Fresh News 2003,
straight from the strawberry patch.Fresh News 2003,
straight from the strawberry patch.
Tuesday December 02, 2003 --- Thanks! for an incredible year. 2003 was our best year yet and we want to say Thanks! to all of you that came out and joined in the fun with us. We are now closed until March 2004. The weather will dictate when we open, which has been as early as February 28th or as late as April 2nd. The Strawberry plants themselves will not freeze and we don't become worried about them through the winter unless it get down to about 14 degrees. The blooms will freeze so we will begin covering them up about the first of February. This is assuming we will get a period of mild weather toward the end of January (which is usual) and the plants begin to push blooms. If the weather turns off cold through February the berries will not grow much, causing a late opening. Therefore, February is a very important month for us - we hope it is a mild one.
Monday November 17, 2003 --- It's raining, It's
pouring, It's deluging! The showers were short but heavy today as we
received over 2" of rain. The ground was awful dry so it should soak up
fairly quickly. This is really the first measurable precipitation we have
had since the first of October.
The 'Texas' Maze is going strong. We have a new aerial
pic of it on the 'Texas' link - check it out.
The Strawberries and Blackberries are looking pretty good -
overall we are very happy with the way things are looking. Now if I can
get time to stand still for about two weeks we might catch up and get things
where we want them.
Monday November 03, 2003 --- Whew! October was a wild
and crazy month. A very big "Thanks" to all you people that came out, we
hope you had as much fun as we did. It feels good to take a deep breath
now --- holding it all last month was tough. Our crowds will dwindle quite
a bit as we look forward to a nice and easy flow through the coming weeks.
Remember, the 'Texas' Maze is Open and will continue to
be throughout this month. Against my better judgment, I have decided to give a
hint on finding Breckenridge ---- it is close to the giant Armadillo hole.
I gave a person that hint the other day, after they had crossed Texas many
times, and they responded "What does a dillo hole look like?". So just in
case you have not seen a dillo hole - it is a hole about T
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big across, slants to an angle as it goes down and looks like an armadillo might
live in there.
The Strawberry plants are beginning to take hold and are
putting on a little bit of new growth. The Blackberries need a little
touch up pruning. The Sprinkler system needs to be pulled out of the Maze.
Our Tomato and Pumpkin patches need to be cleaned up and plowed in preparation
for the spring. We have some weeds in the Strawberry patch that need
to be taken care of. And odds and ends here and there ---- so we have
enough to keep us busy for awhile.
Monday October 28, 2003 --- Hey, the 'Texas' Maze has
turned out to be harder than I thought it was going to be. I knew
'Breckenridge' was going to be hard to find but I am surprised to hear 'Taft'
has been giving some people problems. I don't think I have published the
names of the towns in the maze. There are 8 Presidents, 2 Vice Presidents
and a famous frog in the maze to find. In other words you will be looking
for: Taft, Nixon, Reagan, Cleveland, Sherman, Roosevelt, Tyler, Bush-land,
Wilson, Breckenridge and a frog (you will have to look at the map to find out
this name - it is in West Texas). These are all real towns in Texas and in
their approximate location within the State a sign is displayed with a hole
punch attached. Simply use the hole punch to mark your gamecard, should
you find all eleven cities you will get a free drink as your prize. I have
revised the pricing structure for right now. Since the grass is a
little shorter than I like it is tempting for the kiddos to run right through
the grass and make new pathways. Therefore I am soliciting the help of the
parents to keep their kids on the pathways only. In exchange we are
allowing adults in for free and kiddos are $4 (5yrs and up). Only the
kiddos will get a gamecard and be able to win the drink.
Pumpkin supply is dwindling, soon would be a good time to get
yours.
The Strawberry plants are all planted and in the ground ---
grow babies grow!
Friday October 24, 2003 --- The much awaited 'Texas' Maze is set to open tomorrow and run through November. Personally, I like it the best when the Hay is 6 feet or taller ------ it is not that tall yet as most of the grass is just 4 or 5 feet tall. The grass will continue to grow at a slower pace due to the shorter days and cooler overall temps. As soon as we put some folks through it we will let you know how it is doing. Yesterday as I was in the Maze I wondered if it might be harder when it is shorter, I spent more time looking around trying to figure out where I needed to go than I did paying attention to the actual path I was on. The temptation is just to cut through the grass when needed instead of following the path ---- If you are bringing kids PLEASE tell them not to do this. Most of them say, well I just will run through and it won't matter ---- it does matter because the person behind them does the same thing.
Monday October 21, 2003 --- As you can see from
the main page, we are temporarily out of scarecrow clothes. I now have
only one pair of pants and one shirt to wear for the entire week. If we
don't find some soon my wife is going to get my underwear and we are going to
have some funny looking scarecrows coming out of the patch.
We do still have plenty of pumpkins and gourds, and
pumpkins to paint, and hay to ride, and horses to pet, and
goats to ------- over the weekend they had a few too many tuna fish
sandwiches, as soon as those sandwiches work their way through ----- and goats
to pet.
