Tuesday December 17, 2002 ---- Merry Christmas!!!   Everyone at Sweet Berry Farm wishes you the best Holiday season you have ever had!
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Wednesday December 11, 2002 --- Lookin good.  That about sums up the way everything is lookin ---- good.  The Strawberry plants are becoming very well established and appear to be in prime shape for a very good upcoming harvest.   The plants, and me, are in a dormancy right now.  Soon as the Sun comes out and it warms up I will be able to write and think more ------ gotta go to bed now -------- ver....y ----------- slee.............
Thursday December 05, 2002 ---- Brrrrr.  It is a cold one today so guess where I'm at?  You got it, inside by the heater.  I love to work outside but you know how it goes "sometimes absence makes the heart grow fonder".  We have essentially closed everything down till the Strawberries start up in the spring BUT the maze is still standing and if you had some friends together that you wanted to do something different for a change with  -- give us a call and we will open up for you.  I don't think we will cut it down until January '03.
    The patch looks like it is in prime shape to lead into the new year/season.  God willing, we are set to have a banner harvest in '03. 
Tuesday morn, November 26, 2002 --- It appears that Winter has arrived, and just in time.  The past two weeks have been absolutely gorgeous weather wise.  The strawberry plants have been soaking up sunshine in record fashion.   In fact the 'Sweet Charlie' have been enjoying it so much that many plants have started to bloom.  This cool spell should let them know that it is not time to bloom yet, instead they should be concentrating on the development of a nice strong root system.   The first bloom is normally larger and very vigorous.  This 'King Bloom' will often turn into one of the largest berries the plant produces.  The strawberry plant will continue to produce blooms, as long as the temperature and daylength  are conducive, but will not yield many of these gargantuan blooms.  This is why the berries at the first of the season are always larger than those at the end.  It is also for this reason that we don't want the plant to make these blooms that will obviously be killed by freezing weather.  Soooooo, quit it!  You plants just quit making blooms!  There, that should do it, I am sure they won't make another bloom until we are ready for them too (February 1st).
    The maze is still going!  We will be open Thanksgiving afternoon, 4pm to 6pm,  and the Friday, Saturday and Sunday after Thanksgiving during normal hours.  I do not know if we will be open in December.  We will have to look at how everything looks before we decide.  In the meantime,  we hope that everyone has the best Thanksgiving you have ever had.
Monday November 11, 2002 --- Courageous, Adventuresome, Determined, Amazing  ------- just a few adjectives that describe today's brave souls.   A group from the Texas Commission for the Blind went through the maze today.   They brought with them Braille stickers, which we placed on the town signs, and Braille gamecards to follow.  They did pretty good too, finding 9 of the 11 towns.   I think that time constraints were the only thing that prevented them from getting them all.  Tomorrow another group of 40 Blind Adventurers will be going through ----- my hat is off to them.  We will continue to operate the Maze through the month of November.
    For the first week, in the last several, we don't have 2 or 3 hundred school kids scheduled to come out -- whew.  This is our chance to catch up on weed control, filling in the ruts created in all the rainy weather, begin detail pruning of the Blackberries, ripping out the old pumpkin vines and cleaning up these areas for spring use, cut down the Okra which is 10 feet tall now, keep a close eye on the strawberry plants, clean up the fence lines, convert a portable building into a office, build a barn for the equipment to go under, build something for the horses to get under during the upcoming winter, install a trellis on 5 rows of Blackberry plants planted during the summer, train up the vines on those rows and catch up on Bookkeeping that has been neglected for the last month or two.
Wednesday November 06, 2002 --- I can't win ...... if you read last Mondays update, you will see I was so excited about the possibility of sunshine on the following Tuesday --- the sun did come out and what a glorious day it was.  I was so excited that while driving the tractor down to feed the horses I started singing "Sunshine, Blessed Sunshine" (I can't remember the rest of the verse so I just sing this over and over), at that moment I was blinded by the sun rays ---- when my eyes adjusted to the light I could just barely see the tree branch that was bending behind the muffler, I started to duck but it was too late ----- whap! the branch caught me right between the eyes.  My tune then changed to "Blessed Sunshine, Blessed Sunshine" and about 5 minutes later all you heard was the sound of a chainsaw cutting that branch to pieces.
    Well, the sunshine lasted all of last Tuesday, then clouded up and rained the rest of the week -------- and NOW?! -------- the sun has made a triumphant return!  and what a welcome sight!  Things are beginning to dry up a little where at least we can get around without sinking to our knees in mud.  I was even out there today without feeling like I needed to shower after the first 30 minutes.
    'Texas' the Maze is still standing after the almost 600 teenagers that went through the 'haunted' maze just before Halloween.  This weekend should be a marvelous time to walk across Texas, take a Hayride, paint a pumpkin (yes we still have pumpkins to sell through November), pet the animals, stuff a Scarecrow or just relax at a picnic table.  We will continue to be open through November ---- come on out!
Monday October 28, 2002 --- Boy, do I feel better ----- everyone knows that the last week and a half have been overcast rainy dreary days and my attitude was certainly starting to show it ------ but as I left the patch tonight I looked up into the sky and what did I see???????? STARS!! Instantly a spring came to my step and a smile to my face.  Could it be that these clouds are going to break up and give us a ray or two of sunshine tomorrow????  One, two, three, maybe four, even five days of cloudy rainy weather might be OK but not almost two weeks (as I right that I think that maybe if I had been Noah I would have been ready to fight the Bears themselves at the end of 40 days of non stop rain).
  Despite it all, we have still been selling those pumpkins, taking those Hayrides, painting more pumpkins and stuffing those scarecrows along with walking across Texas.  We will continue these activities all the way through November.
    Speaking of the maze, still not one town has emerged as "the hardest to find".  I would say that Calf Creek and Turkey are tied for that honor.  The average seek time has dropped a little, thanks to a couple of renegade trails, to about 40 minutes during the day and 1hour 10 minutes at night.   Even though we have had so much rain, the trails seem to be well passable and not muddy at all.  I think it is because we have had so many pedestrians that the trails are well packed.
    The weather has been good for Strawberry plant establishment.   The plants are looking very good for this time of year.  Based on appearance, we could possibly (barring any disasters) have a very good Strawberry and Blackberry crop next year ---- get ready.
Monday October 21, 2002 ---- Just in the nick of time.  We finished planting the Strawberry plants just before the rains hit again.  The Strawberry plants are lovin this rainy, cloudy weather.  Out of the 50,000 we planted, I bet no more than 200 will not make it through the transplanting process (I am sure not one of the plants I planted will perish).  We will baby these plants along for the next week or so until they become well established.  It is good to get this job under our belts --- thanks to sis, mom and some good friends --- can't forget the high school kids, but then they don't count because they are getting paid to help.  

The pumpkin party continues to go on ----- rain or shine. Won't you come and join in on the fun?

Now I am going to go to bed because this cold I have has caused me to lose my voice and  I can't tell what I am writing unless I can read it aloud to myself.
Tuesday October 15, 2002 ---- Shoot!!! In the middle of writing this update I got up to go watch the weather ---- when I sat back down I accidentally rebooted the computer!!  And I had just finished writing an eloquent, masterfully designed piece of literary work in which I discussed the history of farming and such.   It was truly amazing, bringing a tear to my eye as I proofed it,  and now it is all gone.  Just take my word for it and applaud with me as we think about how good it was.
