done before (most of you anyway). Come on out and give it a go. I'm glad I was never a little smartalick (how do you spell smart al ick?) kid who thought he knew it all. I am getting a little bit of pleasure when they come out of the maze not being able to find all the cities. I just say ---- oh I'm sorry, did little johnny think he could find them all ----- ha!.
The pumpkins are almost finished it has been fun.
Monday October 22, 2001 --- Are you ready to Waltz across Texas? Yep, I believe 'Texas' will be open for travel this weekend. The 4 acre Sorgum-Sudan Grass field cut in the shape of 'Texas' is ready for pedestrians. After entering Brownsville travelers choose and follow pathways throughout 'Texas' in an attempt to find 11 cities (Corpus Christi, Austin, Marble Falls, San Antonio, Houston, Tyler, Dallas, Lubbock, Amarillo, Del Rio and El Paso) which are marked with signs. Not all pathways lead to cities, some to dead ends and others to detours. On average it is taking between 40 minutes to 1.5 hours to find all the cities, if you can find them. This maze is mostly for ages 8 and up as smaller kids normally tire out to early and become confused. The grass height ranges between 3 and 6 feet and the 'roads' are only about 42" wide. To make it harder we will soon allow travelers to enter the maze at night armed with only a flashlight.
The Strawberry planting is coming along nicely. We are trying to take our time and get them planted with a little tender lovin care since the plants are a bit on the small side and not as well rooted out as we would like. I believe they will be OK in the long run, we just need to baby them a little bit to get them growing. We have planted 60 of the 100 rows ( about 4 miles worth) and hope to be finished by early next week.
We are also still selling Pumpkins, taking Hay Rides, stuffing ScareCrows, painting Faces and painting Pumpkins on the weekends. So we hope to see you soon.
Tuesday October 16, 2001 --- 8,000 down, 52,000 to go. The strawberry plants arrived last Friday and today was the first day it has been dry enough to plant. The first day always goes slow because of all the adjustments that have to be made (tractor, implement, water etc...) so we are very happy to have 8,000 in the ground, especially with only 2 planters and 1 driver.
Have you got your pumpkin yet?? If not, I know where you can find one - a good one - probably better than any pumpkin you ever had ---- in fact, I can see you tellin the grandkids "ya know, the best punkin I ever had came from a little farm in Marble Falls, Texas. It was way back in 01. Boy, those were the good ole days - when a punkin was really a punkin". Here at Sweet Berry Farm we give memories away for free, and just sell a few strawberries, blackberries and pumpkins on the side.
'Texas' is coming along nicely. Unfortunately this cooler weather has slowed growth. Maybe if we can get another foot on it we will be ready to open it up. The pathways have now been mowed. I think I am going to pay the kids to frolic along the paths and sing to it - maybe that would help it grow ---- you think?
Monday October 08, 2001 --- And another good pumpkin weekend, were you part of the fun last weekend? If so, thanks for coming out, we had fun too.
Here they come! The Strawberry plants should be coming in this week and shortly thereafter we will begin planting. Do you want to help us plant? This year we are going to allow 'guest planters' to help us put out the 60,000 plants. We have a 4 seat planter that pulls behind the tractor, the front 2 seats will be for 'guest planters' and the back two for the veterans. It is very simple and easy to do. The planter will simply punch a hole in the plastic covered bed, fill it half full with water, and then the planter person will remove the plug plant from a tray and insert it in the hole. It's just that easy ........ unless you have a little problem getting the plants out of the tray and the holes keep coming, then it turns into more of a comedy (such as the 'candy factory' episode of 'I Love Lucy') as the planter tries to stay up with the tractor. Luckily, you have a person sitting in the seat behind you to catch all the holes you miss.
'Guest Planters' will receive a 3.5" floppy disk with pictures of them planting, a certificate designating them as an "Honorary SweetBerry Farm Strawberry Planter" and a coupon good towards their Strawberry purchase next spring. We will also indicate on the certificate which rows they planted in order to check on the plants next Spring. All this for only $10 per row (about 800 total plants, or 15 - 20 minutes worth) or $15 for two rows. We have room for two 'guest planters' at a time. If you are interested you can send us an email to fruitman@sweetberryfarm.com in order to schedule a planting time. We will be offering this program Sat. Oct. 13 through Sat. Oct. 20 (excluding Sunday). We do plant in light rain but not in heavy rain. The same individual must occupy a seat the entire row. This program is for 10 yr olds and up
You know, not everyone can say they are a 'Strawberry Planter'. Now you even have the chance to fill in that blank spot on your resume, to add to the long list of your accomplishments (who needs Mt. Everest when they have the opportunity to be a 'planter'). Strawberries are considered to be a 'Romantic' fruit, now you can get in touch with your romantic side by planting the 'seeds of romance'. Who only knows what might happen if you and your 'significant other' plant together.
We began blazing the trails through 'Texas' again today with the help of Todd Holland and 'SurvTex Land Surveyors' (one of the best surveyors in the country! for your surveying needs call them at 830-798-8850). It is growing nicely, another two feet of growth and maybe it will be ready to open up for all of you explorers out there. Since the weather has turned a little cooler, and the days a little shorter, it might take 2 - 3 weeks for that to happen. So we are shooting for the end of the month to have it ready.