The 'Texas' maze is taking its' sweet time growing. We
hope to open it up this weekend. It will not be as tall as I like it to be
but it will be OK for the young ones.
The Lexington Strawberries are planted and 20,000 are done
here in MF, just 20,000 to go and that job will be out of the way.
Monday October 13, 2003 --- Finally. Finally we saw a little sunshine toward the end of the day. It has been cloudy, overcast and rainy all last week and weekend so it sure was good to see a little sunshine today. Because of the weather conditions, the Maze did not grow much last week. This week is supposed to be sunny so I expect to see some significant growth. Unless there is a miracle surge of growth, we DO NOT plan to open the 'Texas' Maze this weekend as I had previously hoped. I believe it will now be the 25th before we open it up. Believe me, we would like to see a little revenue out of the Maze so we will open it as soon as we possibly can.
Monday October 6, 2003 --- Don't worry, even though
last weekend was a good one, we still have plenty of pumpkins to choose from.
The hay wagon is still working, we still have plenty of Scarecrow clothes,
paint for the 'pumpkin painting' and the goats are still hungry (although at
this rate I think we will be able to apply for the worlds fattest goat as soon
as pumpkin season is over). We are still harvesting loads of fall fun so
come on out and join us.
I just received word that the Strawberry plants are on their
way. Later this week we should have them on the ground, waiting to be
planted - which we should be doing most of next week. It is not critical
that we get them planted immediately but the sooner the better. If all
goes as planned, we should be able to get the 65,000 plants in the ground in
about a weeks time. Of course there will be a few rain delays so I imagine
we will be finished planting in about 2 weeks.
The new farm in Lexington is getting off to a great start,.
we have been very excited to see a lot of smiling faces over there.
Between both farms we might have some interesting looking animals after this
season --- our fat goats and their Labrador Retriever that has had all the hair
rubbed off it. The 'America' Maze is looking very nice, the west
coast is still a little behind but it is coming on strong. Be sure to stop
by if you are ever on the East side of Austin and say 'Hello' (and while you are
there you might as well buy a pumpkin).
Monday September 29, 2003 --- Pumpkins, pumpkins for
sale!!! (and I am not talking about the pumpkin head kids) This past
weekend was our first 'open' one this Fall and what a lot of fun we had.
Stuffing your own Scarecrow is proving to be a very popular and fun event for
everyone. The only complaint I have heard is "the kids keep playing with
the cats and leaving me to do the stuffing".
The 'Texas' Maze is coming along nicely. I don't know
exactly when it will be ready for pedestrians but we are shooting for October
18th. If you are dying to go through a Maze -- go on over to Lexington and
travel across America while you are waiting for 'Texas' to be ready.
Important Note: the Kiddie Maze is Open in Marble Falls, just not the
Texas maze.
Besides moving Pumpkins, making Ice Cream and helping
customers we are trying to get ready for Strawberry plants -- which should be
arriving in about a week (yikes!).
Monday September 22, 2003 --- Here comes that
Family Fun. This Saturday morning we will be throwing open the patch gates
and welcoming folks to Hayrides, pumpkin painting, scarecrow stuffing and of
course LOTS and LOTS of pumpkins to choose from.
The 'Texas' maze for sure will not be ready for travel this
weekend. While this cooler weather is great for me it slows down the grass
growth some. I still think it is coming on strong but we do not expect it
to be ready before October 18th.
In the patch: we are almost finished building
Strawberry beds, busy putting out pumpkins, mowing the grass and lining up
advertising.
Monday September 8, 2003 --- Only a few weeks to Fall
Family Fun - are you ready? We are slowly getting that way. Things
are starting to heat up around the patch right now as Pumpkin time is right
around the corner. The Fall season seems to have a more festive
atmosphere than does the Spring. I guess everyone (like me) is so
happy to see the heat finally break. Not to mention one last fling before
winter and the winter holidays set in.
One thing for sure, the Texas Maze will not be ready
when we open later this month. A freak infestation of Army worms,
among other things, have caused us to decide to mow it down and start over.
I think these Army worms were watching the Iraqi war coverage and decided to use
the same "Shock and Awe" technique on us, believe me - it works pretty good.
So today the watering system was removed and Texas was shredded and chiseled.
Tomorrow we hope to disc the soil, maybe run the harrow over it to level
it out, and then plant it again to fresh seed. I don't expect the Marble
Falls Maze to be open for pedestrians until at least mid October. This is
kind of a bummer but that happens and we will just have to live with it.
We were afraid that the Sorghum was not going to grow out to be full and
tall as we like it, hence the decision to cut it down. Actually I let Ben
mow it down so now I can blame him for causing all this trouble. So if you
wanted to go through the Maze before it is ready just yell "Ben" (with a
fluctuation in your voice), stomp your foot, roll your eyes and then say
something like "Ughh, Kids!". That should make you feel a little better, I
have already tried it.