    Since it was so good and I could never duplicate its' awsomeness (is that a word?),  I am just going to summarize again 
     Wow - what an incredible weekend, just about ran the rubber off of the tires on the haywagon. ----- 12,000 Strawberry plants planted, 38,000 to go - too wet to get the tractor into the field ----- have some friends that are full of hot air, will try to get them to blow on the field and dry it out ------- sister is taking off work to come help plant, should go twice as fast with her here (got to say that because she will read this) ---- it is about time she got out of the office and did some real work (can say that cause she won't read it till she goes back home) ---- now just need my brother to come help (he will read this too, hint - hint) ----- mom is already helping (she might read this so.... ) she is the best planter we have ----- dad has a good excuse (he provides the moral support ----- "son, better hurry up and get them plants in the ground.") ---- wife is running the rest of the show so we can plant ------ have considered taking kids out of school (they are good tractor drivers, even at 9 and 11 yrs) ----- hey! Sugar the Dog hasn't been doing anything!  I'm goin to cut down on her bone supply if she doesn't start pitching in.
    We love to see all the smiles from our customers.  Families are having tons of fun in the maze, feeding the animals, painting pumpkins, stuffing scarecrows (it is funny watching them stuff their lifesize scarecrow in the backseat of the car) and riding the hayride.  God has blessed us immensley by allowing us to see family members spending quality time together.  Come on out and relax in the Hill Country with us, we would love to have you.            
Monday October 7, 2002 --- Whew!!  What a fun weekend we just had!  It was fun but it would have been alot more fun if it wouldn't have been soooo HOT!  I was just about to close the gate and tell everyone to go jump in the lake instead.  This cool front is a very welcome sight!
        I am having a rare moment ----- I don't know what to say ----- so I am just going to summarize: 
                            hot last weekend, feels better now -- lots of punkins out there, seeing orange everwhere (very hard for an Aggie to take) ---- Strawberry plants a comin, got to get them beds ready to plant on ----  irrigation to fix  ----- got to get the planter ready, find people to plant ---- 'Texas' the Maze is big, turned out pretty good ---- Hay in West Texas is a little short, should soon be grown up though ---- all animals towns in this Fall's maze,  Crane, Crow, Buffalo, Antelope, White Deer, Calf Creek, Lobo, Falcon, Turkey, Peacock and Marlin -----  sure is dry out there, hope this front brings a few showers ---- little kids sure did enjoy the hayrides and goats last weekend ----- had lots of folks go through the maze in the dark last weekend, plenty of screams indicating they were having a good time  --- loaded some new pics under 'Fall 2002', check them out.
Monday September 23, 2002 --- Well, we wanted to open this weekend but we are just not ready.  We will open the first weekend of October with Pumpkins, Hayrides, the Texas Maze, Scarecrow Stuffing and Pumpkin Painting.  Fall is upon us and I feel like I have fallen and can't get up.  
    We finished making Strawberry beds last week.  It is always a relief to have that job under our belt.  We are happy with the way they turned out.   Each year we do a little bit better job than the year before,  I figure in about 32 years we will have them just the way we want them.
    The recent rains have caused the Blackberry canes to go wild.   Barring any disasters, we are going to be set up for an incredible Blackberry harvest next year.  Hmmm Hmmm don't those Blackberries sound tasty right now?
    The maze is coming around nicely.  It is a bit spotty right now but growing none the less.  This cooler weather has been great for me but not-so-great for Hay growing.  The Hay grows its best (and fastest) during long Sunny hot days,  lately we have had long, cloudy, cooler days.  The trails have all been cut we just have to insert the Cities now.
Monday September 16, 2002 --- Nothin like playing in dirt to lift ones spirits.  The wife and I had a pleasant day of building strawberry beds today.  And guess what, she even got to drive the tractor.  Actually, she did such a good job of driving a straight row that I was sweatin' bullets when it came my time to drive.  My stomach was in knots and my mind (yes, I do have more than just rocks up there) was reeling, "oh no, what excuse am I going to use if her beds are straighter than mine?".  Just in case I had about 15 excuses lined up,  you know, things like "the front tire is a little low and the tractor is pulling to the left, or right  (depends which way the bed went), "I felt you shift your weight back there and it moved the bedder sideways" (it is not a good thing to mention 'weight', I only use this one as a last resort),  "did you feel those tire ruts? everytime I hit one the tractor would bobble" (I did use this one today), "I got something in my eye and couldn't see",  "I had to swerve to miss the goat", "I had to compensate for the changes in soil texture down this row", "I thought I saw an arrowhead and it distracted me (I can come up with all kinds of things to put in the place of 'arrowhead'), "I was drivin straight for that tree and it moved" and lots of others which I can't mention because she might read this.   Luckily for me ......... mine were just as straight.  Hopefully we will be finished building beds in a couple of days --- then we just wait for the plants to arrive. Yet another strawberry growing season is almost upon us.  Just think, in 5 months we should be savoring the sweet taste of those mouth watering bundles of delight.
    But for now we turning our attention to Pumpkins!  October is nearly here and we plan on having plenty of Pumpkins for you to chose from, plus Hayrides, pumpkin painting, scarecrow stuffing and the A-Maze-ing maze.  Get ready!
Monday September 09, 2002 --- We just had a nice little rain (4 inches) that could not have been better timed.  The soil will have just the right moisture content, in a couple of days, to build Strawberry beds.  That is one of the things I like about growing Strawberries, since we plant them every year, we have the opportunity to do a little better job than last year on building beds, planting the plants and so on.  Building the beds and playing in the dirt is the fun part, especially when we have a nice rain like this one to work off of.
    The trails have been blazed across 'Texas' now.  I have no idea how hard it is going to be --- we will have to wait for another foot or two to find out.  The previously mentioned rain is going to make the grass pop up in a hurry.   I bet it is growing at the rate of 2 inches per day now.
    Pumpkin season is right around the corner -- it will be here before you know it (did I have to remind myself of that just before bedtime?  Now I'm going to get stressed  out and not be able to go to sleep!).  We have alot of nice pumpkins growing in the field for Pick Your Own.  The bloomin goats nibbled a chunk out of the biggest pumpkin we have in the patch.  These animals are driving me nuts!!  We actually don't have that many animals but they seem like a herd.  I feel kinka like Noah with two horses, two goats, two turkey, two cats, one dog (that acts like two) and two kids.  I mentioned that to a fella the other day and he asked if I had two wives also,,,,,,,,,, hmm,  are you kidding? one is more than enough!! (of course I mean .....huh...... errrr........ I could'nt handle any more lovin than what I get now and, and, and noone is as beautiful as you are honey). 
Monday August 26, 2002 --- I can't believe how stupid I am --- my wife is the one that got "fireball" stuck in reverse (see last weeks update), she felt so bad that she was ready to go with me to get a new tractor ----- then like a complete dufus I got the tractor working again ---- now she wants to wait!   aaarrrggghhhh!  I have tried to get it stuck again but the bloomin things keeps working fine,,,,,,,,,,,,, I know what I'll do, I,ll just get her back on the tractor - it is sure to break then.  Oh Honeyyyyy, I have a job for youuu.