Monday, October 01, 2001 --- Punkins for Sale, come and get your punkins! What a great first punkin weekend. We had a lot of fun. Along with the Hayride, pumpkins and kid maze we plan to add 'scarecrow stuffing' and 'pumpkin painting'. We are having a lot of fun, come and join us.
Would you like to plant some of our Strawberries? Be on the lookout for the announcement of our 'Guest Planter' program. We are aiming to make a few folks 'Honorary Farmers', would you like to be one of them?
Wednesday, September 26, 2001 --- Are you ready for some PUNKINS!?!?!?!???
I know 'pumpkins' is the correct spelling, jest cuz i furmer am dunt meen i nut spill rigt - any how, 'punkins' sounds better. My poor kids, I have renamed them "punkin head 1" and "punkin head 2". Now before you get hot and bothered by that statement let me explain .... we have some beautiful wonderfully shaped pumpkins so maybe I am just giving them a compliment (do you think my wife would buy that if I called her a 'punkin head'?).
Beginning this Saturday we will be OPEN for you to come and get your Pumpkins, Gourds and more. Through the month of October, Hours of Operation will be: Thurs, Fri, Sat - 10am to 7pm, Sun - 1pm to 5pm.
We have big (120 pound) to small (1 pound) pumpkins along with an assortment of decorative and unusual gourds. You can choose your pumpkins and gourds from the store displays or wonder through the vines in search of the 'great' one.
Now if you are not familiar with pumpkin vines - they are spiny and prickly. You don't want to wonder through the vines in shorts or sandals. Most people want a pumpkin with a large stem still attached. If you just pull a pumpkin from the vine the stem will normally break off where it joins the pumpkin, therefore the stems have to be cut adjacent to the vine with shears. We don't really want to give folks pruners to go out into the vines, so we will precut the pumpkins that are ready and leave them where the lay. It appears that the worms are taking of the leaves at the moment making it easy to see the 'kins out amongst the vines.
On Saturday's and Sunday's we will have a hayride for the kids along with some other activities we are working on now (soon to be announced). The picnic tables will be set up should you want to use them for lunch or dinner.
In other news - - - the Maze is growing quite nicely, perhaps it will be ready in late October, we'll just have to wait and see. It is hard to believe we will soon be planting Strawberry plants. In another two weeks we should have plants and begin putting them in the ground.
Hope to see you Saturday.
Note: since our UT friends were not really able to find a strawberry resembling their school sign (see ''Aggie/Horns Berries' link off of home page) we have decided to go with mostly Orange pumpkins this year in order to make them feel better. We even have some that are Orange and White for UT fans to gloat over. I know, we Aggies just seem to have a big heart that way.
Monday September 17, 2001 --- Seems like we are doing a lot of work and not getting much done -- have you ever had that feeling? I am glad to report that the Strawberry beds have been built and are almost ready for plants (have to hook up the irrigation first). I guess we ended up putting in about 7 miles worth of beds. The plants are scheduled to arrive the first of October and we will start planting them soon after.
The Maze is coming along nicely. We are currently trying to get the sprinklers set back up so we can give it a drink or two. Lets see ...... it is about 4 inches tall now --------- only 5 feet to go and we'll be ready to open! I know, you are saying "no way, that'll take months". Well, we will see, you might be right. I believe though that with a little water and fertilizer we can get between one to two inches of growth per day (averaged out, because some days it will grow faster than others due to the weather). One thing working against us now is the increasingly shorter days. It will be interesting to see what it does but maybe it will be ready to go in late October.
A few pumpkins are starting to get Orange, won't be too long now. We are planning to have pumkins the month of October. Stay tuned as we still have not worked out the 'Open' schedule yet.
Monday September 10, 2001 --- Hey, hey, hey - it looks like things are going are way for a change. A very good friend came over today with his tractor and we made about 40 Strawberry beds (a little over 3 miles worth). Just 58 more and we will have them all made and waiting for the plants. The beds look very good so far, nice tight and pretty straight. We have a new bedding machine that is doing a good job and making a little bit taller bed than before. Last weeks rains helped out by making the moisture content in the soil just right. In some of the heavier soils we have chisled it in order to get it to dry just a little more. Tomorrow we will tackle the new area of Strawberry land. If you don't remember, half of the Strawberries were displaced at the end of the season with Blackberries. In order to plant the same number of Strawberry plants we had to prepare a new area.
We replanted the 'Texas' maze last week and the new grass is shooting up. It is about 2 inches tall so far (only 5.5 feet to go). We will soon put the water and fertilizer out on it in order to push growth. With God's help it will be ready in late October.
Tuesday September 4, 2001 --- OK, I'm not saying one word about rain anymore! I heard a quote on TV that pretty much summarizes the weather at the patch "one long drought broken up by periods of flooding".
We did get the hay baled and off of 'Texas', it was still a little wet and is not going to be real good but we could'nt wait any more. Maybe tomorrow we will replant 'Texas' in hopes that it will be ready by late October.
As soon as it dries up enough for us to get in on the Strawberry land we will begin making beds. About 5 weeks till planting!
We have some pumpkins peeking out. We plan to have pumpkins and gourds for sale the last of September and all of October, keep watching for more updates on the pumpkins.