------ It is important to note that the kiddie Maze has not
been cut down and will be ready later this month. ---------
When the Texas Maze does open
you will be looking for Texas towns that have the same name as 8 US Presidents,
2 Vice Presidents and a frog. I am not going to tell you what the frogs name is,
you will have to find it yourself. I will give you one hint though, it is
in West Texas.
Elsewhere in the patch, we are touching up on Blackberry
pruning, watering like mad, and getting ready to build Strawberry beds (only a
month till we are planting the little buggers).
Monday September 1, 2003 --- August is supposed
to be our slow month, somehow that did not happen. Therefore I have
developed a new personal slogan, a slogan that describes me best
------ always a dollar (lots of dollars) short and a day (weeks) late. The
heat factor has not helped either. I think our attitudes will get so much
better once the weather finally breaks. It has been very hard to think
about Pumpkin season when it is 110 degrees.
Speaking of 'Fall Family Fun' --- it is only 3 weeks
away! Are you ready?? We will be ....... maybe, now in two
locations. Be sure to spread the word to everyone East of Austin that
Sweet Berry Farm at Lexington will be open this fall for more Fall Family
Fun!!!!
The 'Texas' maze is growing like mad. It has been
planted for two weeks now and is about a foot tall in many places.
Monday August 11, 2003 --- Guess what, we planted
America last week and Texas today ---- now where is that timely rainshower?
We are just a little late getting the mazes' planted. One of the reasons
would be that I bought an old grain drill to do the planting. The key word
in that phrase is 'old'. Somehow I thought it just had a little rust on it
when bartering for it. It is funny how tight things can rust
together after sitting in the sand for ten years or so without moving (yet
another character building endeavor). After 4 or 5 cans of penetrating
oil, 2 tubes of grease, a couple of busted knuckles and a little bailing wire
--- it is as good as it was after a couple of years of good hard work.
The new Blackberry plants in Lexington are holding on
amazingly well considering the intense heat last week. And we only have
three more rows to prune here at Marble Falls (we can see the light at the end
of the tunnel --- hallelujah!).
Monday August 4, 2003 --- I told you before that we try
to do things the hardest way possible. And planting Blackberry plants on
black plastic covered beds during the hottest week of the year proves our point.
I know, I can hear you saying "Are you nuts!?", we don't like to look at it that
way ...... it is a character building activity testing our resolve and ambition
(yep - we're nuts). Anyway, everyone pitched in (except I didn't see any
of you there ---- must have got lost on the way out huh?) and planted 1700
Blackberry plants last week at the Lexington farm. We will try to baby
these plants along now and try to get a foot or two of growth out of them before
winter. If we do get that much growth then we should have a few
Blackberries to pick there next year.
It sure is Hot (as if you did not already know) and the water
well has been working overtime trying to keep up. Keeping the plants and
me watered is the number one priority right now. Number two would be
getting Texas and the U.S. planted, and number three is finishing the Blackberry
pruning, only 4 more rows to go! (yipee). I guess number four would
be getting the Strawberry blocks prepared for bed making in about 4 weeks.
Number 5 is taking it easy for a couple of days (this number seems to keep
getting pushed down the ladder).
We should have Lexington pics up on the site in the next
couple of days. We are all very excited about the way the Lexington farm
is coming together and think it is going to be a marvelous outing for all areas
from mid Austin East (we have now clocked the travel time at 30 minutes from
Bastrop, 17 from Giddings and 32 from Taylor. Now we will travel hwy 290
and let you now how far it is from Elgin and beyond.
Monday July 28, 2003 --- Believe it or not, we
are still picking Tomatoes. I think I am going to accidentally spray them
with Roundup or something so we can close the gate for a couple of weeks.
It is so Hot in the afternoons that I definitely would not want to get Tomatoes
any time other than the mornings.
My day was pretty productive. I mowed the state of
Texas --- twice, what did you do today? The maze is coming down in
preparation for planting the Fall version. Now we just need a timely
rainshower so I can give it a shot with the plow and then plant the seed.
Speaking of covering some ground --- last week I plowed the United States (the
maze layout over in Lexington). As I was plowing the U.S. I had an
interesting revelation ------ land that probably has never been plowed is HARD!
It is even harder than my wife's head, especially up in North Dakota. The
Rocky Mountains are hard too but you would expect them to be. Of course
California is pretty good soil and all of the south plowed up very nicely.
A few more trips across the US and we will be ready to plant.
The Electricity and well (all 620 feet deep) have finally
arrived in Lexington so we are now ready to do some planting. The
Blackberry beds have been built and we should be planting the first 1500 plants
later this week. I am sure so many of you want to see the new place, you
might as well come on out Thursday or Friday to help plant ----- then when you
go back in the years to come you can tell your kids "yep, I planted this
Blackberry plant -- boy was it tough, that was back in the days when it was 120
degrees in the summer. Not only that but the only water we had to put on
them was the sweat off our brow. You kids should show a little respect and
get in there amongst those thorns and pick the berries from this bush while I
stand out here and 'member." Sweet Berry Farm at Lexington is one mile
East of Lexington on FM 696.