    'Texas' is almost ready to blaze trails across.  This time I am going to try to cut them before the cane gets five feet tall.  Wait! If I did that, then I would be doing something the easy way ----- ruining my pefect string of doing things the hard way ---- which would probably cause me to lose some of my stubborness -- then I might lose some of my identity, creating a personality complex ---------------------- on second thought,  I think I will wait until it is five feet tall to blaze the trails.
    October is right around the corner.  Don't forget we will be open all of October with Hayrides, pumpkins, scarecrow stuffing and the Maze. 
Monday August 20, 2002 ---  I feel like we are the comic relief for our neighbors.  Last week we spread six acres worth of Maze seed   with our push yard fertilizer spreader (boy that was a work out!).  Then, while hurrying to get water sprinklers out,  Fireball the tractor became stuck in reverse.  I was too stubborn to stop what we were doing so we just drove everywhere backwards.  Luckily after a good day of giggling   (call me farmer Fonze), the gear shifter popped out of reverse and is working fine now.  Hmmm, sounds like Divine intervention.  
    We have been pouring the water to the Maze and the seed is beginning to germinate.  Right now it is a whopping inch or two tall, only 5.8 feet to go.  If all goes right it should be ready for pedestrians by the last weekend of September.  Something to keep in mind, Wednesday Evening  October 30th we will be having a event for teenagers. It is called 'the Amazing Night',   we will have spooks out in the Maze and kids will be allowed to go through after nightfall for free.  There will also be Hot Dogs and Sodas, pumpkin smashing (all of our left over pumpkins) and a Christian band playing into the night.  Everything will be free or at a very small cost to anyone coming.  Last year about 400 kids came out and we hope to have that many or more this year.  Anyone grade 6 through 12 is invited.  Parents that come are welcome to hang around the store area and enjoy the fun from there.  This event is designed to give kids something to do on or about Halloween night instead of cruising the streets where they might get into mischief. 
    The pumpkins are doing well so far.  We already have quite of few pumpkins that are almost ready for harvest.  We should have a good many pumpkins for people to either pick off the vine or we will have them pre picked also.   I am still trying to learn how to grow pumpkins,  consequently we will make a trip up to Floydada (where they DO know how to grow pumpkins!) and pick up a load or two for resale.  Like I said before, our vines are looking great right now but it seems to me that they are very susceptible to leaf diseases.  Therefore one little rainy spell could cause problems.  One thing for sure (knock on wood), we have not had the worm problem this year like we had last year.  Boy are we thankful for that!
    Don't forget about that melt in your mouth Okra.  When you want some Ok Okra for yourself, come on by - we are there most mornings.
Monday August 05, 2002 --- Are you in the mood for a little ..... Okra?  I know, just the mention of the word Okra sends your mouth on a tasty-licious escapade, doesn't it?  Just know you are having visions of little green Okra dancing across your plate, aren't you?  Or maybe you like succulent sections of Okra tenderly fried to a golden brown crunching good time.  I'll bet that when you are really trying to butter up your sweetie you call them "my little Okra" don't you?   Yes I know, Okra is king.  In our house it is common to hear "would you like a little Sirloin Steak to go with your Okra?"  and the reply "oh no, I would'nt want to dampen the taste".
    If you happen to be in Marble Falls, and want a little fresh Okra, just give us a call at 830-798-1462  or just come by, we are there most mornings (not Wed or Sun).  We are only picking a whopping five pounds per day, so maybe you ought to call first.
    We finished trellising the Blackberries (the first time around) today ---- wahooo!!!  I can't wait to get in there and remove the old cuttings, mow between the rows and clean them up a bit ---- I love a well maintained orchard and we are almost to that point!!!
    We burned off 'Texas' saturday (the Maze that is).   Hopefully, we will get a little shower in the next day or two so the soil can be turned and new seed planted.  We have'nt picked the towns to put in the fall maze yet --- any suggestions?
Tuesday July 30, 2002 ---- The Bee Man does not have anything on me.  You know, you've seen the picture of the fellow standing there with Bees all over his face.  Thats nothing, try grasshoppers!   I cut the 'Texas" Maze down today----now picture me on Fireball the red tractor, traveling a little faster than a snail, shredding down ten foot tall Sorgum - Sudan Hay that is loaded with grasshoppers.  Now visualize all of them jumping on my head - you got it!  It took me almost 9 hours to cut down 4 acres of cane.  When going that slow it gives you a chance to see more of what is happening around you ----- as I was rounding West Texas I looked in front of me and somehow bonded with a huge yellow grasshopper perched atop a seed head in front of me,  I could see his choppers moving and somehow heard him say "I am Hoppason, the great Kamikaze grasshoppa and I must stop the evil white man coming this way."  Then, as I near,  I hear him say "AAAaaaEEEeeeeee", as he takes a mighty plunge from his lofty pad.  I react with reflexes of a cat, and just before he reaches me, I duck my head to the left ----- he whizzes by me and lands just in front of the shredder.  "Oh NO!" he says as he disappears under the mower deck.  Ducking and dodging grasshoppers was kinda entertaining until I started mowing down East Texas.  My joy quickly turned to rage as I saw a bunch of hoppers mating ----- then I thought "It is bad enough that I am feeding a trillion of the little buggers - they gotta make more?!?!".  Now I just have to figure out how to incorporate the  huge amount cane cuttings into the soil, enough to level and bare the soil in order to get new seed into it.  Once we do that we will plant the seed that should yield the Fall 'Texas' Maze.
    The pumpkins are growing out nicely - it is hard to believe but pumpkin season is only two months away.  (good, I'm ready for a little cooler weather).
    The Blackberries have all been pruned and almost all retrellised.  We need to hurry and finish trellising so I can get in there and wipe out some of those hoppers who are having a 'berry leaf good' salad. 
Monday July 22?!, 2002 ---- Is it reallllly the 22nd?   Wow!  time is flying (except when you are sweating like a pig while trying to cut out old Blackberry canes and their thorns have stuck you in every possible place on your body).  The aforementioned job of removing the old Blackberry canes is almost finished - Wahoo.  It is a dirty, sticky job but it has to be done.  The canes that bore fruit this year (floricanes) die, in order to keep a clean hedge row we must remove those canes and make room for the new ones (primocanes) growing in now.  These new canes will bear fruit next year, and the process begins again.  Some farmers will simply mow the entire patch down immediately after harvest and let the new canes regrow out again.  This technique sure is tempting but in our situation I don't think we could get enough regrowth to fill the trellis'.  We already have new canes that we are cutting back down to 5 feet.
    The new Blackberry plants we just planted are beginning to grow ----- if we can just keep the bloomin goats out of them.  It seems that our two kid goats have taken a liking to the fresh new growth of a baby blackberry plant.  Those little goats better watch out!!!
    All in all, the patch is looking pretty good to me right now.   We are almost caught up! 
Friday, July 5, 2002 ----- forget about the galoshes Nellie, we need a row boat!  14 inches of rain and counting.  Suprisingly, the patch looks pretty good to me considering how much rain has fallen.  One of the biggest Pecan trees in the picnic area fell over - bummer.  It is hard to imagine that it is probably over 80 years old and then one day, plop - it falls over.  Does anyone need some firewood?   Bring a big chainsaw.
    All this rain has created some monster Blackberries.  I picked one this morning that was so big I had to bite it in half to get it in my mouth   Sorry, I don't think many customers are going to be able to pick any of them --- my wife and mom will probably get the last few, those they can get to.  It will be interesting to see how long the water stands between the Blackberry rows.  It could be several days before we could even get to all the plants.