Monday August 27, 2001 --- Last Tuesday we had the Maze cut down, the cane needed to sit on the ground for a couple of days to dry out before it could be baled ----it is still laying on the ground because now it is raining. It will be a couple of days after the rain stops before it dries out enough to bale - then we can work on getting it going again.
We might start putting a few Strawberry beds in tomorrow. It is a little early but we want to utilize the moisture while we have the chance. Just think, we will be planting the Strawberry plants in only about 5 weeks. I have relaxed on the issue of having straight rows. The plants have grown just fine on crooked rows, so whats the big deal (maybe by writing this I can make myself beflieve it)?
We have Pumkins! and I'm not talking about our kids. We decided to see if we could find some baby pumpkins on the plants today, and sure enough there they were. We plan on opening the patch with Pumpkins in late September, be on the look out.
Monday August 20, 2001 --- It appears we might have announced the maze a little early. After 42 rainless days, we received 2.6 inches yesterday morning. The rain came down in sheets along with high winds subsequently knocking down most of the cane. The 'panhandle' was about 6.5 feet tall, while the rest of 'Texas' was between 4 and 6 feet in height. Well, most of it is about 6 inches tall now. We will remove all the sprinklers tomorrow in order to have it cut and baled starting Wednesday. Maybe by the first of next week we will replant it and try it again If all goes well we should have it ready by late October.
It's too bad that it blew over, we were going to open up the first of September. We are very dissapointed especially after putting in the long hard work to get it going. These things happen and we will just try it again, remember - Romans 8:28
Tuesday August 14, 2001 ----
Here it is, a 4 acre 'Texas' maze for you to get lost in. The object will be to enter at McAllen (south Texas) find Corpus Christi, San Antonio, Austin, Marble Falls, Houston, Dallas, Tyler, Del Rio, Lubbock and Amarillo and finally exit El Paso. Much more info will be forthcoming.
Monday August 13, 2001 --- I feel kinda like Moses - the rain clouds came right at me today - and then just seemed to split and go right on by on each side. Oh well, maybe tomorrow.
We went flying again today to take another look at the surprise - it's lookin good. We took some pretty good pics that should be on the site before long. The panhandle has grown almost 6 feet tall, now if we can just get west Texas to grow we will be in good shape. I suppose it is about time to let everyone in on the 'surprise' and tell you what we are up to ----- maybe tomorrow, I'm kinda sleepy tonite.. Watch for those pics!
Monday August 06, 2001 --- Now we have a new problem --- the birds are so fat from eating the worms they can't fly. I am afraid Berry the patch cat is going to eat all the birds and then the worms will come back. Ah ha, but my mind didn't stop working yesterday, I will take Sugar the dog out to the patch to chase Berry the cat and keep him from eating all the birds!
We did have the opportunity to go up in an airplane last weekend (thanks to a very good friend!) to see how the surprise is doing. We were just aMAZEd! It still has a ways to go but it is starting to take shape. We did finish blazing the trails through west Texas today, whew.
We were also blessed today with a brand new baby gusher - water that is. Western Water Wells came out and did a marvelous job of putting another well down for us. I was a bit worried when he had gone 20 feet and hadn't hit water (ha ha) but my worries were soon laid to rest as he hit water at 28 feet and went on down to 75 feet before hitting Granite. He estimated about 90 gallons per minute if we wanted to pump that much (we won't, we will probably put a 50 gpm pump in the hole). Have you ever stopped and considered how important water is to you? There is no way we could attempt to grow anything without a promise of supplemental water. The cane seed that has not been watered has not come up, whereas the seed that has been watered is 3 feet tall. Farming makes it easy to understand some of Jesus' teachings. If your faith is not being watered, it is not going to grow (especially in the summer).
Wednesday August 01, 2001 --- Well, I have a new strategy for the army worms eating the surprise. It's a good strategy and I am sure it will work because I thought it up. I have a piper and am looking for someone named Pied. As soon as I find him/her we will begin playing a tune to attract every bird in the county to the patch. They will know where to come because I am going to put up "free lunch' signs for them to read. We should also leave the water on in case the birds get thirsty.
It is a good thing that the kids and I are memorizing Romans 8:28, I am able to sleep easier knowing these calamities will pass. The cane is growing well with or without worms. We have now mowed out the inside of east Texas and will move on to the rest of Texas later this week. I believe that we will overcome the worms and drought to have it ready by late September. It is going to be a lot of fun that you will not want to miss out on.
Monday July 23, 2001 ---- And yet another cool day out at the patch. Nothing like working out in the blazing sun through the afternoon. I did cheat a little by deciding that I needed to check each and every sprinkler watering the surprise. It is important that each sprinkler is putting out cool water and the only way to determine that is to get in there and personally check each one.
Speaking of the surprise ---- 'Texas' has now been cut out. It is ironic that we have a few places that are not growing as well as the rest, guess where they are --- you guessed it, West Texas and South Texas. So we are trying to apply a little extra water to these areas to encourage more growth. I thought the grasshoppers might be a problem, I did not expect INCH WORMS to invade. The surprise is six acres big, was nothing but Mesquite trees and cactus two months ago --- where did the worms come from? They are all over the new patch, how can that many just show up? What is the plan, you ask - try to grow it faster than the worms can eat it!
