Monday November 26 -- WOW! What an awesome Thanksgiving we had! Full of friendly folks, blessings, and good weather! We want to give a big THANK YOU to everyone who joined us this year, and we will see you next year for another great Thanksgiving. We're cleaning up the farm now, and hunkering down for winter. The strawberry plants look good and they'll be growing all winter long. The strawberries can withhold cold temperatures to about 20 degrees. If it gets too cold over the winter we'll pull out our large frost covers to try to give them a couple degrees of warmth. We want to wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
Thursday Mid-Day November 15 -- We had three nights of freezes this week, so unfortunately, the flowers are frozen and we won't be able to pick anymore. That's the bad news. The good news is that the Thanksgiving Celebration is just about to start up! In two days, we will have yard games (corn hole, ladder golf, jenga, connect four, and bucket ball) to play, a fun photo booth (Take your own pictures for free, but if you want a cute polaroid of you and your friends buy one for $2.00) sand art, UNLIMITED berry bouncing, UNLIMITED train rides, y'all can go through the mazes, and feed the goats! Come out to spend the day! Unlike the normal dynamic of the farm this event does require an admission fee. That means anyone who comes out to enjoy the farm will need to pay admission. Adults are $5, Kids 3-15 are $15, and under 2 is free. Not to worry, we will never have admission for our Spring fruit picking or our Fall event.
Monday morning November 5 --- Well, the Harvest of Fall Fun is finished for this year, what a great year it was despite all the rain! Folks came out, fought the elements and had a lot of fun. A little adversity keeps us hoping and creates a little excitement along the way.
We are hoping to finish the Strawberry planting tomorrow. Yay! This is the latest we have gotten them in the ground - we will see how this turns out. I am sure it will be just fine as it always is. Who knows, maybe we will want to plant them this late every year.
The New and Exciting Thanksgiving event is right around the corner! The kids are taking this event on and you sure can tell by the energy and enthusiasm they are putting into it. Thanksgiving is that time of the year when folks are busy doing things so we don't expect a huge crowd which will make it that much more fun and 'down homeish'. I kinda miss the old days when we knew everyone by name and could recognize them from year to year - I expect this event to get back to those roots!
Sunday morning November 4 --- It looks like the weather is going to be absolutely stellar for the final day of The Harvest of Fall Fun! A little shower last night just settled the dust. The only little wet spot we have is my fault because I left the Strawberry water on last night -oops. The last weekend has a much smaller attendance than those in October so many folks actually prefer it so they get more of the "farm to myself" feeling.
The farm opens at 11 am on Sundays in the Fall. We hope to see you but if you don't get a chance to come out here, please enjoy this beautiful day wherever you might be.
After today, the Farm will close to the public for a week or so and get ready for the Thanksgiving celebration. The daughters are in complete control of the Thanksgiving event so it is sure to be a lot of fun. It is good to see some younger energy and excitement involved in that event. As with everything they do, it should be awesome so if you are in need of something to do around Thanksgiving - check us out.
Monday evening Oct. 29 --- Yay! We finally got into the field to start planting Strawberries. Only 13600 planted today but that is a good start. We are excited to get that job started for sure. It has been just too wet to get into the field until now.
The Farm grounds are drying out nicely, tomorrow will be a great day to come out. We have a chance of rain Wednesday soooooo we will just have to see what happens. If we can keep it under one half inch we should be just fine for the final weekend of the Harvest of Fall Fun.. (I think the kids have something cooked up for November).
Saturday evening October 27 --- And the days just get better and better! What a marvelous day today has been. We had a good crowd of folks come out to the Harvest of Fall Fun today. We met my most important goal - lots and lots of smiling faces!
Another good sunny day and the farm is drying out nicely. We didn't get any tractors stuck on the Hayride today but we were able to get a few folks stuck in the parking lot (sorry). We probably have the only parking lot in the country that is dusty on one end and muddy on the other. It is drying quickly and I doubt we get anyone stuck tomorrow.
Open at 11am on Sundays. It is supposed to be a beautiful day - we hope you get to enjoy it wherever you might be. Remember to look at the trees, feel the breeze, see the plants and take a deep breath as you bask in Gods Glory. All events will be running tomorrow - we will be waiting for ya!
Saturday morning October 27 ---- Whatdayouknow! the sun is coming up and it is ---going to be a wonderful day! All of our events will be running today and most of the Farm is dry (still have spots for the kids to get in the mud if they try). The flowers are responding to the sunshine almost as much as the Farmhands. It is going to be a great weekend, come see us!
Thursday morning October 25 --- This could be the most excited we have been to see a forecast for 6 days of rain free sunshine. We had another inch and four tenths yesterday so the grounds are going to be a little wet today. Each dry day will make things that much better for the next day.
Thursday and Friday - still a little wet, all activities except Horse Rides, Face Painting and Pumpkin grille will be running. Some mud Thursday, hopefully less by Friday.
Saturday - should be drier, all activities running. HALF PRICE Berry Bounce, Candy Corn Maze, Hayride and Barrel train tickets sold between 8:30 to 9:30 am (only that one hour, come early to take advantage of this deal).
Sunday - open 11 am to 5pm. Hopefully it will be even drier. Forecast is sunny but a little warm compared to past weeks (85 degrees - toasty!). Should be a great day.
Next week ---- open Monday and Tuesday, should be fantastic days. Closed Halloween Day (Wednesday).
Sunday evening October 21 ----- Its days like this that make it fun to have a Farm. The weather was picture perfect and we had a bunch of wonderful patrons that were just as happy as I was to see the Sun shine again.
Even the few issues we had didn't bother me --- we had a few people get stuck in the parking lot (this ground is sooo saturated that it just gives way in places) and I even had a tractor or two stuck on the Hayride route (a little excitement makes the ride even better!). We changed our Hayride course a couple of times and I held my breath every time I went by a soft spot. Like I said, this ground is just saturated below the surface and it gets soft is the strangest places. We hit water at 14 feet when we dug our water wells, I keep thinking we might just fall into a big pool of water any day now (I hope not! but then we would have a water park!). A couple days of this kind of weather and the soft spots will be a thing of the past. We do have some rain in the forecast mostly on Wednesday - lets hope it is not too much.
The farm is open Rain or shine, if you haven't had a chance to Harvest the Fall Fun - come on out, we are waiting for you! The extended forecast has a beautiful next weekend lined up - we will be ready for it!
Sunday morning October 21 ----- Sunny with a high near 70! Wow, what a forecast for today! I hope it
is correct. All the events here on the Farm will be running today. Remember: 11am to 5pm on Sundays.
We are still wet from all the rain. The kids will be able to find some mud. Overall though you should be able to avoid it. Old shoes or those designer boots might be appropriate today.
The Texas Maze has taken a beating with all this weather. I am pleasantly surprised with how well it has held up but you can definitely tell it has been through tough times. This is the only time I have seen some cane die from 'wet feet'. Folks are having a great time in it and it is still challenging. It has gotten so tall in spots that even I can't see my normal landmarks and have gotten turned around.
The normal 'dry' creeks the Hayride goes through have been running well. It is all good though, a little work with the trusty tractor and it is all good again. It is a good day when I "have to" get on the tractor to fix washouts. In years past we have run load after load of water on that road to keep the dust down - well, not this year!
It is hard to believe the flowers have held up this well. They are going to LOVE the sunshine today! There are some muddy spots out in the middle of the field so be careful. But some things you just gotta do to get the good ones!:)
This is going to be a great day! Whether you are here at the Farm or not, we hope you enjoy it!
Saturday morning October 20, 8:40 am ------ We are ready to Harvest some Fall Fun! All events except Horse Rides will be running today (those will run tomorrow). It is partly cloudy and maybe we see some Sunshine in the distance, we do still have a chance of rain so come prepared if coming today. The grounds are soggy but not too muddy. Little Johnny will be able to find a mud puddle but for the most part you should be able to avoid it. This is one day I would think coming later is better than earlier, just gives us that much more time to drain.
Friday morning October 19 --- The Farm is open today! The Hayride and Barrel train are sill closed but everything else is going swimmingly well. Off and on showers today (it is raining now) so bring an umbrella and old shoes or....... just pull those shoes off and act like a kid again! The Farm is holding up pretty well considering the amount of rain we have received. Don't be fooled, we are still plenty wet but at least we can move around without sloshing through the mud.
The rain chances for tomorrow seem to be trending downward and Sunday looks clear. Maybe we will get a good weekend in after all! There is nothing we can do about the weather so we just need to relax and enjoy it - I am sure after we get a rainless week we will be talking about a drought again :). We will update again tonight or in the morning after we see what this day brings us. Stay dry everyone!
Thursday October 18 ---- Hey, Hey it is a little wet here! Keep the folks that live down by the river in your thoughts - they are facing some challenging times. Here at the farm we are wet but not flooded.
The Farm is open today - mostly. The Paint a pumpkin, SandArt, Candy Corn Maze, goat feeding, pumpkin buying and Berry Bounce are all open. We have some work to do on the Flowers, Barrel Train, Hayride and Texas Maze so those events are closed today. I think we will have them going by tomorrow.
Forecast: the farm will be open rain or shine but some events are subject to the weather. Sooo many times we have had rain in the forecast and it didn't rain and vice versa. Currently we have rain predicted for Friday and Saturday. We will try to update here often this weekend. Be sure to hit the refresh to get the latest.
Monday October 15th --- I was sweating yesterday and today I am bundled up. That was a pretty strong cold front that came through last night! Today is cold, wet and windy at the farm. I don't think today or tomorrow will be a good day to visit. Give us a couple of days to dry out and we will be back in business again.
October 14, 8:30 am ---- Whether you are here at the farm or elsewhere, It is going to be an awesome day! We had a good shower last night here at the farm. It certainly settled the dust and we even have a few muddy spots but overall it just made things better. Our forecast shows very low rain chances throughout the day. We are very excited about how things are going and can't wait to see you soon. I was going to say the Scarecrow Island Hayride continues to be our signature event but then I thought the Texas Maze might get offended which would cause the Candy Corn Maze to be upset and then Stuff a Scarecrow would say 'What about a me?' followed by Sand Art throwing things and the Face Painters would be up in arms about their artwork and then the goats would start raising cane, the flowers would probably close back up and the Barrel Train would throw its tires off, the Berry Bounce would let out its air soooooooo to keep all our events happy we will just say "Everything is going great here and there is something to love about every activity!" Hope to see you soon!
Good Saturday morning! October 13, 7:35 am ---- No rain here so far. It is cloudy and a little breezy. Nothing I can see on the radar in our area at the moment. The grounds are in good shape. We will keep an eye on the sky today as we do have a chance of rain, especially this morning. Hope to see you soon!
Friday morning October 12 ---- A beautiful day today! After a rainy start to the week we have had two glorious days.
Weekend update: A chance of sunshine both Saturday and Sunday (In this weather pattern it seems to be applicable to predict chance of sunshine instead of chance of rain). The farm is open rain or shine but some of the activities will close down in a rainstorm. Horse rides are the first one to close because it is not safe to ride in a muddy pen. Everything else pretty much goes back to normal after the shower has passed.