Here in Marble Falls we are still pruning Blackberries,
trying to keep everything watered and fed, cutting the Mazes down (kiddie Maze
too) and still trying to clean up from the Spring season.
Monday July 14, 2003 --- Whew! July is slipping right
on by. We have too much to do and I am ready to slow down a little --- no
rest for the weary right? It is really not that bad - we would just like
to be 'caught up' for a change. Most customers think that when we run out
of berries to pick we just have lots of time to take off and go swimming or
something. Oh contraire, contraire, most often the largest part of
growing a crop is the time before and after harvest. We have just finished
reworking the Strawberry areas, started cutting the Maze down (important
note for you ladies out there: when you are driving the tractor and the fuel
gauge needle points toward E ---STOP!!!!) and trying to finish pruning the
Blackberry canes.
We still have a good many Tomatoes and Okra. If you
find yourself in need of these - come on out we'll be around somewhere.
Monday July 07, 2003 --- Really, the Blackberries are
finished for 2003. Folks are still looking, holding out for that last few
remaining berries ---- I know, you don't want to see them go but you have to let
go, they will come back next year.
That leaves us with Tomatoes to pick and the Texas Maze to
walk through. Since the Maze is about to be cut down in preparation for
the Fall version ------ Tomatoes, Okra and a few squash is all that is left to
pick. Therefore, beginning Thursday July 10th, we will only be open in the
mornings 8:30am to 12:30 pm (unless the gate is open --- if it is - come on in).
We have pruned 12 rows of Blackberries only 20 to go (uugggghhhhhhh).
The Strawberry blocks need to be replowed, the grass mowed, weeds killed,
Maze mowed and plowed and a general cleaning of the whole place.
Sweet Berry Farm at Lexington is coming along nicely.
Last week was a productive week as we plowed the United States of America (the
Maze layout) along with laying over 3000 feet of irrigation pipe. The sale
barn is almost complete and we have a few Blackberry beds built with just a few
more to go. My 10 year old daughter came up with the theme song for this
year in Lexington ----- "God will make a way, where there seems to be no way.
HE works in ways we cannot see, HE will make a way for me. HE will be my
guide, hold me closely to his side. With love and strength for each new
day, HE will make a way." That is the only words we can remember, so we
just sing them over and over for at least 2,000 times (if you know this song
aren't you glad that we brought it up? ---- now you are going to have this tune
in your head all day long and you too will probably sing it 2,000 times before
the day is through). Now we are just waiting for two things, water and
electricity. Believe me, you don't know how important they are until you
are without.
Monday June 30, 2003 ---
I hate to see them go but the Blackberries are
all but finished for the rest of the year. It has been a great Strawberry
and Blackberry season so now we are just left with Tomatoes and the Texas
Maze. The Maze will be cut down in mid July, so it's days are also
numbered. Therefore, Tomatoes and the Maze will keep us going through July
12, after that we will leave the gates open in the mornings for anyone
interested in Tomatoes. THANK YOU for all you folks that made the spring
of 2003 our best one yet.
So when we close down we will go on a long vacation and just
goof off right? If only that were the case. This is when the real
work begins as we clean up the Strawberry plot and prune out the old Blackberry
canes. If you need to sweat a couple of gallons some day just come by the
patch and we will put you to work.
Sweet Berry Farm at Lexington is coming along nicely.
We are trying to get some Blackberry beds built so we can get a few plants in
the ground. I think we will start off with 1000 plants and go from there.
Planting this late will not allow them to get big enough for a huge crop next
year but the '05 crop should be great. We do look for a good Strawberry
crop in '04.
Monday June 16, 2003 --- All these bloomin Tomatoes have us
seeing RED ---- Tomato red that is. They are ripening like crazy so come and get
some. All the rains have caused many of them to crack but we still have plenty for
everyone.
Those Blackberries are still going strong. I expect this
week and next to be great picking --- beyond that I don't know.
The Maze has been taking a licking from all these storms that
keep rolling through. I am starting to get a little tired of road repair.
Imagine yourself walking across Texas with a gasoline powered hedger cutting Hay
that has blown across the roads. It is not fun (although my wife has commented on my
leaner, meaner physique) and I don't want to do it anymore. The rain itself is OK
but we can do without the 50 mph wind gusts (seems that strong anyway). I was
dissapointed over the weekend to find a new trail to Nineveh. Oh well, you need to
have at least one easy town to find. Today I was accused of forgetting to put the
sign for London in there. It is there I assure you. I don't understand the
problem, I can find it in about three minutes, all you have to do is go in at Brownsville
and ......... turn right at some point.