Most of the pumpkin seeds have now germinated and appear to be growing nicely. Now if we can just keep those grasshoppers off them.
Finally, we have finished pruning out the dead wood from the Blackberries and have now trellised up all the new growth. The canes look very good for this time of the year. If you thought you had seen the largest Blackberry ever this year, wait until you see them next year. About 1200 of the newly planted Blackberries are looking good, the other 300 are having a tough time since the grasshoppers ate all their leaves.
Monday July 16,2001 ---- If this doesn't make sense - it is not my fault - I am sleep writing. I just realized we will be building Strawberry beds in 6 or 7 weeks ---- arghhhh!
A little water here and a lot of water there is making the surprise grow, grow, grow. Did I mention that if you got lost in it, you could possibly chew on some in order to keep your strength up?
Since no one took us up on the lovable Grassus Hopperus' we now have a byproduct to sell (Grassus Hopperus 'number two'). Be sure to come by and get some of the naturally fertile product for your own garden.
We are almost finished pruning the Blackberry canes -- next project? dunno, can't think past 24 hours.
Monday July 9, 2001 ---- Where did the rain go? It is drying up in a hurry so we are trying to get the irrigation set up for the M....., ooopppps I almost let the secret out. Speaking of the surprise, it has been planted and the parts we have irrigated so far are coming up - Grow Baby, Grow! We are going to try to have it ready for the month of October and maybe some of November.
Elsewhere, the Strawberry beds have been removed and soil plowed - the newly planted Blackberries are starting to grow, soon we will install a trellis for them to grow on - and the mature Blackberries are being pruned and groomed. Hey, life is easy (why am I so tired then?).
Monday July 2, 2001 ---- Yeee Hawww, nothing like an inch of rain in the month of July to cheer a feller up. It certainly was nice. I know what you're asking yourself, you are one smart reader. You're asking yourself, "Why do they need rain when the Strawberries are finished and the Blackberries are irrigated?" aren't you? Well let me tell ya, you are right on the first two but forgot to remember the 'Surprise'. If all goes well we will be planting it tomorrow. We're so excited, just can't wait to see if it works. It should be ready in October, along with the Pumpkins.
We still have a lot to do at the patch. So much that we were having anxiety attacks, so now we just take it one job at a time and let God handle the rest. I guess taking off in the afternoons and going swimming with the kids is not helping, sure is fun though.
Monday June 25, 2001 ---- Have you seen the latest fad in Japan? It is so cool, and we have some out at the patch too. We will begrudgingly sell them just so your kids will be the first ones on the block to get some. I think we can let them go for as little as a dime each Of course I am referring to those lovable, cutable, gotta have'em Grassus Hopperus. We have lots of colors to choose from.
Life at the berry patch is just a little easier now that we are closed for the summer. Now we can settle down and get some work done. We have partially finished the high fence around the new addition, at least far enough that we don't have to worry about those renegade cows next door. Now we are frantically working on the soil in the 'surprise' area. We want to plant this area next week. It is not easy going from a rough Mesquite and cactus infested patch that has not been cultivated in 50 years (I think Cain was the last one to work it and his plow did not go very deep) to a sculpted, massaged, aerated and aromatically correct plot of conditioned growing media. One of these days we will get pictures on the site so you can see the transformation process.
Not to mention the other projects we are working on: drilling a well, installing irrigation, putting in Blackberry trellis', pruning out the old Blackberry canes, removing the old Strawberry beds, preparing a new patch for Strawberry planting this fall and erecting more high fence. Shoot we just might be finished by the end of the week.
Monday June 18, 2001 --- Not really going ....... we took a long hard look at the Blackberries today and there is very few left to pick. Soooo, I believe we are going to go ahead and close for the summer. We will probably keep the gate open in the mornings the remainder of this week just in case someone wants to look around. Thanks for a wonderfull Spring and stay tuned here for information on the Fall crops.
Sunday June 17, 2001 --- Still going, but not for long. We are still picking Blackberries but we don't think they will last too much longer. I believe we will have berries through the 24th, if there is a change we will let you know right here.
The local company hosting our website is having problems and as a result the site has been down several times over the last week. I apologize if it hasn't been available when you needed it. The pics are still not loading, we should get them straightened out soon.
Monday June 11, 2001 --- Whew! it is getting hot in the afternoons, if you are coming to pick Blackberries - I would definitely come in the mornings. Speaking of Blackberries, they are still producing and customers are picking some gorgeous berries in the mornings (the ripe ones for the day are normally picked by the afternoon). Thursday morning is still the best time to come since we are closed on Wednesday. I would expect the blackberries to continue producing through next week. A few new pics have been put under the 'Blackberry Harvest" link, check them out.
We have finished planting another 1500 Blackberry plants. This should almost double blackberry production next year. Hopefully we will then have plenty of blackberries for everyone to pick.
A lot of people have been trying to figure out the surprise. Only a few have got it so far. Customers of late have noticed the additional 12 acres we are working up. We will be planting some of it to Strawberries (the area displaced by the additional Blackberry plants) and some of it to other Spring things and a lot of it to one fall thing. We do plan to have pumpkins this fall but that is not the surprise. Actually I don't want to tell you what it is because if I can't get it to grow right, we would be a failure. So this way all our bases are covered. I will give you a hint - it is not edible.