One thing for sure, rain or no rain, we are going to Harvest some Fall fun this weekend!
Tuesday evening Oct. 9 --- A shower yesterday and a pretty heavy shower today. Good thing we are closed on Wednesdays because it would be a little wet tomorrow. I think by Thursday it will be pretty nice again and definitely by Friday we should be going full steam. The farm seems to be rolling pretty good around all these showers. Lots of folks are having fun and at least the temperatures have not been unbearable. Did you see that this weekend is having highs in the 70's and next week has has in the 60's? Whaaaat?! I know, that will be awesome! We having a bluegrass band coming out this weekend to play for folks, that is going to be fun too. They just opened for Emmylou Harris last week! The fun just doesn't stop around here:)
Sunday morning Oct. 7 ---- Wow! what a great day yesterday! and I think today will be equally as good! Wahoo! It was a bit warm yesterday though, we need those cool September temperatures to come back (I imagine this will be the only year in my lifetime that I will be able to say that).
No rain here yesterday or so far this morning. We do have a chance of passing showers today so be careful. Hope to see you soon!
Good Saturday morning, Oct. 6 ---- It is a beautiful morning here on the farm and we are excited about today's outlook. There is a 40% chance of .02" today which means - "not really much but let's be on the safe side and predict some rain". No one knows the future, not even my weather rock :). We might have a passing shower but it sure wont stop the Fall Fun.
The Farm is loaded down with Pumpkins, all the events seem to be running smoothly and everyone is getting in the groove. Scarecrow village is growing! Every time I go on the Hayride I see more and more Scarecrows. It seems they watch the movies too - I just saw a bunch of Scarecrow superheros. And who said they had hay for brains?!
Yahoooooo! The guys busted their tails this week and ....... we made all nine miles worth of Strawberry beds. That is a big job and I am so happy to have it done. We still had to deal with some 'too wet' soil down deep that caused some issues but considering a good chance of rain next week we felt compelled to get it done. Most of the beds look great and as always, a few have a little to be desired. I measure my farming ability by how straight I can make the rows ..... ummmm, I think you can get more plants on a crooked row :).
Monday October 1 ---- What a fantastic weekend! we had a little rain to deal with but everyone took in stride and didn't let it bother them. We finally made it to October - lets hope these wonderful temperatures hold out! Looks like we have a good week ahead of us and so far ....... Saturday looks like it will be rain free!
I wanted to build Strawberry beds today but that shower we had last Saturday was enough to make the field too wet to get into. Oh well, we'll get'er done before long.
Saturday evening, Sept. 29 ---- A rain shower did pass through this afternoon about 3:30. Thankfully we got most of the day in before it hit. I don't think it will affect tomorrows performance much at all. The grounds are in great shape and everything is running pretty smooth. These lower temperatures have been amazing! I still can't believe it is still September. Tomorrow is going to be a great day with very low rain chances - Hope to see you soon! (Remember: 11 - 5 on Sundays).
Saturday morning, Sept. 29 ---- So far so good! There is a chance of rain today but at the moment, the Farm looks spectacular! It is a little cloudy and the temperatures are wonderful. I don't see any rain on the radar at the moment but the showers are supposed to be spotty and quick so we can't trust the radar too much today.
Hey hey! I was able to get into the Strawberry field yesterday and do a little plowing - maybe next week we will be able to build a few beds! Wahoo.
Hope to see you soon!
Monday Sept. 24 ---- Opening weekend went great considering the rain. We had everything running on Sunday and all seemed to go pretty well. If the forecast stays true, this coming weekend will be awesome! and how about these temperatures?! We only hope that October's temperatures are as nice as September's.
Today and tomorrow should go a long way to helping dry the grounds out (believe it or not, we just had a passing shower before I finished this update!). There is a small chance of precipitation Thursday and Friday, lets hope it is not a downpour. Either way, we will make it work.
Still haven't been able to get in the fields to make Strawberry beds - yikes! Never have we had to wait this long to make them, maybe we'll like it? We are super busy and adding bed making to the schedule is going to be tough. Oh well, it is what it is and we will make do. Our Strawberry plants originate as runner tips on Prince Edward Island, Canada - shipped to Virginia and rooted into trays then shipped to us to plant. The Hurricane on the East Coast pushed the readiness of our plants back a week which is what we are going to need to get these beds built.
So far we are very happy with the way things are going out here but we seem to be missing something ........ You! Hope to see you soon so we can fill that void!
Saturday evening, Sept. 22 ---- Hey! not a bad opening day considering 2.5" of rain last night. After a lot of work, all the events except Horse rides will be running tomorrow - yea! Much of the Hayride route had to be reworked because the normally dry creeks were raging rivers. We have been pumping water out of the Maze area all day and should have it easily accessible tomorrow. Texas still needs some work but until then, it will be more of an adventure.
Today was almost cold! I felt like I needed a jacket most of the day. Did someone say this is September? No way, 3 rainy weeks and high temperatures in the low 70's - that can't be September. This weather is something else, a far cry from anything we have seen around here. Tomorrow should be a great day, we are very excited about it.
Bug spray might be a good idea tomorrow if the sun pops out. The mosquitoes were not bad today but who knows what tomorrow will bring. Old shoes are recommended as there are still some muddy spots and standing water around. Hope to see you soon!
Saturday morning Sept. 22nd 8:30am ---- Opening Day! The Farm is open today but a few events are temporarily closed from the intense storm we had last night. The Texas Maze, Barrel Train and Hayride events are closed until ...... noonish? The temperatures are nice and cool. As soon as it dries out a little it should be awesome.
Friday evening, September 21 --- Well what do you know, no rain today! It has some in the forecast for tonight but I don't see it on the radar right now. If we make it through the night precipitation free we are in the clear for tomorrow and Sunday! It will still be a little wet so old shoes and bug spray will be needed. We will post an update tomorrow morning - hope to see you soon!!!!
Thursday evening, September 20 --- Guess what? It is raining as I right this :) but it didn't rain yesterday or the day before yesterday. I have to say I am proud of what we have accomplished through this rain event and even the mind set we are currently in.
The Farm is going to open for the Fall season Saturday morning rain or shine. At this point I am not sure how all the events are going to run though. There will be no horse rides this weekend for sure, if the Berry Bounce is wet we will shut it down , the Mazes will be a game-day decision concerning muddy paths ........ about the only thing that will be unhindered is Sand Art - the rest of the activities are subject to rain. We might just have work around occasional showers - and it shouldn't be miserably hot! We will keep this page updated often this weekend concerning field conditions. Be sure to hit refresh every time you come to the page.
Saturday evening September 15 ---- I had a friend ask me today "Did it rain out there today?". I said "Yep", "How about Yesterday?", "Yes it did, and the day before yesterday. In fact, I think it rained the day before the day before yesterday", "Oh really" he says, to which I reply "come to think of it, I think it rained the day before the day before the day before the day before the day before the day before the day before the day before the day before the day before the day before yesterday". Actually, I believe there is a day in there that it didn't rain but I can't remember which day it was before. And yes, another inch or so today :). I guess at the tender age of 54 I am still wet behind the ears but I can't resist saying "In all my many years in this town I don't ever remember two weeks of consistent rain in the month of September."
Good thing the forecast appears to be mostly dry heading up to opening weekend (the 22nd). The farm will never have been greener and the extended forecast calls for decent temperatures. Could this be the year we have an actual Fall season? Maybe but I wouldn't bank on it.
The Texas Maze has been struggling with all this rain, it likes to lay over with the weight of the wind and rain. Most of it will stand back up but we are going to have to do a significant amount of work to get it ready for pedestrians.
All in all we will be ready and waiting for you, hope to see you this Fall for the Harvest of Fall Fun!
Wednesday September 12 ---- Good - boy o boy are things greening up and the temperatures are great. The Challenge - working around the rain. It has rained here almost every day of the last 11. Who would have though the September would be a wet month? We are embracing the rain and doing the best we can. Overall we really have accomplished a lot and are almost ready to open the Fall season September 22. The biggest issue we are having is the fields are way too wet to make Strawberry beds. It always works out just fine, we will work them in some way.
September 22 and 23 will be the first 'open' weekend this Fall. The Hayrides will be free for everyone on those two days and Military folks will get an extra 15% off their purchases. Get ready folks, Fall is almost here! Hope to see you soon.
Sunday September 9 ---- I don't have a rain gauge - our neighbor said we have had 14.2 inches of rain since last Monday. Who would have thought that September would start out as the wet and cool month! Needless to say, we are growing web feet trying to get ready for the Harvest of Fall Fun. Certainly don't want to complain about rain but it has been a challenge to work around. We really need to be building Strawberry beds. I think it is going to be awhile before we can get into those fields.
Pumpkin season is coming in a hurry! Can you believe it is almost Fall time? We are going to do our best to be ready. Hope to see you soon!
Friday August 10 ---- Hey, hey. Believe it or not - Fall is on it's way! What?! It is a billzion degrees outside! I know but the calendar says so and ........ school is about to start. Anyway, the flowers have all been planted, Strawberry fields cultivated, and the Mazes have been planted and trying to grow.
This years Texas Maze theme is 'Colors across Texas'. Pedestrians will be looking for real 'color' towns in the state of Texas: Sierra Blanca, Redford, Black, Whiteflat, Silver, Goldwaithe, Grey Forest, Orange Grove, Brownsville, Orange, Rosebud and Greenville.
We hope to open up September 22 and go to November 4. Hope to see you then!
Thursday May 30, 2018 --- We have run out of fruit to pick! This Saturday (2nd) will be the final day of our Spring season. We wont have hardly any berries to pick until then but the Ice Cream and a fun outing will still be in play. It was a great Spring because of all the wonderful folks that came and enjoyed it with us.
Monday 5/28 -- I believe the Strawberry and Blackberry season have run their course for this year. The farm will be open through June 2nd. The Berry picking will be slim this week but those willing to do some hunting will find'em. The Ice Cream is plentiful and there is no shortage of hungry goats.
Now comes the not so fun job of removing all the Strawberry plants, cultivating the fields, pruning Blackberries, planting Zinnias, planting mazes and so on as we turn our attention to the Fall season.
Saturday 5/26 10am ---- What a great morning! Folks are finding Strawberries still but the Blackberries are already getting slim picking for the day. The Blackberry season is quickly coming to an end, I don't recommend coming out Sunday afternoon for Blackberries - Monday morning early will be the best bet.
I expect to have Strawberries through Monday and then the harvest will drop dramatically next week.
Wednesday evening 5/23 --- The Farm will be open through Memorial Day Monday and as long as there are berries to pick ............ but I expect the picking to be pretty slim toward the end of next week. Mornings are definitely the time to come now, the afternoons are getting very toasty.