The Strawberry plastic and drip has finally been removed - now
just to turn the plants under. All the rain has caused a weed and grass outbreak
that we are trying to keep up with. A few of the 'Brazos' Blackberries have been
pruned but the is way too many yet to do. That is one job there is no easy way to
do, you just have to bite the bullet and get in there amongst the canes and show them who
is boss (yeah right!).
Guess what I was doing early last week? Turning sod ..... breaking dirt ......... plowing the land. So what is so special about that? Well, it was on Ken and Sue Kerby's place in Lexington ---- the site of our next Sweet Berry Farm. Lexington is on the East side of Austin between Giddings and Rockdale, about 45 minutes from Bryan/College Station and Highland Mall (depending on traffic). If you have been coming from Pflugerville, Manor, Bastrop or anywhere East of Austin --- the Lexington location will be alot closer to you. If all goes right, we will be having a Pumpkin party there this fall and pickin Strawberries next Spring. We hope to do a Maze over there also. Once we got the tractor started again after running out of Diesel things went pretty well. Especially since there is no telling how long it had been since the ground had been plowed. We are really looking forward to it because it is a beautiful piece of property that will make a very nice pick your own setting. The soil is going to require a good bit of attention but we think we can get it worked into shape.
Saturday morn June 14, 2003 --- Rise and Shine, what a morning!! After a bout of wind and rain (that's funny - this is what I said last week at this time). The patch is going to be a bit wet this morning so if you are coming out you might want to wear your old shoes. I expect the Blackberries and Tomatoes to be abundant but will probably need to close the Maze for a couple of hours (hopefully only a couple of hours) to clean up the wind damage. Therefore, if you are coming out to travel through the Maze this weekend --- call first (830-798-1462) to make sure it is passable. Have a great day!
Monday morn June 9, 2003 --- Tomatoes! I forgot to
mention Tomatoes in the last email we sent out. The tomatoes are FINALLY getting
ripe. We have cherry tomatoes, yellow pear tomatoes, roma tomatoes and of the course
a selection of big tomatoes. A few of the ripe ones have split due to the excessive
moisture but the majority are just fine.
The Blackberries are still going great guns. The Arapaho
variety (thornless) is almost finished but we still have about 3 weeks worth of Kiowa.
A record time! We had a couple go into the maze over the
weekend and completed it in a record 22 minutes (unofficial, we are taking their
word for it). Wow. I don't know if I could even do it that fast. Good going!
Can you beat that time?
Saturday morn, June 7, 2003 --- Rise and Shine, what a
morning!! After a bout of wind and rain, the patch is looking great for the weekend.
Don't be worried about it being too wet or muddy to come out. There is a few
low spots that are muddy, and I'm sure your small child will find them, but you should be
able to pick all the Blackberries and Tomatoes you desire with no problem at all. I
have never seen the Blackberries more abundunt and beautiful than they are right now.
The rain kept many customers away the last few days so the picking is going to be
tremendous this weekend.
A little road repair was needed in the Maze because of the high
winds we had earlier in the week. Nothing a little sweat and hard work could not
fix. Not too many people can say they fixed all the roads across Texas in two days.
There is a few blown down spots in West Texas but not too bad. I mentioned
earlier that London was the hardest to find -- it still is. Although I did have a
lady go in Thursday that said London was the only one they could find .... and they kept
finding it over and over. Then there was the group in yesterday that decided they
would split up to find it, the man found it then could not re-find it when trying to
take the rest of the family. I am probably making it sound harder than it is, about
an 1 to 1.5 hours should be plenty of time to find them all.
Monday June 2, 2003 --- Wow! The next two weeks will be THE
time to pick Blackberries. We have some new pics of the Blackberries ---- see http://www.sweetberryfarm.com/june03.htm
to take a look yourself. Just unbelievable!!!
The Taters have been dug!!!! Hope you were able to get
some because it will be awhile before we have any more.
Last week the entire 4th grade class at MF Elementary (only 240
or so kids) went through the Maze. I was in there watching the kids and they kept
working on me until finally I gave in and decided to show them where London was. By
the time we got to London there must have been 40 kids following us. If you are
looking for a one-of-a-kind activity to take the kids through --- then you must do the
Maze.
Tuesday eve, May 27, 2003 --- Can you say "WOW"?
If you are having a problem saying 'WOW' with any enthusiasim and excitement then
just come out to the Farm and take a gander at the Blackberries that are now starting to
ripen. The 'Brazos' berries are all but finished, the thornless 'Arapaho' are
halfway through their harvest and the 'Kiowa' are just beginning to ripen. If you
hear someone in the blackberry patch saying 'Wow, wow ...... wow!' over and over
again --- it is probably me because I just can not get over the size and beauty of the
Kiowa variety. Even an Aggie can admit that this Univ. of Arkansas release is
awesome - way to go Dr. Moore!
I think I need to remind some folks that the juiciest, sweetest
Blackberries are very plump and very black. Blackberries do not
ripen after picking. If you pick them with any red on them then they are sure to be
tart. Unless of course you like them that way (as does the customer that picked 4
boxes of berries that were half green and half red last weekend). uuugggghhhh, just
thinking of eating those red berries makes my cheeks draw up and gives me the shivers.