    I think the best thing for us to do would be to close down for the rest of the summer and reopen in October with Pumpkins.  Thanks for making this the best spring yet!!   ------- although, we will not cut the maze down for at least a week or so --- so if you wanted to bring a group out for it, give us a call and we will meet you out there. 
Monday evening, July 1, 2002 ---- get the galoshes out Nellie, you're going to need them.  6+ inches of rain at the patch so far and still counting.   It is too wet to be in the patch so we closed the gate today and will again tomorrow and Wednesday.  If we can get into the patch without sinking to our knees, we will open up Thursday morning (July 4) for picking and maze going.   I do not think Blackberry harvest will last much longer.  We will see what berry production looks like on Thursday and let you know.  I would be surprised if we had berries to pick through the weekend.  If the rain does not beat the Maze down to the ground, then we will operate it through Saturday July 13.  Beginning the 14th we will close until late September when Pumpkins start coming off.  We should be open all of October with Pumpkins and a fall Texas Maze.  The Maze will probably be in operation through November.
Monday evening, June 24, 2002 --- The Blackberries are almost finished producing.  There is still some berries to pick but the picking is becoming   more time consuming and you have to look harder.  It looks like we will be harvesting the last few Blackberries throughout this week, by the weekend it will be very slim pickings.
    A little miscommunication  (do you ever feel like your words change between your mouth and others ears?) is causing us to plant 650 Blackberry plants instead of 500.  No big deal though, these mishaps are always a blessing in disguise.  We have 250 planted now, should finish the rest tomorrow.
    The Pumpkin seeds have been planted.  Now all we have to do is water them and wait.
    I promise,  'Crawford' really is in the maze.  It is drying out in a hurry so if you want to give it a go - don't wait any longer.  We will operate the Maze through Saturday, July 13th.  It will be cut and baled the following week, then the soil will be worked up and the seeds will be planted for a fall version..
Friday morning, June 21, 2002 ---  The Maze has reopened and is ready to go!
Monday evening, June 17, 2002 ---  Boy, were we glad to see the rain!  We could have done without the wind that accompanied the rain though (I feel like one of the whiners that were on Saturday Night Live many years ago --- do you remember?).  Sometimes I just feel like whining a little bit,  today was a very unproductive day and I think I just need a good whine in order to relax ............................... there, I feel better.
    The Blackberries are still doing good (nothing to whine about there!).  I really can't pinpoint how long they are going to last, although I do feel that we will have good production through the rest of this week.  It is next week that I am not sure about.  We will be building Blackberry beds tomorrow in preparation for plants that should be arriving later in the week.  I think we will just be planting another 500 now with plans for another 500 this winter.  The ones that we plant now will produce next year.  That production in addition to increased production from plants that are one year old this year should give us an overall increase in harvest of about a third over this year.  The new planting will bring us up to almost 2.5 miles worth of Blackberry rows.  Note:  Someone asked the other day if they could bring their ladder to pick Blackberries  (I said 'sorry, no ladders") ....... this would be an odd question to most Blackberry farmers, but not to us.  The canes are trellised at Sweet Berry Farm to create a hedge row that is about 6+ feet tall and many of the ripest berries are up high where most folks can not reach.
     The Maze did not like the wind storm.   It is temporarily closed for a couple of days while we cut back some of the grass that is hanging over into the pathways.  We plan to have it back in operation by the weekend, we wull update you here as soon as it is ready to go again.   We only have another couple of weeks to operate it anyway.  About mid July it will need to be cut down in order to make way for the Fall Maze. We will maintain the shape of Texas but will change the inside all up.  Any ideas of which towns to put into the Fall Maze?
    We will also be making Pumpkin beds tomorrow.  We are a little behind in planting the seeds but maybe we can catch up with a lot of water and fertilizer.
Monday evening, June 10. 2002 --- I'll have you know that it has been at least three years since I fell off the cabbage truck so you have to get up preeetty early to fool me.  I heard two groups of  kids in the Maze the other day say "OK, now this, this and this town has a circle hole punch - so if you find one of them go ahead and punch these others".  Ha!  I am going to add more hole punch shapes so forget about that strategy.  I also recruited help to go into the Maze with me and stationed them throughout the state -- whenever someone yells "Marco" we all yell "Polo" at the same time!  Ha .. Ha!!    Now I just have to figure out what to do with complete strangers befriending one another and giving each other hints.  It seems that pedestrians have been so excited to find Crawford they always shout and jump for joy saying "I found Crawford, Yipee!"  Then I hear a dozen other voices respond with "stay there and keep talking, I'm running as fast as I can".  So if you are in the Maze sometime, holler out that you have found a city and then take off running while saying "it's over here".
    I have decided that the Maze is not for everyone.  It appears to me that kids between 8 and 14 enjoy it the most along with adults between 24 and 50 that enjoy a challenge and are task oriented.  Those willing to buckle down,   focus on their objective and have a sense of adventure are the ones that leave the Maze victorious.  Once again ...  It is TOO HOT to go through the maze in the afternoons so make sure you come in the mornings or Friday/Saturday evening  Tennis Shoes would be the recommended footwear, 'flip flops' are not a good choice for the Maze.
    Those Blackberries are still producing.  In fact, I picked one so big today that I had to bite it in half to get it into my mouth.  The big ones are hiding in behind the leaves.  This leads me to modify my dads favorite saying "He that parteth the leaves, leaves with a full basket"  of big, giant, juicy, plump and succulent Blackberries.  It looks like we will have blackberries through the weekend of the 23rd, perhaps even a little longer.  I would not wait until the last minute though, if you want Blackberries - I would come and get them as soon as possible.  Thursday morning is still the best day to come, the closer you come  to 8:30am - the better the picking will be.
Monday evening, June 03, 2002 --- Are you a 'chomper' or a 'Juicer'?  So many folks have told me they don't like getting the seeds in their teeth.  I immediately know they are 'chompers' and not 'juicers'.  I myself am a Juicer and get very few seeds in my teeth.  A Chomper will throw the blackberry in their mouth and chew it, thus releasing the seeds into the mouth where they are bound to lodge between the teeth as they chew.  Whereas a Juicer will place the blackberry into the mouth and squeeze it between the tongue and the roof of the mouth,  the juice is then released into the mouth where it can be savored and enjoyed.  When the juice is gone simply swallow the pulp whole or ....... spit it out.
    Customers harvesting berries in the mornings are having plenty of luck, those coming in the afternoons are having to work for their bounty.     We should have about two more weeks of good blackberry picking.   It looks like we are going to plant another 500 plants, but where??  I believe some strawberries are going to have to move over to let a few blackberries have some space.
    The Maze is going great.  It is TOO HOT to go through the maze in the afternoon so make sure you come in the morning or Friday/Saturday evening.   'Crawford' continues to be the hardest town to find.  We have had quite a few customers that just gave up and quit.  Some believe that 'Crawford' does'nt exist so I just walk them straight to it and they stand there in amazement as they say "I must have walked around it one hundred times"
Saturday morn,  June 1, 2002 --- It is true ..... the early bird really does get the blackberries.  The canes are beginning to produce some wonderful berries but just not enough to last all day.  Therefore, the morning customers that come out each day have plenty of luck finding ripe berries but the afternoon customers are having to search high and low.   The plants should continue to produce blackberries for another 3 weeks so you have a little time yet to schedule a morning trip.