Strawberries --- the Camino Real variety is putting on a late show. The berries are pretty good for this late in the season and fairly abundant. The upcoming heat wave will do a number on them so ....... the sooner the better for Strawberries. FYI: We do use pesticides occasionally in the early part of the season - I have not applied anything to the Strawberries in almost 2 months = we have found a few small worms in the berries we are picking for our freezers. On average - 2 or 3 worms per box of berries we cut. In the sense of openness - I thought I would let you know and ...... you might want to consider that when you are popping them in your mouth out in the field.
Blackberries are still producing but I think they are on their way out to. We will get through Memorial day and then fall off pretty quickly after that.
There is absolutely no shortage of Ice Cream, Popsicles and hungry goats!
Today turned out to be a important milestone for me - my favorite tractor turned to 5000 hours of use. Since I don't share it very well, that means I probably have put about 4900 of those hours on it. Why is that important? That means I have spent at least 4900 hours of my life in peaceful bliss :).
Saturday afternoon 5/19 -- I am very happy with the way the look of the Strawberries coming out of the fields - especially for this time of the year! The Camino Real variety is making one last push of nice looking Strawberries to be harvested. Sweet Charlie and Festival have gone to producing runners instead of berries and the Chandlers are not far behind. We are now on the home stretch of the 2018 Strawberry season. Supply is going to begin to diminish rapidly. I think we will have enough to get through Memorial day but expect them to shut down shortly thereafter.
Blackberries --- at least a week or maybe two left of the Blackberry season. Look low and high for the best blackest berries.
It is getting warm! Afternoons are getting pretty toasty, we highly recommend coming in the mornings these days.
The farm will stay open for as long as the Berry plants produce - I would expect to close for the summer in early early June.
Thursday Afternoon 5/17 --- Strawberries look good for this time of year with the heat bearing down on us! I'd say there is plenty for this weekend's picking, but picking will be slim after that. Don't forget to look under the leaves! That is where you are going to find the best berries. We had a nice little storm roll through Tuesday evening. Though we had high winds, we see very little damage. Oh yes... the blackberries... there are a FEW black blackberries on the vine. If you are wanting blackberries come early in the morning for the best supply. There are a TON of red berries out there that should be great for picking next week. Keep checking in with us for our blackberries!! This weekend we will be running all of our normal activities, and of course have our delicious treats for you, too. Our peach trees did not produce a sufficient crop so we will not have any pick-your-own peaches this year :( so sad, we know! Maybe the weather will work out next year. I hear there is a town just south of us that is the land of peaches Freddytown, or is it Hidensteinburg? Something like that....
Tuesday morning 5/15 - The Strawberries are making a bit of a resurgence! They are not jumping in the box but with just a little effort most everyone has been able to find plenty of nice Strawberries. I expect to have Strawberries through this coming weekend for sure.
Now picking Blackberries too! production is picking up some but it is still waaay better to come in the mornings for Blackberry picking.
Spring is moving right along .... I look for the farm to close down for the summer sometime in very early June. My o my, how time flies when you are having fun.
Friday morning 5/11 --- I do believe we are going to have a great Mothers Day weekend here on the farm picking Strawberries AND Blackberries!
Strawberries: while the berry supply is not abundant, those folks willing to part the leaves and do a little hunting are finding plenty. I have seen some very nice berries come out of the field today - maybe as nice as any I have seen this year. Gone are the days when harvesters can casually walk down the row and pluck the berries that are easily seen. The plants have now put on enough leaf growth that a little diligence is required to find them. I would expect berry supply to continue to diminish with each passing week and be completely finished by the end of May or first few days of June.
Blackberries! Yea, we have started picking Blackberries! The Blackberry harvest has started just in time for Mothers Day pickers. Remember, these canes are very thorny so be careful when harvesting Blackberries. It is only the big giant berry down in the center of the plant that causes me problems - the canes don't seem to mind when I reach in but somehow they attack my arms on the way out. Look low and look high, most folks pick only at eye level. The ripest berries are solid Black with large plumpy druplets (the little pockets that make up the berry). Are they sweet? well......... one berry will be sweet and the next one sour - if you know the secret to finding only the sweet ones, please let me know.
The Barrel Train will continue to run, the Berry Bounce is still bouncy (it is getting hot in the afternoons though), SandArt and Paint a Pot continue to be fun. This weekend we will even have a face painter adding a little flair to the kiddos faces.
Hope to see you soon!
Saturday Afternoon 5/5 -- Looks like the ground soaked up most of the rain we got yesterday already! Tomorrows picking will be about the same as it has been the last couple of days... There are berries out there, you will just have to look for them. The Barrel Train will be back in action tomorrow with the field dried out. We will still have ice cream, popsicles, lemonade, and smoothies ready for you! The only mud you'll find at the farm will be in between the strawberry rows. We are still recommending that you wear old closed toe shoes to go picking in. See you tomorrow! We are open in the afternoon 1-5.
Friday Evening 5/4 -- We had lots of beneficial rain today! Fell at the correct speed, and the ground seems happy! The grounds look good and have soaked up the much needed water. We will be open normal hours Saturday (8:30-5:30) and Sunday (1-5). Over the weekend you should expect some mud in the strawberry field, but the regular walking grounds will be just fine. Berry picking will be good. Good berries were coming out of the field yesterday. As usual this time of year, the earlier in the day you come the better supply of berries we have. We recommend bringing old shoes, crocs, or rain boots to fend off dirt, and we also recommend bringing a big appetite for our homemade Berry-Berry Ice Cream! It is a strawberry-blackberry combo that is sure to knock your socks right off of those rain boot clad feet! The Sweet Berry Express Barrel Train will be closed Saturday due to the rain . It may re-open Sunday depending on how well the ground recovers from today's rain. No blackberries yet, but they should be ready in a week or two.
Saturday afternoon, 4/28 --- What a great day today! The strawberry picking was good this morning, but by late afternoon we are cleaned out of ripe berries for the next couple of days. We would love to have you out tomorrow (Sunday) to relax, eat ice cream, and enjoy the activities but NOT to pick ripe strawberries. Next Thursday Morning will be the next best time to come out to get ripe strawberries. Don't forget about blackberries! They are coming soon -- about mid May!
Saturday morning, 4/28 --- Whew! It is really warming up this time of year! Mornings are great but the afternoons are getting hot, hot, hot! With the warm weather comes the slow decline of strawberry production and availability. To get the best berries this time of year we recommend coming early in the day and parting the leaves to find the berries that are hidden underneath. There are still berries out there, you will just have to hunt for them! If you plan to come out this weekend and next we will still have the homemade strawberry lemonade flowing, smoothies blending, ice cream churning, and popsicles freezing! Not to mention the bounce for bouncing, pots for painting, the train for riding, sand art, and goats for loving. We had to move Willy the Billy (our newest addition to the herd) and his mom away from the goat playground because we couldn't keep Willy in the pen! They are now with the others grazing in the pasture.
Wanting to know about the blackberries? We have green berries on the vine right now so we are still on track for May 15th or so for first day of blackberry picking.
Sunday late afternoon, 4/22 --- The sun came out today and so did quite a few folks - thanks! if you were one of them. The Strawberry fields have been picked pretty hard, they need a few days to recover so I think Thursday morning will be the next good time to pick.
We didn't get hardly any rain out of yesterdays front - and collectively farmers around the region are saying "boy, it sure is dry! We need some rain!"
Friday evening 4/20 --- We have had quite a few folks confused about my last post. We are not out of berries. There are still a good amount of berries to pick. Be prepared to do a little hunting for them, just move the leaves around and you will find them. On average it was taking about 30 minutes today to pick a 5 pound box of berries. Those who were just casually walking through the fields probably found the picking to be a little more difficult. The earlier the better is the norm now, the plants ripen berries each night and the first pickers of the day have a larger supply to choose from.
We have a 60% chance of rain tomorrow. We really need the rain so I am not too disturbed it is falling on a Saturday. I have seen predicted amounts of 0 to 1/4 inch, a little more if you are in a Thunderstorm. I would think anything less than 1/2 inch will be perfect and still make the picking great for another sunny Sunday. More than a half inch - the fields might be a little muddy for Sundays picking.
Wednesday evening 4/17 --- Boom! and just like that the Strawberry production has slowed down quite a bit. There are still berries to pick but gone are the days of scooping them into the box from a few plants. At least for the next week or two it will be important to remember "the earlier you can come out, the better the picking will be". It appears that we have green berries to last until May 10th or so.
One thing for sure: the fresh Ice Cream is still in great supply, the goats are still hungry, the Horses love the attention and all the activities will be going on as planned.
Weather permitting, we will have Blackberries in mid May. The plants have set a crop - now we just need to make it to harvest without calamity.
Saturday morning 4/14 ---- I don't see much damage from last nights rain shower - yet. There was a little hail in that storm, even though we don't see any damage at the moment I would expect some bruising to pop up later. The little bit of rain was wonderful in settling the dust. The picking is great, come out and see us.
Friday evening 4/13 --- Well now, we just had quick moving line of Rain showers come through. The farm was soooo dry that I don't think the water is going to cause a issue tomorrow or Sunday. Old shoes will be a good idea just in case there are some wet spots. Even now, just after the rain, I don't see any puddling. We definitely needed the rain and it is going to be great to 'freshen' up the place.
About 3 minutes worth of hail came down with the rain. It was pea size, not enough to cover the ground but I am sure there will be some berries damaged by a direct hit. I believe there will still be plenty of non damaged berries for everyone to pick but folks might want to be a little more selective when collecting berries. Some varieties have a more dense canopy than others, that is probably where we will direct folks first for tomorrows harvest. Come on out, we'll be wearing smiles and waiting for you!
Monday morning 4/9 --- Last Saturday was downright cold but Sunday turned out to be great! The picking will be wonderful throughout this week. The fields are nice and dry and loaded with berries. In fact, it makes me nervous that things are going so well, do you know the feeling? I expect this week and next week to be great picking. In fact, weather permitting, it looks like the harvest will remain good through the first of May.
There seems to be a crop of Blackberries coming! Barring a weather calamity, we should have them available for harvest around May 15. Wa hoo!
Saturday morning 4/7 --- Not a drop out of last nights front but there is a stiff North wind blowing and it feels pretty cold so bundle up if coming today. Tomorrow is supposed to be sunny and high of 80!
I didn't think we were done with the cold weather, and I still think we have another blast coming in the future. We will see. The predictions were mid 40s last night, I see upper 30's in our area. I don't think we are going to cover the berries tonight because I don't think it will frost with this wind. I have seen a frost occur on the ground when air temperature was 37 degrees but it has to be a still morning with very low dew points and some humidity. We are dry as a bone here so I think we are out of the woods frost wise but ..... I might have just jinxed us!
One thing for sure - the berries are nice and chilled!
Thursday morning 4/5 ---- The Strawberries are back in business! A few days of rest has allowed a whole new batch of Strawberries to ripen. Today through the weekend will be great picking.