Just because the berry is full black does not mean it is fully ripe. The
berries seem to turn black one day and get ripe the next one or two. The key is to
look for a black berry that appears to be about to pop. Each little 'pocket' needs
to be about to burst. The ripe berry will also be a little soft compared to the
unripe firm berries. Exception: there is always an exception - if you are
cooking with your berries you might want to get some not fully ripe - they will hold their
flavor better.
The taters are almost dug and the maters are not ripe yet.
Customers keep picking the green tomatoes so we have yet to pick a good red one.
The Maze is going great guns. For some reason I get a kick
out of making it hard. It is kinda a 'me' against 'you' thing I guess. Only a
handfull of customers have completed it under 45 minutes. The average seek time is
around one hour fifteen minutes. I have had a few people tell me the could not find
'Nineveh' on the map --- it is on my Rand McNally maps. Maybe thats why Jonah did
not go to Nineveh - he could'nt find it on the map. 'London' still gives most people
fits - I was in the maze today and noticed a renegade trail heading over toward 'London' -
another key renegade trail and 'London' will become easy to find. Now if we keep
getting these renegade trails I am going to plant the whole thing in Okra ---- then you
won't cut through more than once. Don't tempt me!
Thursday morn, May 22, 2003 --- Ahhhh! a bit of a shower and a
cold front have made it 'just right' here at Sweet Berry Farm. The dust is settled,
the plants are perked up and there seems to be a little bit of a spring in everyone's
step.
The Blackberries are producing a bit better now. Still not
going gangbusters but enough for most everyone to pick. The 'Brazos' variety is
producing now -- the few berries that were not frozen on March 30th. This variety
was hit the hardest with that freeze. Luckily, the Kiowa and Arapaho sustained only
minor damage. These two varieties are just beginning to ripen berries. The
picking should slowly gain intensity until it is at a fever pitch the first two
weeks of June.
Still digging Taters! About half the tater patch has been
dug, so you still have about two weeks if you have not gotten your taters yet.
Maters. The tomatoes are taking their sweet time! A
few "Celebrities" are ripe along with some "Sweet Cluster" cherry
tomatoes. One of the reasons we don't have many red ones is because customers keep
getting them green, Fried green tomatoes? Must be a bigger market for green tomatoes
than I thought.
The Maze is going great. After the first group of 42 kids
went in and could not find all the cities I thought it might be too hard. But then a
couple went in over the weekend and found them all in about 45 minutes. 'London' is
proving the hardest to find for most people. I knew it would because I tried to make
that one hard to find. I had forgotten about a particular strategy that some
customers have used to make it easier. So I fell into their trap again in laying
this maze out. Don't worry though, I'm on to you and will have that strategy taken
care of in this Falls' maze.
Done. Say 'So Long' to the 2003 Strawberry crop. A
few determined souls refuse to give up, they wonder through the Strawberry fields,
diligently checking here and there only to find a smattering of berries to pick.
That's OK with us though --- we do the same thing. The next step in the Strawberry
patch is to mow down all the plants, lift all the plastic, remove all the drip and flatten
the field back out. Do I have too? Suffice it to say, "Play time is
over, time to do a little Work".
Wednesday May 14, 2002 --- Flash! The 'Texas' maze is now open! East Texas is a little shorter than I would like but it is still growing and should be another foot taller in no time at all. I sent my 6th grade daughter and her friend in yesterday ---- it took them an hour and ten minutes to find all but one - London. Then they gave up. Some cities are very easy and some are pretty hard --- I will predict London and Potosi might be the hardest. Now as soon as I say that you are going to go in and find both of these towns right off the bat.
Monday May 12, 2003 --- Nothin like a little shower to calm the
dust and spruce things up. We had a little shower this morning that was a welcome
sight. We hardly got enough rain to measure but we are not complaining one bit.
Not only did it wash the dirt off, it cooled the temps down. You would think
since I watch the weather so much I would not get caught without a jacket. I did,
and I was freezing all morning. I had to go out and dig potatoes just to warm up a
bit.
Speaking of Taters, we are now digging those
little treasures and having a 'ton o fun' while doing it. We let customers dig all
weekend and will continue to do so until they are all 'dug' (probably about the first of
June sometime). Here is a blurb from last years 'Fresh News' - It still applies to
today.
"In case you need to brush up on your tater digging skills
- let me refresh you. begin your tater harvest with the next available plant on the
row being dug. Remember, potatoes grow under ground on the roots of the plant, your
objective will be to entirely uproot the plant (I know, some farmers just dig up a tater
or two at a time - to make it easier on diggers we are removing the entire plant).