    The maze is going great.  The kids gave us a fun idea ....... last night we went in with water balloons and threw them at each other.  It was a lot of fun soooooo ..... if you decided to bring your family out and bring a few balloons with you ............ we will furnish the water.  We are not responsible if you hit someone that is not in your family!  Or, if you bring a couple of families and want to have balloon wars --- let us know in advance so we can prepare.  Perhaps we will have the balloon wars only in the heat of the afternoon.    
Tuesday evening,  May 28, 2002 --- Well....... I went out to the patch this morning to see what, if anything, last nights storms did to our crops.   I noticed an unusual sound when I go out to open the gate.  The sound grew as I drove into the patch. "'What could it be?" I asked.  But then, out of the blue it came to me ---- it was a giant sucking sound.  The sound of water being inhaled by a very thirsty piece of ground.  We had 1.6" in the rain gauge but you could hardly tell it rained that much by the way the ground looked.  I guess those cracks in the soil that were big enough to put your hand in can take a lot of water.   Whew!  we had hardly any wind damage.  Looks like God was smilin down on us.
    Hint:  bring a short person and a tall person with you to pick Blackberries.  Casual customers will only pick berries at eye level,  if you have a tall person that can reach over the top of the trellis (6'3" or taller would be best) or a short person to get in under the overhanging canes, you will load up with giant 'one per mouthfull' berries.
Tuesday morn, May 28, 2002  ---  Wow-we.   Sounded like we had some rock'em socke'em storms last night.  We needed the rain but are always a little apprehensive as we head out to the patch to see if any damage occured.  The strong winds that accompany the showers are what do the possible damage.  What could blow over?  the maze I suppose, as well as 6 foot tall trellis' loaded with soon to be ripe Blackberries.  We did need the rain though and I suspect the ground will be soaking it up in record time.
   Speaking of Blackberries ...... we have just barely started picking them.  Production will be increasing in the next week or so ------ man are they good!
   And then there is the 'Texas' Maze ---- we had a bunch of fun over the weekend.  A family waltzed across Texas in world record time - 32 mins (which seems almost impossible).
   Gotta Go ---- will update the page again this evening to let you know if the storms did any damage.
Monday May 21, 2002 --- The Maze continues to be the hottest ticket right now as those bloomin' blackberries have not yet begun to produce heavily.
    Speaking of the Maze ---- he he, it is harder than it looks.   We have yet to have any pedestrians finding all 12 cities in less than an hour.   I would say the average seek time has been about 1 hour 45 minutes --- if you want to find all 12 cities.  Of course you can just find a few and come on out whenever you would like.  'Crawford' seems to be emerging as the hardest city to find.
    The 'Brazos' Blackberries are now producing but not enough to satisfy everyone.  'Kiowa' - our main variety,  is getting very close to harvest.  Lots of berries are turning red which means just 3 or 4 days until they are fully ripe.  The 'Arapaho' variety will follow the 'Kiowa' by about two or three days.  All three varieties will be producing the last week of May and the first week of June.  Then the 'Kiowa' and 'Arapaho' will continue to produce until about June 25th.
    The Strawberries really are finished now.  It has been a wonderful Strawberry season - thanks to all of you that came out.  Time to begin preparation for next years crop.  We should be ordering plants in two weeks,   wow.
Thursday May 16, 2002 --- Strike up the band because we are about to cut a rug (go dancing).  The 'Texas maze' will open tomorrow.  We are so excited.  I am anziously awaiting the first pedestrians ---- is it going to be too hard?  I sent some guys in today to find Mirando City - it took them 20 mins, 11 more to go guys.  It is much taller than last year, averaging about 7 feet,   which makes it very hard to keep your bearings.  The maze is a lot of fun, bring the kids and travel 'Texas' together.
    In case you are not familiar with our A-Maze-ing Maze:
               We have a 4 acre Hay field planted in the shape of Texas. Inside 'Texas' we have cut pathways through the grass going in every which direction,  in the correct geographical position, we have placed signs identifying Texas towns.  At each town is a hole punch.  The object of the game is for pedestrians to walk into the maze and find all twelve towns.  At each town you will punch your gamecard indicating your find (each town has a different shaped hole punch).  Pedestrians finding all twelve cities are entitled to a free drink upon exiting the maze (soda or water). It sure will help you with if you locate the towns on your map before coming out.   I have given you 5 here, look for the other towns on different pages throughout the website, they will be underlined.  
    Still a few potatoes, very few Strawberries and Blackberries,   Those Blackberries are starting to ripen now but won't be going strong until late next week.
Monday May 13, 2002 --- We are so excited, just giddy with Joy.   'Texas' should be ready for walking this weekend through the first of July (barring disasters).   We have been cutting the paths today and hope to finish tomorrow (mental note: cut the paths before the sorgum gets seven feet tall!).  It is going to be so much fun ---- I hope we are not making it too hard.  Last fall pedestrians were able to use a deer stand I put up in the middle of Texas as a point of reference, not this spring.  The grass is also taller, about 7+ feet in most areas.  I do have a hint for you, the towns you will be looking for in Texas are very small, some are small enough that if you blink you miss the town ----- same way in our 'Texas',  the towns are marked with a sign and if you are not looking for it you might walk right on by.   I also found another problem today, an older Texas map that I had did not have Dimple and Pluck on it, whoops.... better check your map.  In addition to those two towns you will be looking for Vera and Pringle.  So that is four of the twelve towns, stay tuned for the other 8.
    Strawberries ----- very scattered and hard to find now.   Here is a reprint from a year ago that  holds true now: No longer can you just walk down the row, waiting for the berries to leap into the basket (as they once did).  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".
    Blackberries ----- come on already!!!!!  still waiting for them to ripen.  Mom just could not wait, she was determined to find the first blackberry.  I could tell she ate one when she walked up to the store ---- yep, here mouth stayed puckered for almost a couple of hours.  Don't pick the ones that still have a little red in them or you will be soorrryyyy.  I promise, they really are going to ripen and soon.  Perhaps by this weekend but it will be pushing it.  I do think we will pick some berries but only the first customers will get good and ripe ones.  I would expect to have great picking in the last week of May and first two weeks of June.
    Potatoes --- almost gone.  We are down to two rows of plants left to dig, come and get them before they are gone.
Monday May 06, 2002 --- Still going.  Those Strawberries are still producing and folks are still picking.  It looks like we will have a good supply throughout the week and maybe into the weekend.  
    We had some tater pickers out last weekend - was it you?   Yes, we have started digging (plucking - 'digging' sounds hard and it is not hard harvesting these potatoes) red potatoes now, boy have we seen some beauts come out.   It appears that we have a lot of first time diggers.  In case you need to brush up on your tater digging skills - let me refresh you.  begin your tater harvest with the next available plant on the row being dug.  Remember, potatoes grow under ground on the roots of the plant, your objective will be to entirely uproot the plant (I know, some farmers just dig up a tater or two at a time - to make it easier on diggers we are removing the entire plant).  We have spades (forks) in the patch for you to use.   Simply approach the plant, place the spade into the soil about 8 inches from the stalk - push the spade in with your foot - with one hand pry the plant out with the spade while the other hand is pulling the stalk.  Presto, the plant comes out of the ground with fabulous potatoes hanging on the roots.  IMPORTANT: gently fluff up the soil where the plant was in  order to check for any taters you might have missed, they will only be a couple of inches deep.  It is also important for you to know that red new potatoes are good in ALL sizes.  Don't just get the big ones, get all of them.   Many folks desire the smaller ones better than the big ones.  It is really easy and according to one kid I heard "this is fun!".  In fact, it might be hard to stop - just ask the patrons that got 35 pounds last weekend.