Not a drop. We didn't have a drop of rain with the last front and the farm is getting dry again. I am not complaining though because I heard there was some of the H stuff falling just North of us - let's keep that away! We have a small chance of rain late Friday night - we will update Saturday morning to let you know how it looks. Also, Saturdays high temp is forecast in the 60's with sunshine!
The Blackberries are just past full bloom now . I think they are tad bit late so I would expect to start picking Blackberries in mid May.
Sunday evening 4/1 --- Happy Easter! I had a great day at church celebrating the resurrection of Jesus Christ. I hope you had a great day as well in whatever you might believe. We still had a few more pickers than we needed as I wasn't overly pleased with the berries folks were picking. I don't think tomorrow will be a very good picking day either. Tuesday much better and by Thursday, boom! back in the berries! I hope they are but history says the next few weekends wont be as big as Easter weekend so I would not expect to run out of berries again until mid May. At some point we want production to out pace demand so we can pick a thousand or two pounds to put in our freezers for the jam, popsicles, ice cream, lemonade, smoothies etc.
The farm grounds dried out super quick after the last rain and here we are watering again. This coming week we will focus on cleanup, watering, scooping ice cream, fixing irrigation, pulling weeds, feeding animals and boxes.
The Pecan trees are starting to put out leaves, the Mesquite trees are waaaay out and the Blackberries are blooming - so do you think we are past any Frosts? I have seen the Blackberries and Mesquites get bit many times before, Pecan trees only a time or two. We normally have a Easter cool spell but didn't this year. Tuesday evening forecast lows are upper 40s, other than that lows are predicted in 50's through the tenth. Ten or so years ago we had a 14 degree night on April 10th. I want to take the sandbags that hold down the frost covers out of the Strawberry fields BUT there is that wives tale "if it thunders in February there will be a frost in April" ---- we had three separate thunder events in February. Maybe we will leave the bags in the fields at least one more week.
Saturday evening 3/31 --- and another great day! what a great streak we are on! But ....... it has been soooo good that the picking for Easter Sunday is NOT going to be very good. It is going to take a few days for another batch of berries to ripen up. We should be back in the thick of them by Thursday April 5 and the picking will remain good for another month after that.
The Farm will be open Easter Sunday 1 to 5, the Strawberry picking will not be very good but the ice cream certainly will be.
Friday evening 3/30 ---What a great day on the farm today. Loads of folks came out and harvested tons of great Strawberries.
Tomorrows picking forecast is the "earlier the better". We will start out with ripe berries in the morning (8:30am) but the ripe berry supply will diminish with every hour into the day. I would not expect the picking to be very good tomorrow afternoon. Tips: 1. look anywhere you see a weed/clover, no one will pick by a weed. 2. Always go to the far end of the row before starting to pick. Everyone else started picking way too early. 3. The berries are hiding under the leaves. The plants are getting big enough now that folks need to rustle those leaves to find the berries underneath.
All the activities, including horse rides (a big hit today), will be going strong all day and we have loads of ice cream. There will be lots and lots of fun to be had no matter what the ripe Strawberry supply looks like.
The Farm will be open Sunday afternoon (Easter). We open at 1pm, I would expect the picking to be good at 1 but not sure how long during the day they will last.
Thursday evening 3/29 --- The set up could not be any better for Easter weekend! We have loads of berries to pick, the grounds have dried up nicely (still one or two spots for little johnny to get in the mud though - keep an eye on him) and the weather forecast looks wonderful!! We will post updates Friday evening and Saturday evening for current info regarding supply. Hope to see you soon!
Wednesday evening 3/28 --- Wonderful, we had a wonderful one inch rain last night that settled the dust and washed off the berries. We were awfully dry and that rain was exactly what we wanted, when we wanted - that does not happen often!
Thursdays picking will be great although the aisles between the Strawberry rows are sure to be a little slippery. There will be some mud stick to the bottom of your shoes so dress accordingly. The grounds are nicely grass covered and should not be a concern at all.
Friday - historically a very busy day.. We should have plenty of berries for everyone to pick and even though it will be busy - there are 6 acres of Strawberry plants to spread out on. We are very excited about the crop and the ability to say "there are loads of berries waiting for ya". The grounds should have dried even more.
Saturday - the earlier you arrive the better just in case Friday put a dent in the ripe berries. It will be important to check here Friday night to get current information. Be sure to 'refresh' every time you come to this page.
Sunday ---- after we celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ we will open the Farm at 1pm . There should be berries to pick but it will be important to check here just to make sure.
Sunday evening 3/25 I am turning into a smile machine! Beautiful weather, loads of ripe Strawberries and bunches of cheerful customers makes smiling happy farmhands! With the warm night i think tomorrows picking will be pretty good. Rain is in the forecast for Tuesday and Wednesday which will be perfect to freshen up the plants and wash the dirt off of the berries just in time for Easter weekend (please keep the severe storms away). More Good News: Friday, 30th and Saturday, 31st we are going to be adding Horse rides to the menu! The Horse rides are $4.75 per ticket, ages 18 and under can ride. The Horses are hand led down a path and back, so children of all ages and experiences can ride.
The Farm grounds are plenty dry and we are looking forward to the rain that is in the forecast. Let's hope it is ONLY rain. Every Spring storm brings the threat of hail so our anxiety level goes through the roof when we see the clouds building up toward the Heavens. You never can tell how much we will get either, it is not uncommon to get several inches out of what is supposed to be a little shower. One thing for sure, we will have to live with whatever falls and will try to make the best out of it.
I believe berry supply will grow all week so come Friday we will be covered up in berries!
Saturday evening 3/24 --- Wow! what a great day! You guys are awesome! Boy did we put a dent in the berry supply today but don't worry - there will be lots to pick tomorrow! With this heat and warm nights we will ripen even more over night so by opening time tomorrow (1PM) the picking will be great again. I love being a farmer when there are lots of berries to pick and folks are having a fantastic time. Hope to see you soon. We think the picking will continue to be good all the way through Easter and beyond (weather permitting). Ye haw!
Friday evening 3/23 - Looks like it is going to be a great weekend on the Farm! The weather forecast looks fine, the grounds are in great shape, the fields look good, the ripe berry supply is fantastic, the goats are hungry, the horses love the attention, kids are bouncing themselves silly on the Berry Bounce, the barrel train keeps on chugging, lots of kids are painting pots and planting seeds, sandart is always creative, we all scream for ice cream and my personal favorite ..... we will be making Strawberry smoothies!
Weather permitting, it looks like ripe berry supply will be great all the way through Easter. Right now we have a chance of rain next Tuesday and Wednesday which will be just perfect because the berries need to be washed. This time of year we are on pins and needles with every rainstorm because of the threat of hail - lets ALL hope that only rain falls from the sky next week!
Wednesday evening, 3/21 --- wow! the picking is going to be great the rest of this week for sure. A few things you need to know when there are lots of berries to pick:
1. it is extremely hard to stop picking. Each box can hold $15 to $20+ of berries. If you give each of your three children a box .... it is ok with me but .... you need to be prepared for a lot of berries to take home. Don't worry though, if you get too many - you can get a ton of goodwill by giving someone some berries.
2. the picking is always better on the far end of the row. Don't look down or your will never get to the good spot!
The farm looks great. Wear comfortable shoes and bring a picnic if you want. We have not had any rain of late so there is no mud, the grass is freshly mowed. All we need now is YOU!
Tuesday evening 3/20 --- Well now, it certainly didn't take long for the Strawberry fields to recover from last weeks picking. Thursday morning will be great picking, Friday wow picking and Saturday - just whistle and the berries will jump in the box.
We have folks, not mentioning any names Ron and Kathy and others, that swear the Sweet Charlie variety is the sweetest of all. Those plants are loaded with berries right now - but - the berries are small. That is why I don't particularly like this variety. Small but sweet they are. Ask the guy at the welcome barn where they are and he will point you that direction.
We haven't had any rain recently and the farm is getting a bit dry, good thing we have a strong well! Other than some blowing dust the grounds are in great shape.
Speaking of shape, I think those outrageously good Smoothies are giving me a shape that is going to get off. I just can't quit drinking them. Luckily Lacy is only making them on the weekends so I am somewhat saved - now if I can just quit having a delicious Ice Cream every day I might be ok.
Overall the Strawberry crop looks great. I expect to have lots of berries all the way through mid April. Hail storms are our nemesis this time of year. I worked with an old lady once that said if you get caught in a hail storm and can hit some of the hail stones with a cast iron skillet, the hail would stop. So there you go, everyone pull their cast iron skillet out and have it sitting by the front door just in case!
Sunday evening 3/18 --- A fantastic opening! This warm weather is turning on the Strawberry plants and I can hear the berries ripening in the field now! Monday will be ok picking, Tues - good, closed Wednesday, Thursday - great, Friday Wow! and by Saturday morning - awesome! The grounds are in great shape, now is a good time to come to the farm! Hope to see you soon!
Remember: the FAR end of the rows have the best berries!
Saturday afternoon 3/17/18 ---- It is a lot of fun to be at the Farm but I must admit ...... it is a lot more fun when we have an abundance of ripe berries to pick. Tomorrow we will be open with smiles on our faces and activities for the kids but a very limited amount of ripe berries will be in the fields. Lots more berries are on their way - just need a few days to ripen them up.
Friday evening March 16, 2018 ---- another great day! I think the next best day to pick ripe Strawberries would be next Thursday and beyond. The ripe berries were harvested today by 11am. Today was pretty warm and tonight is going to be pretty warm so some berries will ripen up overnight, all of our activities will be running tomorrow,the Farm is in great shape, fresh Ice cream is plentiful and the goats are still hungry.
recap: ripe berries for Saturday and Sunday will be in short supply. Come out to enjoy this beautiful Spring, fun farm activities and fresh ice cream but NOT for ripe Strawberries. By March 22nd berry supply will increase exponentially and stay strong through the second week of April (weather permitting).
March 15, 2018 --- Hola! Wow! what a great opening day! Lots and lots of pickers came out today and worked over the fields pretty well. There will be several hundred pounds of ripe berries to pick tomorrow morning. The early bird will definitely get the best berries tomorrow though. All the activities will be going strong, the Strawberry Smoothies will continue to be out of this world (had my first one by 9am this morning), the goats will be hungry and we will be wearing smiles because of the fantastic folks that come out. If you don't get quite as many as you would like tomorrow - don't fret, lots of berries on their way! When the weather warms up a little the berries will really turn on the juice and we will be swimming in red. Weather permitting, the second half of March and the first two weeks of April will be outstanding picking.
Recap for tomorrow: the Farm/Fields are in great shape. A good supply of ripe berries early tomorrow, crowd size will determine how long they last.