We are now in the process of fencing off the new area. We will soon be drilling another well along with frantically trying to work the soil (which has not been broken in 50+ years and is full of left over Mesquite roots and cactus pears).
Friday June 1, 2001 --- Let me make something perfectly crystal clear - in no way, shape, form or fashion did my wife, any relative or non-relative enter my mind when mentioning 'the HEALTHY lady' in the last update. In fact, it probably wasn't even a lady at all - it was a man. Yeah, thats it, it was a man.
Now that we have that cleared up - those Blackberries are still producing. The same rule of thumb is still holding true though, those customers coming early are finding ripe berries, those coming later in the day are having a tough time finding a box of ripe ones. We have just planted an additional 1000 blackberry plants and should plant another 500 next week. This should effectively double our blackberry production next year. These new plants should be more than enough to make it where everyone can gete berries at any time during harvest.
Step one of the Strawberry plant removal is almost complete. The majority of the plants have now been mowed down. Just a few more to go and we will start pulling up the plastic. We also have been working up an additional 12 acres next to us. What is going there? It's a surprise, maybe you will see it by this fall.
Sunday May 27, 2001 ---- I was in the Strawberry patch today and heard something unusual ------ it was hard to determine at first ---- so I walked a little farther down the row ----- now it was evident, I knew exactly what it was. It was singing, in fact it was a fat lady singing. Those Strawberries really are finished producing for this season. They did great and it is hard to see them go but all good things must come to an end I suppose. Now we just have to mow all the plants down, remove all the plastic mulch and drip pipe, knock the beds down, cultivate the soil all summer, build the beds again in September, plant another 60,000 plants in October, watch for freezes through the winter and we will be ready for harvest again next spring. Sounds simple enough.
Blackberry harvest is underway. The berries are slow to ripen so we are not experiencing a glut of berries. In fact, at the moment we only seem to have enough ripe berries for customers that arrive in the first hour or two of opening. After two or three hours the berries become increasingly difficult to find. Therefore, if you are coming for blackberries - come early in the mornings.
Tuesday May 22, 2001 --- It had to happen, we have been spared too many times. But everything is OK, we are still picking berries. It was just a little bit, minor damage, more of a nuisance than anything. It did take a little work to clean up afterwards. Some wires had to be tightened, tposts straightenend, lots of things picked up. What was it???? A pretty nasty looking thundercloud that dropped a little over an inch of rain, a little hail and a lot of wind, on us Sunday night. Some of the Blackberry trellis' were bent over (which were easy to straighten out) and a few of the berries experienced hail damage. Everything should be back to normal by Thursday or Friday.
We are still picking a few Strawberries and now a few Blackberries. Strawberry harvest is almost over and Blackberry harvest is quickly gaining steam.
Friday May 17, 2001 --- What is this? Could we still be picking a few strawberries? Yes it is true, the strawberries are hanging on, but only by the hair on their chinny chin chin. Folks are still picking a few berries, not without a challenge though. We have seen some very nice boxes of berries go out this week --- the key is to look in and under the plants. No longer can you just walk down the row, waiting for the berries to leap into the basket (as they once did, especially if you whistled). Now is the time for the serious picker, the one that will get in there amongst the plants, one that will search high and low, one that will not be denied but emerge triumphant through it all. A wise man once said (that would be my dad --- don't tell him I called him wise) "He that parteth the leaves, leaves with a full basket".
Shhhhhh, listen closely......... concentrate, I know you can hear it ........ hear that! It's a snap, crackle and pop and it's not coming from your bowl of cereal ----- its' coming from the Blackberries and that would be the sound of the berries ripening. It is only a slow rumble now but it will soon be roaring so get ready.
Saturday May 12, 2001 --- Say 'Good night'. It is time to put the 2001 Strawberry picking season to bed. We are now scratching pretty hard for any available strawberries. We sure do hate to see them go but all things must come to an end.
Our season started late, April weather was great! We are glad you didn't wait. You came from all over the state, and made this strawberry season the best on slate. Blackberries, Blackberries looking so good, just as we thought they would. Bring back your strawberry box, you know you should , It's getting sunny and warm so don't forget your hood. (This sounded a lot better late last night when we were half asleep!!).
The Blackberries are about one and a half weeks away from harvest. A few berries are beginning to show a little color now. Harvest should be well underway by the first week of June. We expect to pick Blackberries through most of June.
To Glove or not to Glove --- that is the question. The Blackberries are pinned up on a trellis so it makes the picking much easier but you still have to be careful. I can pick a full box of blackberries with getting stuck only a time or two. It is that big giant juicy one that you see down in the middle of the plant --- you know you have to pick it ----- you sneak your hand in ever so slowly ----- all is well so far ------ you gently pluck the berry from its perch --------- and somehow the plant knows of your thievery and attacks your hand and arm ------ now you might as well just cut your arm off and leave it in there because it is going to hurt when you pull it out.
Monday May 7, 2001 --- Whewwwwww! Some friends just to the NorthEast of the patch had their garden decimated by hail last night. Luckily, we were spared at the patch. We did get almost 2 inches of rain so some areas of the patch are wet. A few dry days and all will be fine for picking this Mothers Day. The Strawberries are still producing. Berry size has diminished quite a bit but most of us feel like the smaller berries are sweeter anyway. .