    Everyone wants to know when the Blackberries will be ripe ---------- believe me  NOT SOON ENOUGH!  Every morning my wife goes out to the plants with a blow dryer trying to ripen them up --- it is not working.  We are anxiously awaiting their arrival - maybe in about two weeks (did'nt I say that last week?).  We grow three varieties at Sweet Berry Farm: the first to ripen will be 'Brazos', followed by 'Kiowa' around May 17th, and then 'Arapaho' in late May.  If you came out the first week of June you could pick all three and taste the difference yourself. (Kiowa is my favorite).
    Are you ready to Waltz?  Yep, we will be waltzing across Texas soon (don't tell my Baptist preacher dad) and we can't wait.  The grass is growing like mad and is currently about 5 feet tall, another foot or so and it will be ready, are you?  (if you don't know what I am talking about - click on the waltz across Texas link off of the home page).  Do you want to know which towns you will be looking for?  well too bad, I still ain't tell'in.  Ok, just one ..... or two ----- Dimple and Pluck.
Friday May 03, 2002 --- OK, I should'nt have made the smart aleck comment about the berries cooking in the field ----- we have plenty of very nice berries just waiting to be picked.  We did have some hot days this past week but the berries are pushing right on through, so far.  We plan to have an ample supply of fresh Strawberries through the weekend and most of next week, we will have to wait and see what is going to happen  Mothers Day weekend.  I think we will have plenty but it will be a close call.  Remember, come in the mornings when it is still nice and cool.
Monday April 29, 2002 --- Wow - a warm one today!  The mornings are nice, if you are coming to pick - do it in the mornings or you can wait until the afternoons when the berries are cooking, just bring jars and pick the berries right into the jar, presto - instant jam.  The berry supply will wind down pretty fast in this kind of heat, come soon if you still want to get Strawberries in 2002.
    The Blackberries are still coming - about 2 or 3 weeks away (seems like I said that last week).  They on the other hand enjoy the heat, no problem there.  We are very happy with the way the Arapaho are blooming (the thornless canes).  We could have an amazing crop on these plants. 
    Taters are coming too!  We dug up a few plants and got some very good vittles for dinner - yum.  You can't did them yet,  they were not quite ready to harvest.  We really need to leave them in the ground another couple of weeks.
    Everything is coming --- hurry up.  Even the maze is growing out well.  It only lacks about 4 feet to go.  It is almost to the stage where it will grow 3+ inches per day.  We now have the list of towns that will be inside Texas ---- nope, I aint gonna tell ya yet.  Jest git ur map out, ur goin to need it.
Friday April 26, 2002 ---- The Strawberries are still looking great!  If you want to come this weekend and are worrying about berry supply -- don't worry, the berries are so thick that they will jump in your box if you start whistling.   You have to whistle in French though because the plants were raised in Canada and they don't understand English. 
Monday April 22, 2002 --- Whomever picked on row 2 through 104 forgot to pick the row clean!  A mess of strawberries we did pick over the weekend, I saw them come out of the field ----- where did they come from???  I do not know because  the plants are still loaded with ripe fruit.  My dads favorite color is red,  maybe that is why he has been spending so much time at the patch lately,   the plants look like a little tuft of green laying on a bed of red berries.  I also thought we had picked most of the" muy grande" ones, but once again I was proven wrong when a lady came out with a berry big enough to hide behind! The strawberries are producing like mad right now.  It is hard to tell but it looks like they have at least two more good weeks of picking - we'll see.
    The Blackberries are still blooming and are looking very good.   Expect to begin Blackberry harvest by mid May.
    'Texas' is starting to grow, maybe because we finally got some water on it.  It is about 6 inches tall now, only 5.5 feet to go before opening.   Don't worry, in about a week it will get to the stage where it will grow inches per day.
Monday April 15, 2002 --- Hey, hey hey the past weekend was a ton o fun.  Boy did we see some gorgeous berries come through.  A boy found a berry that was about as big as I have ever seen, it covered up his entire hand!  He was so proud of that berry --- I wonder if it got ate, turned to mush from his handling it or if it is shellaced and hanging on his wall. We still have plenty of strawberries to pick, so come on out and get yours.
    The blackberry canes are now starting to bloom well.   Hopefully we will be picking blackberries by mid May, get ready.
    What else is going on?  The potatoes look wonderful and the Maze is beginning to grow... how can it get much better?
Friday April 12, 2002 --- Ok, here is a chance for you to look very smart when you come out to the patch.  Tell the family something like "you know, when I was a kid I was in charge of finding the berries so we would have something to eat for dinner.  Just follow me and I will take you where the big ones are".   Then, slowly and confidently, with chin raised and chest slightly protruding, guide your followers down to a row and exclaim "This one smells good".  As you enter the row, exhort your followers to "stay close, don't look down or else you will be tempted to stop too soon".  And then confidently stride to the FAR END OF THE ROW  to start picking.  You will be a hero, master of your domain and all will look at you in awe.  The berries are wonderful, the patch is loaded with good ones - now is a good time to pick Strawberries.
Thursday April 11, 2002 --- WOW!  I stand amazed at the strawberries.  If you are coming this weekend - you are in for a treat.  Be sure to bring a picnic lunch because there are so many berries that you will fill your box in no time at all.  See you soon.
Monday April 08, 2002 --- The Strawberries are rollin in!   They are in fine form right now and it sure is a pleasure seeing all the happy faces that picked their own.  I suppose we have the best job in the world because 99% of the people coming out are happy and having a good time (you're not the sour puss that came out last weekend are you???).  We are very happy with the way the entire patch looks at the moment but oddly enough, that is elevating our stress level because we are busy trying  to keep it that way.  This time of the year when we are getting weekly rains and the temperature is moderate, everything grows like crazy and it is hard to keep up.
    Did I say 'moderate' temps??  I was freezing on Saturday and sweating today!  The Strawberries are not only producing heavily but have started to bloom again.  Will these blooms make berries? Don't know, it depends on the weather.  If it does not get too hot in May then we might have berries up to the end of May --- time will tell.
    Our Blackberries should be blooming heavily right now and they are just starting to pop a few flowers here and there.  We have plenty of flower buds but they are holding back a little.  This week of warmer weather should change this dramatically.
    The potatoes are growing like mad, I hope they are putting something under the ground as well as above.  The Maze is also slow getting going   (it occurs to me that we are very tied to the weather ------- Duuuuhhhh!).    
Thursday April 04, 2002 --- We have a few new pics uploaded, see them at http://www.sweetberryfarm.com/april02.htm
The berries are absolutely wonderful right now.  The next three weeks will be great picking but I don't know if it can get much better than right now.  I am sure the berries will get more abundant later but I doubt they will be as consistently big. 