March 13, 2018 --- Here we go again! The Strawberries are ready for picking! The Farm will officially open for the Spring season Thursday March 15. We are going to start out with a good supply of beautiful ripe berries but ...... if the city of Austin turns out on Thursday the rest of the week might be slim pickings as this is just the very first part of the season. We will post conditions here often to let you know how things look. Be sure to hit the refresh button every time you come here to get the 'freshest' news. Overall the crop looks good so far (keep those Hail storms away please). I expect to be swimming%2
Thursday Mid-Day November 15 -- We had three nights of freezes this week, so unfortunately, the flowers are frozen and we won't be able to pick anymore. That's the bad news. The good news is that the Thanksgiving Celebration is just about to start up! In two days, we will have yard games (corn hole, ladder golf, jenga, connect four, and bucket ball) to play, a fun photo booth (Take your own pictures for free, but if you want a cute polaroid of you and your friends buy one for $2.00) sand art, UNLIMITED berry bouncing, UNLIMITED train rides, y'all can go through the mazes, and feed the goats! Come out to spend the day! Unlike the normal dynamic of the farm this event does require an admission fee. That means anyone who comes out to enjoy the farm will need to pay admission. Adults are $5, Kids 3-15 are $15, and under 2 is free. Not to worry, we will never have admission for our Spring fruit picking or our Fall event.
Monday morning November 5 --- Well, the Harvest of Fall Fun is finished for this year, what a great year it was despite all the rain! Folks came out, fought the elements and had a lot of fun. A little adversity keeps us hoping and creates a little excitement along the way.
We are hoping to finish the Strawberry planting tomorrow. Yay! This is the latest we have gotten them in the ground - we will see how this turns out. I am sure it will be just fine as it always is. Who knows, maybe we will want to plant them this late every year.
The New and Exciting Thanksgiving event is right around the corner! The kids are taking this event on and you sure can tell by the energy and enthusiasm they are putting into it. Thanksgiving is that time of the year when folks are busy doing things so we don't expect a huge crowd which will make it that much more fun and 'down homeish'. I kinda miss the old days when we knew everyone by name and could recognize them from year to year - I expect this event to get back to those roots!
Sunday morning November 4 --- It looks like the weather is going to be absolutely stellar for the final day of The Harvest of Fall Fun! A little shower last night just settled the dust. The only little wet spot we have is my fault because I left the Strawberry water on last night -oops. The last weekend has a much smaller attendance than those in October so many folks actually prefer it so they get more of the "farm to myself" feeling.
The farm opens at 11 am on Sundays in the Fall. We hope to see you but if you don't get a chance to come out here, please enjoy this beautiful day wherever you might be.
After today, the Farm will close to the public for a week or so and get ready for the Thanksgiving celebration. The daughters are in complete control of the Thanksgiving event so it is sure to be a lot of fun. It is good to see some younger energy and excitement involved in that event. As with everything they do, it should be awesome so if you are in need of something to do around Thanksgiving - check us out.
Monday evening Oct. 29 --- Yay! We finally got into the field to start planting Strawberries. Only 13600 planted today but that is a good start. We are excited to get that job started for sure. It has been just too wet to get into the field until now.
The Farm grounds are drying out nicely, tomorrow will be a great day to come out. We have a chance of rain Wednesday soooooo we will just have to see what happens. If we can keep it under one half inch we should be just fine for the final weekend of the Harvest of Fall Fun.. (I think the kids have something cooked up for November).
Saturday evening October 27 --- And the days just get better and better! What a marvelous day today has been. We had a good crowd of folks come out to the Harvest of Fall Fun today. We met my most important goal - lots and lots of smiling faces!
Another good sunny day and the farm is drying out nicely. We didn't get any tractors stuck on the Hayride today but we were able to get a few folks stuck in the parking lot (sorry). We probably have the only parking lot in the country that is dusty on one end and muddy on the other. It is drying quickly and I doubt we get anyone stuck tomorrow.
Open at 11am on Sundays. It is supposed to be a beautiful day - we hope you get to enjoy it wherever you might be. Remember to look at the trees, feel the breeze, see the plants and take a deep breath as you bask in Gods Glory. All events will be running tomorrow - we will be waiting for ya!
Saturday morning October 27 ---- Whatdayouknow! the sun is coming up and it is ---going to be a wonderful day! All of our events will be running today and most of the Farm is dry (still have spots for the kids to get in the mud if they try). The flowers are responding to the sunshine almost as much as the Farmhands. It is going to be a great weekend, come see us!
Thursday morning October 25 --- This could be the most excited we have been to see a forecast for 6 days of rain free sunshine. We had another inch and four tenths yesterday so the grounds are going to be a little wet today. Each dry day will make things that much better for the next day.
Thursday and Friday - still a little wet, all activities except Horse Rides, Face Painting and Pumpkin grille will be running. Some mud Thursday, hopefully less by Friday.
Saturday - should be drier, all activities running. HALF PRICE Berry Bounce, Candy Corn Maze, Hayride and Barrel train tickets sold between 8:30 to 9:30 am (only that one hour, come early to take advantage of this deal).
Sunday - open 11 am to 5pm. Hopefully it will be even drier. Forecast is sunny but a little warm compared to past weeks (85 degrees - toasty!). Should be a great day.
Next week ---- open Monday and Tuesday, should be fantastic days. Closed Halloween Day (Wednesday).
Sunday evening October 21 ----- Its days like this that make it fun to have a Farm. The weather was picture perfect and we had a bunch of wonderful patrons that were just as happy as I was to see the Sun shine again.
Even the few issues we had didn't bother me --- we had a few people get stuck in the parking lot (this ground is sooo saturated that it just gives way in places) and I even had a tractor or two stuck on the Hayride route (a little excitement makes the ride even better!). We changed our Hayride course a couple of times and I held my breath every time I went by a soft spot. Like I said, this ground is just saturated below the surface and it gets soft is the strangest places. We hit water at 14 feet when we dug our water wells, I keep thinking we might just fall into a big pool of water any day now (I hope not! but then we would have a water park!). A couple days of this kind of weather and the soft spots will be a thing of the past. We do have some rain in the forecast mostly on Wednesday - lets hope it is not too much.
The farm is open Rain or shine, if you haven't had a chance to Harvest the Fall Fun - come on out, we are waiting for you! The extended forecast has a beautiful next weekend lined up - we will be ready for it!
Sunday morning October 21 ----- Sunny with a high near 70! Wow, what a forecast for today! I hope it
is correct. All the events here on the Farm will be running today. Remember: 11am to 5pm on Sundays.
We are still wet from all the rain. The kids will be able to find some mud. Overall though you should be able to avoid it. Old shoes or those designer boots might be appropriate today.
The Texas Maze has taken a beating with all this weather. I am pleasantly surprised with how well it has held up but you can definitely tell it has been through tough times. This is the only time I have seen some cane die from 'wet feet'. Folks are having a great time in it and it is still challenging. It has gotten so tall in spots that even I can't see my normal landmarks and have gotten turned around.
The normal 'dry' creeks the Hayride goes through have been running well. It is all good though, a little work with the trusty tractor and it is all good again. It is a good day when I "have to" get on the tractor to fix washouts. In years past we have run load after load of water on that road to keep the dust down - well, not this year!
It is hard to believe the flowers have held up this well. They are going to LOVE the sunshine today! There are some muddy spots out in the middle of the field so be careful. But some things you just gotta do to get the good ones!:)
This is going to be a great day! Whether you are here at the Farm or not, we hope you enjoy it!
Saturday morning October 20, 8:40 am ------ We are ready to Harvest some Fall Fun! All events except Horse Rides will be running today (those will run tomorrow). It is partly cloudy and maybe we see some Sunshine in the distance, we do still have a chance of rain so come prepared if coming today. The grounds are soggy but not too muddy. Little Johnny will be able to find a mud puddle but for the most part you should be able to avoid it. This is one day I would think coming later is better than earlier, just gives us that much more time to drain.
Friday morning October 19 --- The Farm is open today! The Hayride and Barrel train are sill closed but everything else is going swimmingly well. Off and on showers today (it is raining now) so bring an umbrella and old shoes or....... just pull those shoes off and act like a kid again! The Farm is holding up pretty well considering the amount of rain we have received. Don't be fooled, we are still plenty wet but at least we can move around without sloshing through the mud.
The rain chances for tomorrow seem to be trending downward and Sunday looks clear. Maybe we will get a good weekend in after all! There is nothing we can do about the weather so we just need to relax and enjoy it - I am sure after we get a rainless week we will be talking about a drought again :). We will update again tonight or in the morning after we see what this day brings us. Stay dry everyone!
Thursday October 18 ---- Hey, Hey it is a little wet here! Keep the folks that live down by the river in your thoughts - they are facing some challenging times. Here at the farm we are wet but not flooded.
The Farm is open today - mostly. The Paint a pumpkin, SandArt, Candy Corn Maze, goat feeding, pumpkin buying and Berry Bounce are all open. We have some work to do on the Flowers, Barrel Train, Hayride and Texas Maze so those events are closed today. I think we will have them going by tomorrow.
Forecast: the farm will be open rain or shine but some events are subject to the weather. Sooo many times we have had rain in the forecast and it didn't rain and vice versa. Currently we have rain predicted for Friday and Saturday. We will try to update here often this weekend. Be sure to hit the refresh to get the latest.
Monday October 15th --- I was sweating yesterday and today I am bundled up. That was a pretty strong cold front that came through last night! Today is cold, wet and windy at the farm. I don't think today or tomorrow will be a good day to visit. Give us a couple of days to dry out and we will be back in business again.
October 14, 8:30 am ---- Whether you are here at the farm or elsewhere, It is going to be an awesome day! We had a good shower last night here at the farm. It certainly settled the dust and we even have a few muddy spots but overall it just made things better. Our forecast shows very low rain chances throughout the day. We are very excited about how things are going and can't wait to see you soon. I was going to say the Scarecrow Island Hayride continues to be our signature event but then I thought the Texas Maze might get offended which would cause the Candy Corn Maze to be upset and then Stuff a Scarecrow would say 'What about a me?' followed by Sand Art throwing things and the Face Painters would be up in arms about their artwork and then the goats would start raising cane, the flowers would probably close back up and the Barrel Train would throw its tires off, the Berry Bounce would let out its air soooooooo to keep all our events happy we will just say "Everything is going great here and there is something to love about every activity!" Hope to see you soon!
Good Saturday morning! October 13, 7:35 am ---- No rain here so far. It is cloudy and a little breezy. Nothing I can see on the radar in our area at the moment. The grounds are in good shape. We will keep an eye on the sky today as we do have a chance of rain, especially this morning. Hope to see you soon!
Friday morning October 12 ---- A beautiful day today! After a rainy start to the week we have had two glorious days.
Weekend update: A chance of sunshine both Saturday and Sunday (In this weather pattern it seems to be applicable to predict chance of sunshine instead of chance of rain). The farm is open rain or shine but some of the activities will close down in a rainstorm. Horse rides are the first one to close because it is not safe to ride in a muddy pen. Everything else pretty much goes back to normal after the shower has passed.
One thing for sure, rain or no rain, we are going to Harvest some Fall fun this weekend!