We have spades (forks) in the patch for you to use. Simply approach the plant,
place the spade into the soil about 8 inches from the stalk - push the spade in with your
foot - with one hand pry the plant out with the spade while the other hand is pulling the
stalk. Presto, the plant comes out of the ground with fabulous potatoes hanging on
the roots. IMPORTANT: gently fluff up the soil where the plant was in order to
check for any taters you might have missed, they will only be a couple of inches
deep. It is also important for you to know that red new potatoes are good in ALL
sizes. Don't just get the big ones, get all of them. Many folks desire the
smaller ones better than the big ones."
Still going ... for now. The Strawberries
are still producing but we can tell the berries coming out of the patch are a little
smaller and very ripe. If you are coming this week be sure not to get the dark
maroon berries unless you are planning to eat them right away. Those dark colored
ones are very ripe and will not last long after harvest. This has been a very
good Strawberry season for us .. "THANK YOU" if you came out and helped harvest
them. If you have not yet made it out, maybe two more weeks of picking will finish
them out.
Blackberries ---- are taking their sweet time
to ripen. The first variety that we have to ripen is 'Brazos'. 95% of the
blooms on this variety were frozen by a late freeze on March 29th of this
year. The only blooms that made it were a scattered few tucked away in and under the
canes. These scattered survivors are just beginning to turn colors and are being
picked immediately after getting black. We picked one box over the weekend and that
cleaned out the ripe ones in the entire patch. It is going to remain slim pickins
until the 'Kiowa' start producing, which will be about May 22nd. We will have a
decent crop of 'Kiowa' and I think you will be very happy with them. They should
ripen all the way through June.
'Maters - a customer picked some cherry tomatoes
yesterday - they looked good (I guess, I don't like to eat tomatoes). There is a lot
of 'maters that are about to get ripe.
Got to go ---- the kid just came in and said there was a dead skunk outside.
Monday May 06, 2003 --- My oh My - isn't the time just flyin'
by? If you need a few more Strawberries for this year then I would come get them
soon. The berries look very good right at the moment, in fact this entire week looks
like it will be good Strawberry picking. But I would expect the Strawberry
harvest to begin to slowly dwindle after the 15th. Only once have we picked
Strawberries into the first of June.
The Blackberries are coming along nicely - yesterday I saw one
turning red -- He, he, he - we are just giddy with anticipation. Every day it looks
like we will have more and more berries than I thought. It definately is not going
to be the crop we had before the freeze but it looks like it will be better than last year
afterall.
The hay in the Maze is up to my belly button in South Texas and
my chin in the Panhandle. Seems like we have a little weak spot around Monahans (I
always have a problem there!) It looks like it is going to be fun.
Soon and very soon ---- we will be pickin (Berries), diggin (taters), walkin (though the Maze) and grinnin (just cause we can) ---won't you come join us??
Monday April 26, 2003 --- My daughter gave me a present over
the weekend -- strep throat. Since I can't type without speaking the words and my
throat hurts too much to talk ---- I will summarize.
-- Strawberries - still producing well. We have plenty to pick
this week. Overall production is going to begin to dwindle slowly. The
days and nights are heating up so it won't be long till they start producing runners
instead of fruit. The berries taste better in the morning - the afternoon sun and
wind dehydrates the berries ---- so come in the morning.
-- Blackberries - the crop that we have left after the freeze is
looking good. It is hard to say but I think we will have at least as many
blackberries as last year so don't give up on the crop yet. Perhaps we will have a
few ripe Blackberries by May 29th.
-- Potatoes --- hope to start digging them around May 17th.
Don't hold us to that exact date but it will be in there somewhere.
-- Tomatoes --- growing out of their cages! They are
growing faster than we can care for them. We have some small fruit on the vine now
--- maybe in a few weeks we will be picking them.
-- 'Texas' the Maze - grow baby grow! I am glad to
report that we have cut out the paths both in Texas and New Mexico (the kid maze).
The theme this spring is 'Foreign Towns and Countries in Texas' -- so you will be
looking for Egypt, China, Italy, Paris, Nineveh, London, Nazareth, Potosi (in Bolivia),
Iraan, Kent (in Africa), Turkey and Premont (in Canada). Hopefully we will be
Waltzing across Texas by May 22nd for sure by the first of June.