     We are still on the weather roller coaster.  The Pecan trees are beginning to leaf out and our Mesquite trees have buds swelling ---- this should mean our freezes are over for this spring.  Very seldom do Pecan and Mesquite trees get fooled.  We did hear some thunder about  February 13, 2002, according to the 'old timers' this means we will get a cool snap on April 13, 2002.
Sunday March 31, 2002 --- After 15 years I am still amazed at the speed at which these Strawberries ripen.  Friday and Saturday we had decent crowds that picked all the ripe berries out of the fields, by this afternoon there were ripe berries in the field waiting to be picked.  That rumble of berries ripening has now changed to a ROAR.  I expect to have more than enough berries to pick each and every day from tomorrow through all of April (I am not going to update the 'Fresh News' tomorrow in fear that you might think it was a April Fools joke).  Now is the time to come and get the big berries which ripen first.  
    The rain we had yesterday sure did turn everything green.   Luckily we had just gotten some fertilizer out on the Maze,  now we are just waiting for it to grow.  We have several cities lined out, better find your map now - you're going to need it.
    The potatoes and blackberries are growing like mad also.   Things are happening at the patch now, there is going to be no holding the plants back (sounds like Old Man Winter might have something to say about that later this week).   Unfortunately the grass and weeds have decided to take off too, yet another job to take care of. 
Wednesday March 27, 2002 --- Here is another rare occurrence (is this season 'the year of records'?)....... if you were planning to come out to the patch over Easter weekend ---- don't, unless you are are just out for a pleasurable weekend.  The freeze that we had on March 2nd (16 degrees) killed the open blooms that would translate into fruit that would now be ripe.  Therefore, the picking is slim at the moment.  We have picnic tables and would Love for you to come on out for a outing, but do not expect to pick a bunch of Strawberries ---yet.  WE DO HAVE AN ENORMOUS AMOUNT OF BERRIES COMING IN ABOUT A WEEK AND A HALF!     We expect the following weekend (April 6th) to be the beginning of an incredible surge of berries.  I believe that there will be so many berries April 6 - 30 that you could come out any time and find more than enough fruit.  Hope you have a glorious Easter weekend!   
Monday March 25, 2002 --- UUUGggggghhhhh!!!  where have the nice calm, cool days gone?  This morning was great, it was warm and the winds were calm - I was feeling good.  Then the front hit -  it turned cold, windy and wet ........ and so did my attitude.  I even did a very rare thing, closed the patch down and went home.  
    OK, now I feel better that I was able to 'vent' -- thanks for listening. 
    On a good note ---- we got taters!  Yep, the potatoes have started growing and leaves are popping up everywhere.  They are going to be loads of fun harvesting.  If you like to play in the dirt looking for treasure --- these spuds are going to fit the bill.
    Not only are the potatoes growing but so are the Blackberries.   The earliest ripening variety we have, Brazos, has begun to put on new growth and will be blooming soon.  This years crop should be a good one, since we doubled the size of the Blackberry patch over last year.  Mom and the wife have made some excellent jam out of a strawberry and blackberry mixture.
    And then there were the Strawberries.  Do you hear the rumble?  Quick! put your ear to the floor.  Hear that?  It's the sound of a river of Strawberries about to flood the valley with a sea of red.  We are picking some berries now but in about two weeks the field is going to turn red (my heart skips a beat just thinking of what lays ahead). Tomorrow's picking should be good because of closing early today and Thursdays picking should be good because we close on Wednesdays.   I believe Friday morning will have a good supply of berries but I am not to sure on Friday afternoon, it depends on the size of the crowd.
Friday March 22, 2002 ----   This weather is driving me nuts! The poor plants don't know what to do.  It is hot during the day and freezing at night.  Berries are ripening every day, although harvest is slow at the moment.
    Many folks on the email list have emailed wanting to know why they have not recieved a notice of picking yet.  The answer is that there is not enough berries yet to justify a notification.  Don't worry, one will be coming soon.   We do have berries to pick right now but the 'passer bys' have been keeping them picked.  The plants are loaded with small fruit and blossoms which look like they will begin to ripen around April 5th.
    Thanks to a good friend, 'Texas' was planted earlier this week.   A little fertilizer and a few timely rains will cause it to be ready for pedestrians by mid May.
    The Blackberries are now starting to put on new growth.   Blooms will not be far behind and before you know it ------ blackberries!
Monday March 11, 2002 --- I finally got around to loading some new pics on the site.  They are under the "straw02#1" link on the home page.  It sure has been a up and down ride out at the patch lately.  We uncovered the plants to pick berries on Saturday, then had to cover them back up for a possible freeze Sat. night.  We just left them covered on Sunday because it was damp and cold here, our apologies if you made a trip out.  Customers picked most of the ripe ones Saturday, and since Sunday was cold,  I was'nt for sure if we would have berries to pick today.  Sure enough, when we pulled the covers back there were a good many ripe berries ready to pick.  With the nice weather predicted for the rest of the week, lots of berries should ripen up quickly.
    'Fireball' the tractor is sick, I am sure all of you are concerned but not to worry - the doctor is on his way.  This could delay the planting of 'the Maze' a little bit.  I still would like to have it operating by late May.   We are still open for suggestions as to which cities we put in Texas this spring.   If you are fond of a small out-of-the-way town in Texas, let us know at map@sweetberryfarm.com
Friday March 08, 2002 ---- Guess what?!?! we are picking berries, Strawberries that is.  Yep, those luscious red ripe, big as a watermelon, Strawberries are getting ripe.  Production is slow at the moment and I really don't know how the rest of March is going to pan out because of our recent freezes.  I suspect that we will be picking berries for the next three weeks, slow down a bit and then hit the ground running again in mid April.
    Needless to say, the berries sure are good.  Come on out and see for yourself.
Monday March 04, 2002 ---- Talkin about a 'one - two punch'!   We have found out first hand what that means.  We had another cold night last night ---- did anything get hurt?  don't know yet.  We shall see pretty soon when we pull the covers off.  Not until we remove all the frost covers will we be able to really determine the status of the crop.  I have seen some burned blooms but also some nice healthy ones.  You know, our berries were already big, now if some got froze and there are just a few ripening on each plant at the same time ----- we might have some berries as big as a beach ball!  Just hang tight, we should pull some covers off tomorrow and see what is under there.
Thursday February 28, 2002 ---- Ouch! mother nature just gave us a whippin.  Since I don't do much wrong, it must have been something the wife did to upset her.  (Yeah right, I am also the guy who said "if I said something in the forest, and nobody heard me - would I still be wrong?")
    Now, don't take this too far (please use caution when telling your friends)!  Sometimes I can mention a small thing in 'Fresh News' and the next thing I know it is blown entirely out of proportion!   We will have strawberries to pick this year - just not as many as we were going to have before the 'big freeze'.  The way this happens is that blooms get froze now which means that we won't have berries in 30 days, more blooms should emerge next week which will mean we have lots of berries 30 days from then.  We did have most of the plants covered, some with two covers.  The plants with two covers seemed to be unharmed.  We will wait until next week to see how this is going to play out.   It is possible that we would 'open' in about two weeks with a small amount of fruit to pick each day.
    It is too early to tell what exactly is going to happen.  I knew that many of you were worried about the cold (thanks for thinking of us) and wanted to let you know that: yes, we did loose quite a bit of March fruit and yes, we will still have berries but the glut of harvest might be pushed back into mid April. 