Tuesday evening Oct. 9 --- A shower yesterday and a pretty heavy shower today. Good thing we are closed on Wednesdays because it would be a little wet tomorrow. I think by Thursday it will be pretty nice again and definitely by Friday we should be going full steam. The farm seems to be rolling pretty good around all these showers. Lots of folks are having fun and at least the temperatures have not been unbearable. Did you see that this weekend is having highs in the 70's and next week has has in the 60's? Whaaaat?! I know, that will be awesome! We having a bluegrass band coming out this weekend to play for folks, that is going to be fun too. They just opened for Emmylou Harris last week! The fun just doesn't stop around here:)
Sunday morning Oct. 7 ---- Wow! what a great day yesterday! and I think today will be equally as good! Wahoo! It was a bit warm yesterday though, we need those cool September temperatures to come back (I imagine this will be the only year in my lifetime that I will be able to say that).
No rain here yesterday or so far this morning. We do have a chance of passing showers today so be careful. Hope to see you soon!
Good Saturday morning, Oct. 6 ---- It is a beautiful morning here on the farm and we are excited about today's outlook. There is a 40% chance of .02" today which means - "not really much but let's be on the safe side and predict some rain". No one knows the future, not even my weather rock :). We might have a passing shower but it sure wont stop the Fall Fun.
The Farm is loaded down with Pumpkins, all the events seem to be running smoothly and everyone is getting in the groove. Scarecrow village is growing! Every time I go on the Hayride I see more and more Scarecrows. It seems they watch the movies too - I just saw a bunch of Scarecrow superheros. And who said they had hay for brains?!
Yahoooooo! The guys busted their tails this week and ....... we made all nine miles worth of Strawberry beds. That is a big job and I am so happy to have it done. We still had to deal with some 'too wet' soil down deep that caused some issues but considering a good chance of rain next week we felt compelled to get it done. Most of the beds look great and as always, a few have a little to be desired. I measure my farming ability by how straight I can make the rows ..... ummmm, I think you can get more plants on a crooked row :).
Monday October 1 ---- What a fantastic weekend! we had a little rain to deal with but everyone took in stride and didn't let it bother them. We finally made it to October - lets hope these wonderful temperatures hold out! Looks like we have a good week ahead of us and so far ....... Saturday looks like it will be rain free!
I wanted to build Strawberry beds today but that shower we had last Saturday was enough to make the field too wet to get into. Oh well, we'll get'er done before long.
Saturday evening, Sept. 29 ---- A rain shower did pass through this afternoon about 3:30. Thankfully we got most of the day in before it hit. I don't think it will affect tomorrows performance much at all. The grounds are in great shape and everything is running pretty smooth. These lower temperatures have been amazing! I still can't believe it is still September. Tomorrow is going to be a great day with very low rain chances - Hope to see you soon! (Remember: 11 - 5 on Sundays).
Saturday morning, Sept. 29 ---- So far so good! There is a chance of rain today but at the moment, the Farm looks spectacular! It is a little cloudy and the temperatures are wonderful. I don't see any rain on the radar at the moment but the showers are supposed to be spotty and quick so we can't trust the radar too much today.
Hey hey! I was able to get into the Strawberry field yesterday and do a little plowing - maybe next week we will be able to build a few beds! Wahoo.
Hope to see you soon!
Monday Sept. 24 ---- Opening weekend went great considering the rain. We had everything running on Sunday and all seemed to go pretty well. If the forecast stays true, this coming weekend will be awesome! and how about these temperatures?! We only hope that October's temperatures are as nice as September's.
Today and tomorrow should go a long way to helping dry the grounds out (believe it or not, we just had a passing shower before I finished this update!). There is a small chance of precipitation Thursday and Friday, lets hope it is not a downpour. Either way, we will make it work.
Still haven't been able to get in the fields to make Strawberry beds - yikes! Never have we had to wait this long to make them, maybe we'll like it? We are super busy and adding bed making to the schedule is going to be tough. Oh well, it is what it is and we will make do. Our Strawberry plants originate as runner tips on Prince Edward Island, Canada - shipped to Virginia and rooted into trays then shipped to us to plant. The Hurricane on the East Coast pushed the readiness of our plants back a week which is what we are going to need to get these beds built.
So far we are very happy with the way things are going out here but we seem to be missing something ........ You! Hope to see you soon so we can fill that void!
Saturday evening, Sept. 22 ---- Hey! not a bad opening day considering 2.5" of rain last night. After a lot of work, all the events except Horse rides will be running tomorrow - yea! Much of the Hayride route had to be reworked because the normally dry creeks were raging rivers. We have been pumping water out of the Maze area all day and should have it easily accessible tomorrow. Texas still needs some work but until then, it will be more of an adventure.
Today was almost cold! I felt like I needed a jacket most of the day. Did someone say this is September? No way, 3 rainy weeks and high temperatures in the low 70's - that can't be September. This weather is something else, a far cry from anything we have seen around here. Tomorrow should be a great day, we are very excited about it.
Bug spray might be a good idea tomorrow if the sun pops out. The mosquitoes were not bad today but who knows what tomorrow will bring. Old shoes are recommended as there are still some muddy spots and standing water around. Hope to see you soon!
Saturday morning Sept. 22nd 8:30am ---- Opening Day! The Farm is open today but a few events are temporarily closed from the intense storm we had last night. The Texas Maze, Barrel Train and Hayride events are closed until ...... noonish? The temperatures are nice and cool. As soon as it dries out a little it should be awesome.
Friday evening, September 21 --- Well what do you know, no rain today! It has some in the forecast for tonight but I don't see it on the radar right now. If we make it through the night precipitation free we are in the clear for tomorrow and Sunday! It will still be a little wet so old shoes and bug spray will be needed. We will post an update tomorrow morning - hope to see you soon!!!!
Thursday evening, September 20 --- Guess what? It is raining as I right this :) but it didn't rain yesterday or the day before yesterday. I have to say I am proud of what we have accomplished through this rain event and even the mind set we are currently in.
The Farm is going to open for the Fall season Saturday morning rain or shine. At this point I am not sure how all the events are going to run though. There will be no horse rides this weekend for sure, if the Berry Bounce is wet we will shut it down , the Mazes will be a game-day decision concerning muddy paths ........ about the only thing that will be unhindered is Sand Art - the rest of the activities are subject to rain. We might just have work around occasional showers - and it shouldn't be miserably hot! We will keep this page updated often this weekend concerning field conditions. Be sure to hit refresh every time you come to the page.
Saturday evening September 15 ---- I had a friend ask me today "Did it rain out there today?". I said "Yep", "How about Yesterday?", "Yes it did, and the day before yesterday. In fact, I think it rained the day before the day before yesterday", "Oh really" he says, to which I reply "come to think of it, I think it rained the day before the day before the day before the day before the day before the day before the day before the day before the day before the day before the day before yesterday". Actually, I believe there is a day in there that it didn't rain but I can't remember which day it was before. And yes, another inch or so today :). I guess at the tender age of 54 I am still wet behind the ears but I can't resist saying "In all my many years in this town I don't ever remember two weeks of consistent rain in the month of September."
Good thing the forecast appears to be mostly dry heading up to opening weekend (the 22nd). The farm will never have been greener and the extended forecast calls for decent temperatures. Could this be the year we have an actual Fall season? Maybe but I wouldn't bank on it.
The Texas Maze has been struggling with all this rain, it likes to lay over with the weight of the wind and rain. Most of it will stand back up but we are going to have to do a significant amount of work to get it ready for pedestrians.
All in all we will be ready and waiting for you, hope to see you this Fall for the Harvest of Fall Fun!
Wednesday September 12 ---- Good - boy o boy are things greening up and the temperatures are great. The Challenge - working around the rain. It has rained here almost every day of the last 11. Who would have though the September would be a wet month? We are embracing the rain and doing the best we can. Overall we really have accomplished a lot and are almost ready to open the Fall season September 22. The biggest issue we are having is the fields are way too wet to make Strawberry beds. It always works out just fine, we will work them in some way.
September 22 and 23 will be the first 'open' weekend this Fall. The Hayrides will be free for everyone on those two days and Military folks will get an extra 15% off their purchases. Get ready folks, Fall is almost here! Hope to see you soon.
Sunday September 9 ---- I don't have a rain gauge - our neighbor said we have had 14.2 inches of rain since last Monday. Who would have thought that September would start out as the wet and cool month! Needless to say, we are growing web feet trying to get ready for the Harvest of Fall Fun. Certainly don't want to complain about rain but it has been a challenge to work around. We really need to be building Strawberry beds. I think it is going to be awhile before we can get into those fields.
Pumpkin season is coming in a hurry! Can you believe it is almost Fall time? We are going to do our best to be ready. Hope to see you soon!
Friday August 10 ---- Hey, hey. Believe it or not - Fall is on it's way! What?! It is a billzion degrees outside! I know but the calendar says so and ........ school is about to start. Anyway, the flowers have all been planted, Strawberry fields cultivated, and the Mazes have been planted and trying to grow.
This years Texas Maze theme is 'Colors across Texas'. Pedestrians will be looking for real 'color' towns in the state of Texas: Sierra Blanca, Redford, Black, Whiteflat, Silver, Goldwaithe, Grey Forest, Orange Grove, Brownsville, Orange, Rosebud and Greenville.
We hope to open up September 22 and go to November 4. Hope to see you then!
Thursday May 30, 2018 --- We have run out of fruit to pick! This Saturday (2nd) will be the final day of our Spring season. We wont have hardly any berries to pick until then but the Ice Cream and a fun outing will still be in play. It was a great Spring because of all the wonderful folks that came and enjoyed it with us.
Monday 5/28 -- I believe the Strawberry and Blackberry season have run their course for this year. The farm will be open through June 2nd. The Berry picking will be slim this week but those willing to do some hunting will find'em. The Ice Cream is plentiful and there is no shortage of hungry goats.
Now comes the not so fun job of removing all the Strawberry plants, cultivating the fields, pruning Blackberries, planting Zinnias, planting mazes and so on as we turn our attention to the Fall season.
Saturday 5/26 10am ---- What a great morning! Folks are finding Strawberries still but the Blackberries are already getting slim picking for the day. The Blackberry season is quickly coming to an end, I don't recommend coming out Sunday afternoon for Blackberries - Monday morning early will be the best bet.
I expect to have Strawberries through Monday and then the harvest will drop dramatically next week.
Wednesday evening 5/23 --- The Farm will be open through Memorial Day Monday and as long as there are berries to pick ............ but I expect the picking to be pretty slim toward the end of next week. Mornings are definitely the time to come now, the afternoons are getting very toasty.
Strawberries --- the Camino Real variety is putting on a late show. The berries are pretty good for this late in the season and fairly abundant. The upcoming heat wave will do a number on them so ....... the sooner the better for Strawberries. FYI: We do use pesticides occasionally in the early part of the season - I have not applied anything to the Strawberries in almost 2 months = we have found a few small worms in the berries we are picking for our freezers. On average - 2 or 3 worms per box of berries we cut. In the sense of openness - I thought I would let you know and ...... you might want to consider that when you are popping them in your mouth out in the field.