Blackberries seem to be the topic of interest now. They are looking good, just not ready yet. We are still holding to our late May prediction for Blackberry picking.
Monday April 30, 2001 --- Can I fall over now??? We have been running like mad lately trying to stay up with the fruit and customers. We had a wonderful weekend and picked a ton of Strawberries ----- are there any left???? Yep. The berries are not quite as thick as before but are just as good. We are seeing a few runners (strawberry plantlets that the mother plant puts off in an attempt to multiply) begin to emerge now, this means that the plants are going to switch their emphasis from fruit production to vegetative production. We should pick Strawberries through May but each passing week will bring a smaller and smaller supply.
Blackberries are still coming!!! We are anxiously awaiting their arrival, which should be in late May. (Hurry UP). I don't understand --- people don't believe me when I say they are big enough to eat like an apple.
Thursday April 26, 2001 --- Wow!
Wowww!
Unbelievable!
I can't believe it!
No way, I must be seeing things.
Just a few of the comments on the amount of Strawberries available for picking (I have to admit, even I am astonished at how well the plants are producing). The plants will not keep us this pace for long so if you have been waiting to get your berries - don't wait any longer. Now is the time to pounce like a cat (update: Berry the patch cat has a hurt foot, he has to stay at home for awhile) while you still can.
Blackberries are still coming - another couple of weeks and we will be picking. You won't want to miss these Blacberries, they are so big that you eat'em like an apple!
here is a picking tip: No matter which row you choose to pick on - go to the far end and pick back.
Sunday April 23, 2001 ---- Still Going! The Strawberry plants are still producing very well, NOW is the time to get them. Before long the weather is going to warm up and Strawberry production will begin to dwindle. Surprisingly, the majority of the berries are still very large. Normally we would see berry size begin to shrink by this time of the year. Not this year though, the plants are still producing some extra large and beautiful berries.
OHHHHH Man!!!!! I just remembered I left the water going!!!! UUUUGGGGGHHHHHHH!!!!! Here I go out to the patch to turn off the water (at 11:30 pm) Maybe I will be able to run off some Racoons to make the trip worthwhile.
Quickly - all is doing well, Blackberries still look good - am expecting them around end of May. There is some nice stuff in the store - it is doing very well, you will not want to miss it when you visit. Hope to see you soon.
Monday April 17, 2001 ---- Boy howdy!!!! that Easter StrawBunnyBerry sure did get carried away last weekend. We picked and picked and the field never went dry. Everyone had a grand ole time finding all the berries they wanted. I don't think the field is going to let up very much either, so come on out and get in on the harvest. The recent warm weather has us a little concerned. We do not want it to get too hot or else the Strawberry plants will stop fruit production and shift into vegetative (runner) production.
A lot of folks are wondering when the Blackberries will be ready ------- about May 25th at 9:36am. As mentioned before, the canes are in incredible shape but the bloom seems to be a little weak. The blackberries will ripen over about a five week period, so it only stands to reason that the blooming period will last as long as well. We are in about the second week of bloom so the canes still have time to get going. There are some pictures of the Blackberries off the home page, just hit the "Blackberry 01pics" link.
Thursday April 12, 2001 ---- Waaaahoooo,,,,,,,,, again. We are just so happy that we have tons of fruit for everyone to pick. It is a great time to come get those little red bundles of sweet juice. I believe we will have plenty of berries for the Easter Weekend so load up the family and come on out. The plants are looking good and blooming like crazy (still).
Sunday April 08, 2001 ---- Waaahoooo, finally we are picking those strawberries. I would do a little dance but I'm too tired. We picked alot of berries over the weekend with still much more to come. Noone had any difficulty in picking a full box of the biggest, reddest, juiciest berries you ever did see. If you have'nt already done so - come on out and pick some of these delicious strawberries, you'll be glad you did.
The Blackberries are looking pretty good. I expected them to be in full bloom by now but they are still a week? away. They are growing great guns just not blooming yet. I still think it will be late May before they begin to ripen, we will keep you informed right here.
Wednesday, April 04 2001 ---- Have you ever seen a strawberry that is as big as an apple??????????????? Neither have I, but we are picking some that are pretty close. Yep, that much anticipated, much longed after, much sought after, craved for, prayed for, and yearned for, day has finally arrived. We are now open for the 2001 season and it is starting out with a bang. The berries are just incredible, they are still not thick as thieves (that should happen about late next week) but man do they taste good!.
Never have I seen the plants loaded with fruit as they are right now. Each plant has 50 plus fruiting structures ranging from blooms to ripe berries. Lets see....50 berries per plant * 65,000 plants = 3,250,000 berries divided by 6,000 customers = 541 berries per person. So when you come out make sure you count the berries to get your right amount (you better take two boxes). Now I sound like a research scientist, take a few plants and extrapolate the numbers out over a large area to come up with unrealisticly high production yields (......... sounds good though). Really, the plants are just incredible - you should come out just to marvel at what God has done.
By the way, the Blackberries are looking very good. They are even starting to pop open a few blooms.