    By the way, the Blackberries seem to have made it through unharmed and we are still looking forward to a bumper crop.  The potatoes should also be OK.  And we will be planting the Maze in the next few weeks for a potential May opening date.
Monday February 25, 2002 ---- Can we borrow your fingernails?   ours seem to be all chewed off.  How cold is it going to get tomorrow night?    These will be a few critical nights for the strawberries.  Some of the plants are loaded with blooms and green fruit.  We do NOT want to see the temps go below 22 - 25 degrees, definitely not into the teens as some reports have called for.   We should get 6 to 8 degrees of protection from the covers we now have deployed.   
A myriad of scenarios could now take place:
    24 deg - many of the new blooms are killed, green fruit is still OK,  some damage but sustainable 
    22 deg - much of the new blooms are killed and some green fruit, picking is heavy first of March and then stops for a week late Mar.  
    20 deg. - most of the new blooms are killed and much of the green fruit,  
    16 deg - all of the new blooms are killed and most of the green fruit, we delay opening for a month (first of April),
    13 deg - we begin to experience a heavy crop loss as some of the unopened blooms close to the crown of the plant are damaged.  We                      don't open until mid to late April.
These are just a few scenarios and many factors play into the formula.  Of course, our faith is such that no matter what happens - we know that God will still provide (it doesn't mean we don't get a little tense though).  The Blackberries and taters should be fine through this ordeal.
Monday February 19, 2002 ----- Oh man! I took a bunch of pictures to show you but I went off and left the camara at the patch.  Look for them soon on the site.
    We planted some taters today, just a few days later than we wanted but that will not hurt anything.  I never paid much attention to how much a plant yielded before some am just guessing at what we might harvest.  We planted 200# worth (!00# of red and 100# of white New potatoes), which turned out to be about 1,500 slices after cutting.  If each slice yielded ........ a pound or two, we could have around a ton of taters to harvest.  That will be a lot of family fun.  
    Did you hear about little New Potato?  She was talking to her father, Irish Potato, one day and said "oh daddy, I'm in Love and I want to get married".  Irish Potato responded "that is great New Potato, just who do you want to get married to?".  "His name is Tom Brokaw" said New Potato.  Irish Potato bristled up and said "Are you sure you want to marry Tom Brokaw - he is nothing but a --------------  common tater!"..   
    Many of the pictures we had to show you were of the Strawberry plants covered in blooms.  We recently pulled the covers off and the plants are looking very well.  We have four varieties planted this year: Sweet Charlie, Camarosa, Gaviota and Chandler.  We have about 6,000 Sweet Charlie plants which are now covered in blooms and some green fruit.  This variety is a little bit earlier producing than our mainstay Chandler.  Normally it does not produce as much over the season but the earlier berries come in handy when trying to hit the early March opening target.  We have actually been picking a few berries from these plants all winter long.  Mom made some Sweet Charlie jam the other day and it was very good.
    The 4,000 Camarosa plants are a bit more vigorous than Chandler and seem to ripen at about the same time.  These plants normally yield a little bit larger berry that is slightly firmer when ripe.  This means it will hold up a little longer after picking than Chandler.  
    Only a very small portion of the field, 1000 plants, is planted to Gaviota.  I do not know much about this variety as last year was our first chance to observe it.  I have had a few people tell me they thought Gaviota was the best tasting, I do not agree.
    Chandler is our bread and butter.  The 50,000  plants are looking good and beginning to push a few blooms now.  It looks like the main glut of blooms are about a week or two from opening ---- remember, with mild weather it is about 30 days from bloom to ripe berry.  Some of the plants are a little on the small side which might affect overall production a little.  This is nothing for you to worry about because I expect to have plenty of berries for everyone to pick.
Monday February 04, 2002 ----- and our anxiety level begins its' annual rise as the picking season begins to  rush closer and closer ---- maybe only a month away.  Have you ever wanted to do so many things, that you tried them all at the same time and nothing got done?  Well, I'm glad I'm not that way because I'm a picture perfect model of organization and priority driven directiveness ------- (a bit of comedy relief reduces the aforementioned anxiety level and encourages much needed sleep before bedtime).
Remember: get those frozen berries out of the freezer, make way for fresh ones coming soon.  Now would also be a good time to begin your imitation picking excercises - we want everyone to be in tip top shape when the moment comes.  Those first berries of the season are as big as  watermelons and you might overdo yourself if you have not physically prepared beforehand.  Therefore, I expect to see everyone up and at'em by  5am ------ I will be listening for a collective "and a one, and a two ........."
Tuesday January 29, 2002 --- wow, it was plenty warm today.   We covered most of the Strawberry plants last week in anticipation of cold weather Friday and Saturday morning.  Instead of pulling the covers off for a couple of days we decided to leave them down to protect against potential cold weather the end of this week ----- I imagine the plants were plenty toasty under those covers today as we reached about 83 degrees.  I don't think leaving the covers on during this warm weather will hurt the plants,  instead, based on past experience, this warm spell will concentrate and accelerate some blooming and we should see the effects about March 5 - 10 (considering we don't have prolonged periods of cool weather between now and then).  The Strawberry plants are starting to push growth rapidly now and we should be on track to open in early to mid March (only a month or so away!).
    We are also busy trellising up Blackberry vines.  Some of last years rapid growth kind of got out of hand and we are now trying to pin it up.   Things are beginning to pick up at the Sweet Berry Farm, start making plans now for the coming Spring.
Mondi Janyeary 21, 2002 --- ain't nuthin but a tater head.    I'm dreaming of a potato dig, the kind of potatos we used to know. Where the potatos are red and round under the ground.   I guess we have been sniffing to much dirt but we are kind of excited about planting and letting you harvest potatoes.   It really is fun if you have never done it (and it is not your regularly scheduled chore).  
    Now lets not get confused, Strawberries are still king of the hill at Sweet Berry Farm.  And it just so happens that the plants are looking pretty good at the moment.  We are beginning to get a little bit of mild weather now.   We will try to manage the plants in hopes that we can open in early March.  In order to do that we will have to protect any emerging blooms from freezing weather.    We will soon get all the frost covers out and ready for deployment should the need arise.  These covers give us an average of 6 to 8 degrees protection so as long as it doesn't get too cold we are in good shape (assuming that a big frost doesn't sneak up on us and catch us with the field uncovered)
    Let's not forget the Blackberries.... they are doing good too.
Wednesday January 09, 2002 --- Another week of temperatures like today and the strawberries will start blooming.  Today  was a glorious day, I hope you had a chance to get out and enjoy it.  
    Well, 'Texas' is pretty short now,  we mowed it down last week.  Soon we will run over it with a plow to incorporate the clippings into the soil.  A couple of years of this and the soil will be in excellent shape.  I have really worked up the area in the 'Gulf of Mexico' in preparation for ................................ potatoes.  Have you ever dug potatoes?  Do you like the little red or white 'new' potatoes as much as we do?  Digging potatoes is a blast and is really easy to do.  We think this will be a fun thing for the family to do together so we are going to plant a small patch of potatoes.  We should plant about February 14th and they might be ready for harvest around the end of April and most of May.  In October I was able to call the kids 'gourd head' now I can call them 'potato head' in April.  
    The Strawberry plants are looking very good.  They are a tad on the small side but not enough to worry about.  The Blackberries are looking good too,  shoot, everything at the patch is looking good right now.