Blackberries are still producing but I think they are on their way out to. We will get through Memorial day and then fall off pretty quickly after that.
There is absolutely no shortage of Ice Cream, Popsicles and hungry goats!
Today turned out to be a important milestone for me - my favorite tractor turned to 5000 hours of use. Since I don't share it very well, that means I probably have put about 4900 of those hours on it. Why is that important? That means I have spent at least 4900 hours of my life in peaceful bliss :).
Saturday afternoon 5/19 -- I am very happy with the way the look of the Strawberries coming out of the fields - especially for this time of the year! The Camino Real variety is making one last push of nice looking Strawberries to be harvested. Sweet Charlie and Festival have gone to producing runners instead of berries and the Chandlers are not far behind. We are now on the home stretch of the 2018 Strawberry season. Supply is going to begin to diminish rapidly. I think we will have enough to get through Memorial day but expect them to shut down shortly thereafter.
Blackberries --- at least a week or maybe two left of the Blackberry season. Look low and high for the best blackest berries.
It is getting warm! Afternoons are getting pretty toasty, we highly recommend coming in the mornings these days.
The farm will stay open for as long as the Berry plants produce - I would expect to close for the summer in early early June.
Thursday Afternoon 5/17 --- Strawberries look good for this time of year with the heat bearing down on us! I'd say there is plenty for this weekend's picking, but picking will be slim after that. Don't forget to look under the leaves! That is where you are going to find the best berries. We had a nice little storm roll through Tuesday evening. Though we had high winds, we see very little damage. Oh yes... the blackberries... there are a FEW black blackberries on the vine. If you are wanting blackberries come early in the morning for the best supply. There are a TON of red berries out there that should be great for picking next week. Keep checking in with us for our blackberries!! This weekend we will be running all of our normal activities, and of course have our delicious treats for you, too. Our peach trees did not produce a sufficient crop so we will not have any pick-your-own peaches this year :( so sad, we know! Maybe the weather will work out next year. I hear there is a town just south of us that is the land of peaches Freddytown, or is it Hidensteinburg? Something like that....
Tuesday morning 5/15 - The Strawberries are making a bit of a resurgence! They are not jumping in the box but with just a little effort most everyone has been able to find plenty of nice Strawberries. I expect to have Strawberries through this coming weekend for sure.
Now picking Blackberries too! production is picking up some but it is still waaay better to come in the mornings for Blackberry picking.
Spring is moving right along .... I look for the farm to close down for the summer sometime in very early June. My o my, how time flies when you are having fun.
Friday morning 5/11 --- I do believe we are going to have a great Mothers Day weekend here on the farm picking Strawberries AND Blackberries!
Strawberries: while the berry supply is not abundant, those folks willing to part the leaves and do a little hunting are finding plenty. I have seen some very nice berries come out of the field today - maybe as nice as any I have seen this year. Gone are the days when harvesters can casually walk down the row and pluck the berries that are easily seen. The plants have now put on enough leaf growth that a little diligence is required to find them. I would expect berry supply to continue to diminish with each passing week and be completely finished by the end of May or first few days of June.
Blackberries! Yea, we have started picking Blackberries! The Blackberry harvest has started just in time for Mothers Day pickers. Remember, these canes are very thorny so be careful when harvesting Blackberries. It is only the big giant berry down in the center of the plant that causes me problems - the canes don't seem to mind when I reach in but somehow they attack my arms on the way out. Look low and look high, most folks pick only at eye level. The ripest berries are solid Black with large plumpy druplets (the little pockets that make up the berry). Are they sweet? well......... one berry will be sweet and the next one sour - if you know the secret to finding only the sweet ones, please let me know.
The Barrel Train will continue to run, the Berry Bounce is still bouncy (it is getting hot in the afternoons though), SandArt and Paint a Pot continue to be fun. This weekend we will even have a face painter adding a little flair to the kiddos faces.
Hope to see you soon!
Saturday Afternoon 5/5 -- Looks like the ground soaked up most of the rain we got yesterday already! Tomorrows picking will be about the same as it has been the last couple of days... There are berries out there, you will just have to look for them. The Barrel Train will be back in action tomorrow with the field dried out. We will still have ice cream, popsicles, lemonade, and smoothies ready for you! The only mud you'll find at the farm will be in between the strawberry rows. We are still recommending that you wear old closed toe shoes to go picking in. See you tomorrow! We are open in the afternoon 1-5.
Friday Evening 5/4 -- We had lots of beneficial rain today! Fell at the correct speed, and the ground seems happy! The grounds look good and have soaked up the much needed water. We will be open normal hours Saturday (8:30-5:30) and Sunday (1-5). Over the weekend you should expect some mud in the strawberry field, but the regular walking grounds will be just fine. Berry picking will be good. Good berries were coming out of the field yesterday. As usual this time of year, the earlier in the day you come the better supply of berries we have. We recommend bringing old shoes, crocs, or rain boots to fend off dirt, and we also recommend bringing a big appetite for our homemade Berry-Berry Ice Cream! It is a strawberry-blackberry combo that is sure to knock your socks right off of those rain boot clad feet! The Sweet Berry Express Barrel Train will be closed Saturday due to the rain . It may re-open Sunday depending on how well the ground recovers from today's rain. No blackberries yet, but they should be ready in a week or two.
Saturday afternoon, 4/28 --- What a great day today! The strawberry picking was good this morning, but by late afternoon we are cleaned out of ripe berries for the next couple of days. We would love to have you out tomorrow (Sunday) to relax, eat ice cream, and enjoy the activities but NOT to pick ripe strawberries. Next Thursday Morning will be the next best time to come out to get ripe strawberries. Don't forget about blackberries! They are coming soon -- about mid May!
Saturday morning, 4/28 --- Whew! It is really warming up this time of year! Mornings are great but the afternoons are getting hot, hot, hot! With the warm weather comes the slow decline of strawberry production and availability. To get the best berries this time of year we recommend coming early in the day and parting the leaves to find the berries that are hidden underneath. There are still berries out there, you will just have to hunt for them! If you plan to come out this weekend and next we will still have the homemade strawberry lemonade flowing, smoothies blending, ice cream churning, and popsicles freezing! Not to mention the bounce for bouncing, pots for painting, the train for riding, sand art, and goats for loving. We had to move Willy the Billy (our newest addition to the herd) and his mom away from the goat playground because we couldn't keep Willy in the pen! They are now with the others grazing in the pasture.
Wanting to know about the blackberries? We have green berries on the vine right now so we are still on track for May 15th or so for first day of blackberry picking.
Sunday late afternoon, 4/22 --- The sun came out today and so did quite a few folks - thanks! if you were one of them. The Strawberry fields have been picked pretty hard, they need a few days to recover so I think Thursday morning will be the next good time to pick.
We didn't get hardly any rain out of yesterdays front - and collectively farmers around the region are saying "boy, it sure is dry! We need some rain!"
Friday evening 4/20 --- We have had quite a few folks confused about my last post. We are not out of berries. There are still a good amount of berries to pick. Be prepared to do a little hunting for them, just move the leaves around and you will find them. On average it was taking about 30 minutes today to pick a 5 pound box of berries. Those who were just casually walking through the fields probably found the picking to be a little more difficult. The earlier the better is the norm now, the plants ripen berries each night and the first pickers of the day have a larger supply to choose from.
We have a 60% chance of rain tomorrow. We really need the rain so I am not too disturbed it is falling on a Saturday. I have seen predicted amounts of 0 to 1/4 inch, a little more if you are in a Thunderstorm. I would think anything less than 1/2 inch will be perfect and still make the picking great for another sunny Sunday. More than a half inch - the fields might be a little muddy for Sundays picking.
Wednesday evening 4/17 --- Boom! and just like that the Strawberry production has slowed down quite a bit. There are still berries to pick but gone are the days of scooping them into the box from a few plants. At least for the next week or two it will be important to remember "the earlier you can come out, the better the picking will be". It appears that we have green berries to last until May 10th or so.
One thing for sure: the fresh Ice Cream is still in great supply, the goats are still hungry, the Horses love the attention and all the activities will be going on as planned.
Weather permitting, we will have Blackberries in mid May. The plants have set a crop - now we just need to make it to harvest without calamity.
Saturday morning 4/14 ---- I don't see much damage from last nights rain shower - yet. There was a little hail in that storm, even though we don't see any damage at the moment I would expect some bruising to pop up later. The little bit of rain was wonderful in settling the dust. The picking is great, come out and see us.
Friday evening 4/13 --- Well now, we just had quick moving line of Rain showers come through. The farm was soooo dry that I don't think the water is going to cause a issue tomorrow or Sunday. Old shoes will be a good idea just in case there are some wet spots. Even now, just after the rain, I don't see any puddling. We definitely needed the rain and it is going to be great to 'freshen' up the place.
About 3 minutes worth of hail came down with the rain. It was pea size, not enough to cover the ground but I am sure there will be some berries damaged by a direct hit. I believe there will still be plenty of non damaged berries for everyone to pick but folks might want to be a little more selective when collecting berries. Some varieties have a more dense canopy than others, that is probably where we will direct folks first for tomorrows harvest. Come on out, we'll be wearing smiles and waiting for you!
Monday morning 4/9 --- Last Saturday was downright cold but Sunday turned out to be great! The picking will be wonderful throughout this week. The fields are nice and dry and loaded with berries. In fact, it makes me nervous that things are going so well, do you know the feeling? I expect this week and next week to be great picking. In fact, weather permitting, it looks like the harvest will remain good through the first of May.
There seems to be a crop of Blackberries coming! Barring a weather calamity, we should have them available for harvest around May 15. Wa hoo!
Saturday morning 4/7 --- Not a drop out of last nights front but there is a stiff North wind blowing and it feels pretty cold so bundle up if coming today. Tomorrow is supposed to be sunny and high of 80!
I didn't think we were done with the cold weather, and I still think we have another blast coming in the future. We will see. The predictions were mid 40s last night, I see upper 30's in our area. I don't think we are going to cover the berries tonight because I don't think it will frost with this wind. I have seen a frost occur on the ground when air temperature was 37 degrees but it has to be a still morning with very low dew points and some humidity. We are dry as a bone here so I think we are out of the woods frost wise but ..... I might have just jinxed us!
One thing for sure - the berries are nice and chilled!
Thursday morning 4/5 ---- The Strawberries are back in business! A few days of rest has allowed a whole new batch of Strawberries to ripen. Today through the weekend will be great picking.
Not a drop. We didn't have a drop of rain with the last front and the farm is getting dry again. I am not complaining though because I heard there was some of the H stuff falling just North of us - let's keep that away! We have a small chance of rain late Friday night - we will update Saturday morning to let you know how it looks. Also, Saturdays high temp is forecast in the 60's with sunshine!
The Blackberries are just past full bloom now . I think they are tad bit late so I would expect to start picking Blackberries in mid May.