Saturday, March 31, 2001 ---- Could it be (said with a raised eyebrow and smirkish grin)?????? I have been at a fruit growers meeting the past two days and did'nt get in until after dark tonight,, so what do we do? Get the trusty spotlight and head out to the patch to see what is going on. First thing going on was two Racoons having a little strawberry feast at our (your) expense!!! I knew something was up the other day when I saw some bright red coon poop, not to mention the occasional chomped berry. We told them to get out and never come back - --- I am sure that will work just fine, right?
Getting back to the berries, we did see quite a few berries beginning to turn red. This means that we most assuredly should open in the coming week. As soon as we got home we pulled up the weather to see some 80+ degree days forcast ------ Ye Haw, strike up the band and lets do a little do-si-do. I don't know if I will be able to sleep tonight, I am seeing visions of bright red, plump and juicy Strawberries. . I will say that the plants are loaded with fruit like we have never seen before. If the weather turns out as predicted ------ wow (with a capital w) the fruit will be plentiful. Get ready!!!!!!!!
Tuesday, March 27. 2001 --- Nope (said through cold, chattering and wet teeth). 49 degrees for a high today.
Sunday, March 25, 2001 --- Cows, cows for sale! My wife and I have had at least 4 or 5 apiece. The strawberries are not ready yet. A little color is starting to appear but not much. We really need just a few days of mild weather and we are just not getting it. I just saw a forecast for below normal temperatures in the coming week - this will not help ripen up any berries. Stay tuned, the have to ripen eventually.
Wednesday, March 21, 2001 ---- I can see that after 12 years of raising Strawberries I still haven't figured them out. Lets put it this way - we should be open sometime before May. I checked them out pretty good this afternoon and feel that it will be next week before we can open. I'm sorry - I really did'nt intend on treating you like a YO-YO by stringing you on. I have never seen anything like this, they just won't ripen. I do feel the warm weather today and future forcast will go a long way in warming the soil and getting them moving again.
The Blackberries look great, they should be blooming in about 1.5 weeks. The weather has not seemed to effect them much - so far.
The Store looks great also, be sure to take a peak at the: one of a kind crafts, potporri, jams & jellies, t-shirts, honey and more when you visit.
Finally, be sure to get on the Elist. We will notify you when we do open and will also send you a coupon to use on your visit. Just click on the 'Email List' link off the home page (don't worry, we will not send you a bunch of junk mail or give your address to anyone else).
Monday, March 19, 2001 --- give me a break! What's up with this weather? It was so cold yesterday and this morning that I think the green berries were turning back into blooms. Now I am wondering if we are going to get a frost/freeze tonight. Lets see ,,,, the cows were standing up, I saw a pelican flying out of the west, a few Mesquite trees are budding out (not Pecans yet though), the Horses were standing facing south my weather rock was kinda cold, my knees feel fine (big toe kinda has a twitch in it though) and the goats were jumping around like a bunch of monkeys ----- whats all this mean??? I have no idea.
The weatherman said he did not think it was going to feeze but it might be close to a frost. We are going to take a gamble and not put out the frost covers. As I write this I wonder about the wisdom of that decision. I really don't expect to have any damage, if we do have some I believe it will be light which would reflect on the berry production in late April.
We are supposed to get some fantastic growing weather the remainder of this week - if this happens then we should be in business by Friday the 23rd. Get ready!
Saturday, March 17, 2001 --- I feel that cow kicking, boy those berries better hurry! Normally it is about 28 to 30 days from blossom to ripe berries, I believe with this weather pattern it is about 80 days from bloom to fruit. After marvelous weather friday, it was cold and damp today. We have had to turn a large number of people away because the berries are not quite ripe yet. Very few have turned but there seems to be a lot that will all ripen together. Actually the plants have more green berries and flowers than I have ever seen before. When we do start picking it is going to be katy-bar-the door - they aill be every where. I said two weeks ago that we would be open yesterday, and then last week I predicted opening the 20th ------ I wonder if I could get a job as a weatherman because I am not doing a very good job forcasting. They just have to be ready some time next week ------- I am pretty sure (I think).
We have been working hard trying to get every thing cleaned up and the store finished. Overall we are pleased with how everything is turning out. The store is almost complete, we just need to make a few more shelves. We have done a much better job this season controlling weeds (up to now ---- thanks mom! (champion weeder)). The plants really look good, we just need some mild weather for them to take off with.
The Blackberries are looking wonderful. They should be blooming the first week of April and ready for harvest in Mid May. I call this variety of blackberry the "Oh Man!" variety. Why? because when you see the shear size and beauty of the berries you can't help but say "OH MAN!".
Saturday, March 11, 2001 --- If those Strawberries don't hurry up and ripen I am going to give birth to a cow! Folks have been stopping by but the berries are just not ready yet. I was hoping we could open by the 16th but that might be pushing it. I now think it will be at least the first day of Spring (March 20th) before we open.
Not only am I going to give birth to a cow - I am growing fins! I hate to complain about something that is so good but ------ the patch is wet! We have been getting a steady supply of rain all winter long. We have one low spot that has not dried out for at least 3 months. Oh well, God knows best.
We have been working on the store lately, you can see a few more pics under 'Storepics' (off the main page). There are also a few current pics of the plants under 'Marchpics'. Overall, the patch is in pretty good shape - just waiting not so patiently for the berries.
Thursday, March 01, 2001 --- Not yet. The berries are not ready for harvest yet but maybe in two or three weeks. We would expect to open somewhere around mid-march ------ if we can ever get this weather straightened out. After a few warm days earlier this week, it has turned very cold. 35 degrees this morning. We have all the covers out just in case a freeze sneaks up on us, Sunday night might get close. Putting the covers out and taking them back up is a necessary part of growing strawberries, even though it is a pain. We were open last year at this time with some very nice berries, it has been a much colder winter hence the later start. Hang on - it won't be long.
Tuesday, February 20, 2001 --- We uncovered some of the plants today to see how they were doing under the covers. I am happy to report that they looked very good. We still don't have a huge flush of blooms but there seems to be a lot on the way. I would say that in a week or so the field should be white with blooms. This means that the end of March, first of April should be an outstanding time to pick. We are still holding to our mid-march opening date but I believe production will start out slow. If you scroll down to last years update for this date you will notice that we opened Feb. 29, 2000 - I do not believe that will happen this year. We seem to be about 2 weeks behind last year. Starting late should not affect overall production. I expect that harvest will just be a little more concentrated in 2001.
Saturday, February 10, 2001 --- We covered the plants for the first time this year (see 'Coverpics' off the main page) last night. We are trying to protect the majority of the blooms from freezing now. Some people I have talked to did not realize that the bloom is what develops into the berry. It takes about 30 days from the time you see an open bloom to a ripe fruit. We are working hard trying to get everything ready for the upcoming harvest season.
Our store suffered its first setback of the season, I ran into it with the tractor. I know, I debated whether or not I was going to admit to such a boneheaded act but it happened and it is kind of funny as I look back on it. Don't worry, it is repairable, I just broke a few boards (this is where I say I did'nt like those boards anyway and wanted them replaced). I am happy to report that the store did not budge and is structurally sound.
Saturday, February 3, 2001 --- What a glorious day! The weather yesterday and today was gorgeous. What a joy it is to be outside on days like this. We worked on a little store addition project today, you can see pics under the 'storepics' link. We also put up a few shots of some of the first blooms of 2001.
Thursday, February 1, 2001 --- ditto the last update. We have quite a degree of variance from this winter compared to last (see Feb. 2000 update). We are not showing any blooms right now. We do have a good many down deep in the crown ready to pop out given a little mild weather to stimulate growing. The temperatures have seemed to warm somewhat. I would expect a proliferation of growth and bloom by late next week if the temperatures will remain moderate. A couple of good sunny days would help immensly just by warming the soil, therefore encouraging growth.
At this point, I would not expect us to open by the first of March. I believe mid - March will be a more reliable potential opening date for 2001. We of course will keep you informed through 'Fresh News'.
Thursday, January 18, 2001 --- wet and cold! Soggy would be the appropriate term used to discribe the patch right now. Cold, wet and cloudy days have prevented much growth lately. The plants are a tad small for this time of the year but we are not concerned. It seems that most of the things we think are a problem turn out to be a blessing. I am sure this string of cold, wet cloudy days will be a blessing too. We do have a lot of blooms down deep in the crowns just waiting to come out. The cold weather is a benefit in that it is preventing those blooms from coming out and getting froze - see there, a blessing already. We are trying to get everything lined out for the coming season. Now is the time to prepare marketing plans and budgets.
Friday, January 12, 2001 --- Yeah, the Blackberries are now trellised, primed and ready to yield a bountiful harvest starting in Mid May. When you see the shear size and beauty of these berries your jaw is going to drop, maybe we should rename them, something like the 'Oooo My!' variety. The trellis' form a 'wall' of canes almost 6 feet tall and 300' long each (we have 14).
The Strawberry plants are looking good. The forecast is calling for several days above freezing, which will be good for the plants. I suspect that if we warm just a tad bit more the plants will begin to push blooms. I would look for them to be blooming somewhat by the first of February. Remember, it is only 30 days from bloom to fruit ------ sooo we could be picking berries before you know it.
Sunday, January 7, 2001 --- It was a glorious day in the patch yesterday, the weather was absolutely marvelous. Too bad we did not have anything to pick, you could have come out and spent the day with us. Of course, you could have come out anyway just for the fun of it. We spent all day building a little addition to the store, I will put up pictures as soon as we get a little farther along.
The Blackberries are almost all trellised now, just half a row to go. Just think, after harvest, all the canes we have been working so hard to trellis will have to be cut down and removed. Then all the new canes will have to be trellised up for next years crop.
Monday, January 1, 2001 --- Happy New Year! We hope you had and are having the very best Christmas/New Years Holidays yet.
It has been a tad bit cold at the patch lately, it is hard to believe we should be harvesting big, luscious red Strawberries in just 2 months. The colder weather has caused the plants to be a bit smaller than normal at this time of the year. The plants will quickly catch up if we get a week or two of mild temperatures in Jamuary and February. Don't worry though, we are expecting to have plenty of Strawberries for everyone to pick. And don't forget about the Blackberries - they canes are looking wonderful, we expect to have a bountiful crop beginning harvest about May 18, 2001.
Friday, December 22, 2000 --- Merry Christmas!!! We have given all the plants off for Christmas so I doubt they will do much growing. No need though, they are in pretty good shape. We are still trellising Blackberries, only 3 rows to go.
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