Sunday evening 4/1 --- Happy Easter! I had a great day at church celebrating the resurrection of Jesus Christ. I hope you had a great day as well in whatever you might believe. We still had a few more pickers than we needed as I wasn't overly pleased with the berries folks were picking. I don't think tomorrow will be a very good picking day either. Tuesday much better and by Thursday, boom! back in the berries! I hope they are but history says the next few weekends wont be as big as Easter weekend so I would not expect to run out of berries again until mid May. At some point we want production to out pace demand so we can pick a thousand or two pounds to put in our freezers for the jam, popsicles, ice cream, lemonade, smoothies etc.
The farm grounds dried out super quick after the last rain and here we are watering again. This coming week we will focus on cleanup, watering, scooping ice cream, fixing irrigation, pulling weeds, feeding animals and boxes.
The Pecan trees are starting to put out leaves, the Mesquite trees are waaaay out and the Blackberries are blooming - so do you think we are past any Frosts? I have seen the Blackberries and Mesquites get bit many times before, Pecan trees only a time or two. We normally have a Easter cool spell but didn't this year. Tuesday evening forecast lows are upper 40s, other than that lows are predicted in 50's through the tenth. Ten or so years ago we had a 14 degree night on April 10th. I want to take the sandbags that hold down the frost covers out of the Strawberry fields BUT there is that wives tale "if it thunders in February there will be a frost in April" ---- we had three separate thunder events in February. Maybe we will leave the bags in the fields at least one more week.
Saturday evening 3/31 --- and another great day! what a great streak we are on! But ....... it has been soooo good that the picking for Easter Sunday is NOT going to be very good. It is going to take a few days for another batch of berries to ripen up. We should be back in the thick of them by Thursday April 5 and the picking will remain good for another month after that.
The Farm will be open Easter Sunday 1 to 5, the Strawberry picking will not be very good but the ice cream certainly will be.
Friday evening 3/30 ---What a great day on the farm today. Loads of folks came out and harvested tons of great Strawberries.
Tomorrows picking forecast is the "earlier the better". We will start out with ripe berries in the morning (8:30am) but the ripe berry supply will diminish with every hour into the day. I would not expect the picking to be very good tomorrow afternoon. Tips: 1. look anywhere you see a weed/clover, no one will pick by a weed. 2. Always go to the far end of the row before starting to pick. Everyone else started picking way too early. 3. The berries are hiding under the leaves. The plants are getting big enough now that folks need to rustle those leaves to find the berries underneath.
All the activities, including horse rides (a big hit today), will be going strong all day and we have loads of ice cream. There will be lots and lots of fun to be had no matter what the ripe Strawberry supply looks like.
The Farm will be open Sunday afternoon (Easter). We open at 1pm, I would expect the picking to be good at 1 but not sure how long during the day they will last.
Thursday evening 3/29 --- The set up could not be any better for Easter weekend! We have loads of berries to pick, the grounds have dried up nicely (still one or two spots for little johnny to get in the mud though - keep an eye on him) and the weather forecast looks wonderful!! We will post updates Friday evening and Saturday evening for current info regarding supply. Hope to see you soon!
Wednesday evening 3/28 --- Wonderful, we had a wonderful one inch rain last night that settled the dust and washed off the berries. We were awfully dry and that rain was exactly what we wanted, when we wanted - that does not happen often!
Thursdays picking will be great although the aisles between the Strawberry rows are sure to be a little slippery. There will be some mud stick to the bottom of your shoes so dress accordingly. The grounds are nicely grass covered and should not be a concern at all.
Friday - historically a very busy day.. We should have plenty of berries for everyone to pick and even though it will be busy - there are 6 acres of Strawberry plants to spread out on. We are very excited about the crop and the ability to say "there are loads of berries waiting for ya". The grounds should have dried even more.
Saturday - the earlier you arrive the better just in case Friday put a dent in the ripe berries. It will be important to check here Friday night to get current information. Be sure to 'refresh' every time you come to this page.
Sunday ---- after we celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ we will open the Farm at 1pm . There should be berries to pick but it will be important to check here just to make sure.
Sunday evening 3/25 I am turning into a smile machine! Beautiful weather, loads of ripe Strawberries and bunches of cheerful customers makes smiling happy farmhands! With the warm night i think tomorrows picking will be pretty good. Rain is in the forecast for Tuesday and Wednesday which will be perfect to freshen up the plants and wash the dirt off of the berries just in time for Easter weekend (please keep the severe storms away). More Good News: Friday, 30th and Saturday, 31st we are going to be adding Horse rides to the menu! The Horse rides are $4.75 per ticket, ages 18 and under can ride. The Horses are hand led down a path and back, so children of all ages and experiences can ride.
The Farm grounds are plenty dry and we are looking forward to the rain that is in the forecast. Let's hope it is ONLY rain. Every Spring storm brings the threat of hail so our anxiety level goes through the roof when we see the clouds building up toward the Heavens. You never can tell how much we will get either, it is not uncommon to get several inches out of what is supposed to be a little shower. One thing for sure, we will have to live with whatever falls and will try to make the best out of it.
I believe berry supply will grow all week so come Friday we will be covered up in berries!
Saturday evening 3/24 --- Wow! what a great day! You guys are awesome! Boy did we put a dent in the berry supply today but don't worry - there will be lots to pick tomorrow! With this heat and warm nights we will ripen even more over night so by opening time tomorrow (1PM) the picking will be great again. I love being a farmer when there are lots of berries to pick and folks are having a fantastic time. Hope to see you soon. We think the picking will continue to be good all the way through Easter and beyond (weather permitting). Ye haw!
Friday evening 3/23 - Looks like it is going to be a great weekend on the Farm! The weather forecast looks fine, the grounds are in great shape, the fields look good, the ripe berry supply is fantastic, the goats are hungry, the horses love the attention, kids are bouncing themselves silly on the Berry Bounce, the barrel train keeps on chugging, lots of kids are painting pots and planting seeds, sandart is always creative, we all scream for ice cream and my personal favorite ..... we will be making Strawberry smoothies!
Weather permitting, it looks like ripe berry supply will be great all the way through Easter. Right now we have a chance of rain next Tuesday and Wednesday which will be just perfect because the berries need to be washed. This time of year we are on pins and needles with every rainstorm because of the threat of hail - lets ALL hope that only rain falls from the sky next week!
Wednesday evening, 3/21 --- wow! the picking is going to be great the rest of this week for sure. A few things you need to know when there are lots of berries to pick:
1. it is extremely hard to stop picking. Each box can hold $15 to $20+ of berries. If you give each of your three children a box .... it is ok with me but .... you need to be prepared for a lot of berries to take home. Don't worry though, if you get too many - you can get a ton of goodwill by giving someone some berries.
2. the picking is always better on the far end of the row. Don't look down or your will never get to the good spot!
The farm looks great. Wear comfortable shoes and bring a picnic if you want. We have not had any rain of late so there is no mud, the grass is freshly mowed. All we need now is YOU!
Tuesday evening 3/20 --- Well now, it certainly didn't take long for the Strawberry fields to recover from last weeks picking. Thursday morning will be great picking, Friday wow picking and Saturday - just whistle and the berries will jump in the box.
We have folks, not mentioning any names Ron and Kathy and others, that swear the Sweet Charlie variety is the sweetest of all. Those plants are loaded with berries right now - but - the berries are small. That is why I don't particularly like this variety. Small but sweet they are. Ask the guy at the welcome barn where they are and he will point you that direction.
We haven't had any rain recently and the farm is getting a bit dry, good thing we have a strong well! Other than some blowing dust the grounds are in great shape.
Speaking of shape, I think those outrageously good Smoothies are giving me a shape that is going to get off. I just can't quit drinking them. Luckily Lacy is only making them on the weekends so I am somewhat saved - now if I can just quit having a delicious Ice Cream every day I might be ok.
Overall the Strawberry crop looks great. I expect to have lots of berries all the way through mid April. Hail storms are our nemesis this time of year. I worked with an old lady once that said if you get caught in a hail storm and can hit some of the hail stones with a cast iron skillet, the hail would stop. So there you go, everyone pull their cast iron skillet out and have it sitting by the front door just in case!
Sunday evening 3/18 --- A fantastic opening! This warm weather is turning on the Strawberry plants and I can hear the berries ripening in the field now! Monday will be ok picking, Tues - good, closed Wednesday, Thursday - great, Friday Wow! and by Saturday morning - awesome! The grounds are in great shape, now is a good time to come to the farm! Hope to see you soon!
Remember: the FAR end of the rows have the best berries!
Saturday afternoon 3/17/18 ---- It is a lot of fun to be at the Farm but I must admit ...... it is a lot more fun when we have an abundance of ripe berries to pick. Tomorrow we will be open with smiles on our faces and activities for the kids but a very limited amount of ripe berries will be in the fields. Lots more berries are on their way - just need a few days to ripen them up.
Friday evening March 16, 2018 ---- another great day! I think the next best day to pick ripe Strawberries would be next Thursday and beyond. The ripe berries were harvested today by 11am. Today was pretty warm and tonight is going to be pretty warm so some berries will ripen up overnight, all of our activities will be running tomorrow,the Farm is in great shape, fresh Ice cream is plentiful and the goats are still hungry.
recap: ripe berries for Saturday and Sunday will be in short supply. Come out to enjoy this beautiful Spring, fun farm activities and fresh ice cream but NOT for ripe Strawberries. By March 22nd berry supply will increase exponentially and stay strong through the second week of April (weather permitting).
March 15, 2018 --- Hola! Wow! what a great opening day! Lots and lots of pickers came out today and worked over the fields pretty well. There will be several hundred pounds of ripe berries to pick tomorrow morning. The early bird will definitely get the best berries tomorrow though. All the activities will be going strong, the Strawberry Smoothies will continue to be out of this world (had my first one by 9am this morning), the goats will be hungry and we will be wearing smiles because of the fantastic folks that come out. If you don't get quite as many as you would like tomorrow - don't fret, lots of berries on their way! When the weather warms up a little the berries will really turn on the juice and we will be swimming in red. Weather permitting, the second half of March and the first two weeks of April will be outstanding picking.
Recap for tomorrow: the Farm/Fields are in great shape. A good supply of ripe berries early tomorrow, crowd size will determine how long they last.
March 13, 2018 --- Here we go again! The Strawberries are ready for picking! The Farm will officially open for the Spring season Thursday March 15. We are going to start out with a good supply of beautiful ripe berries but ...... if the city of Austin turns out on Thursday the rest of the week might be slim pickings as this is just the very first part of the season. We will post conditions here often to let you know how things look. Be sure to hit the refresh button every time you come here to get the 'freshest' news. Overall the crop looks good so far (keep those Hail storms away please). I expect to be swimming%2
Hours:
Thursday: 8:30-5:30 Friday: 8:30-5:30 Saturday: 8:30-5:30 Sunday: 11:00 - 5:00 Monday: 8:30-5:30 Tuesday: 8:30-5:30 Wednesday: CLOSED Phone: (830)-798-1462 E-mail: info@sweetberryfarm.com |
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Address:
1801 FM 1980 Marble Falls, Texas 78654 |