Monday April 21, 2003 ---- Whew! what a weekend! We hope
you had a happy Easter, we certainly did -------- now can I go to bed for a couple of
days? Can't do that because those Strawberry plants sure aren't tired, they
keep producing and producing. Customers picked tons of fruit over the weekend and
there is still tons more to pick. I have let you know that I believe there is two
kinds of Blackberry eaters (June 3rd, 2002 update) now I believe there is several kinds of
Strawberry eater. I hadn't realized it until observing customers snacking in the
field over the weekend. Some folks would bite the very tip of the berry off, spit it
out and then stick the remainder of the berry in their mouth in one big bite. Others
tend to chew the berry, kinda like a squirrel. Then of course we have the chompers,
and the ones who like to make noises while they eat. The aforementioned methods are
all OK but let me tell you how a real connoisseur consumes them (this just happens to be
the way I do it, and since I have probably ate more berries than the town of Austin - I
must be a connoisseur). The first step is to find the most lusciously red plump
berry. This berry tends to hide down under the leaves where most rookie pickers miss
them. Since it was tucked away it also has less dust and dirt on it, which has a way
of interfering with the taste. Important note: I do not like the berries that
have turned dark maroon as some people do, I like them fully bright red - size does not
matter. Once I have found this little beauty I proceed to place it entirely in my
mouth right up to the calyx (green leaves on the stem end) --- this is the important part
---- bite down on the berry but be sure not to sever it into two pieces. Now
that the berry has been 'opened' proceed to suck the juice out. Be sure to take your
time with this step, much like sucking on a pacifier. Once the berry has
relinquished every little bit of juice, finish biting it in two - swallow the pulp and
toss the green end in the trash. So if you come out to the patch and see some guy
walking around with the stem end of a berry sticking out of his mouth while he is making
sucking noises -- that's me.
The rest of the crops still look about the same, just growing
day by day.
Wednesday April 16, 2003 --- Wow! the Strawberry plants
are turning on the gas. Be sure to bring your neighbors, relatives and friends with
you to pick. The crop is looking very good. We will have plenty of berries
available for picking this weekend (we will be open Good Friday, Saturday and Easter
Sunday afternoon). We expect to have a bumper crop through April and into the first
of May.
Blackberries -- I have a new angle on the fruit load. We
lost probably 70% of our crop during the last hard late freeze. But ....... I
estimate that this years crop was going to be at least 50% better than last years because
of new plants coming into production. So does this mean we will be only 20% down
from last year? I think I am grasping at straws here ..... you know the
"look at the glass half full" thing. I would expect to see some monster
sized berries come off those bushes, perhaps big enough that it will take two hands to
pull them off the cane. Yikes, hope the trellis will hold them up.
Taters --- looking good, they have essentially all
're-topped' after being froze down to the ground. Hope to start digging in Mid May.
Tomaters - looking good, they have a few fruit about the size of
a penny. Won't be long now before you are eating fresh tomatoes.
"Texas" the Maze --- about 6 inches tall now.
Having a little bit of problem in the Junction area, will probably spread a little
more seed there. Should pick cities and start mowing pathways soon.
Tuesday morning April 08, 2003 --- The thermometer showed 92
degrees yesterday - must mean it is going to freeze tonight,,, oh yeah, the forcast is for
low 30's tonight. Here we go - off to the strawberry patch to pick more of those
delicious berries and then ----- cover everything up.
We had a wonderful weekend, if you were able to come out -
Thanks, come again ----- if you were not able to come out, don't worry the berries
still look great - we are waiting for you!
Monday evening March 31, 2003 ---- This 'Global Warming' is
killing me! It appears that we got colder Saturday night than first expected.
First of all --- the Strawberry crop is fine! About 20% of the plants were not
protected in the freeze, these plants lost the majority of their blooms and some of their
green fruit. The 80% of the plants under the covers are perfectly OK.. We
expect to have plenty of berries for everyone to pick (more than enough as the plants are
LOADED with fruit).
The Tomato plants were spared as we had them doubly protected.
A few plants were lost to covers blowing off but the loss is insignificant.
After a full day of sunshine the Tomato plants seem to have grown six inches. A few
plants even have a bloom or two.
The Potato crop was froze to the ground. Dad says that
these plants should all come back, at least they did when he was a kid. He then said
that so many things have changed since he was a kid that maybe even the potatoes have
changed. I do know that when I was a kid and wanted to fly my kite there was not a
breath of wind --- over the last three days the wind has almost blown the hair off my
head.
The Blackberry crop seems to have taken the biggest hit.
In the seventeen years I have been growing them I do not remember a time when they were
killed in the tight bud stage. The 'Brazos' berries were the farthest along as they
are the first to ripen, I believe they have sustained a 95% loss. The 'Kiowa'
berries have yet to produce all of their blooms so I expect them to push out new buds in
the coming weeks that should be healthy. Perhaps we have lost only 50% of the Kiowa
berries. We will have to wait and see what happens but I would not expect to have
fresh Blackberries until early June.
I say all of this with a bit of hesitation. Have you ever
played the game where each person passes a secret along to the other and then you see how
the secret changed after pasing several people. Well, I have said something here and
then been told that someone heard something astonishling different from a person 'who read
it here'. Please be cautious when passing this information along and try to keep it
intact. The last thing we want is for someone to hear that we had a 100% crop loss
and there would be no reason to drive out. Come see us!
Sunday morning March 30, 2003 ---- If you were planning on
coming out today ---- and are worried about last nights temperatures -------- and have
bitten all your nails off fretting over 'how cold is it going to get?' ------- you
paced the floor, back and forth, back and forth --------- you ate a full bag of Oreo's
------- drank a liter of Coca Cola ------- well.... 'Don't worry,
be Happy'.
It appears that we just took a glancing blow from the weather
last night with temperatures at or just below freezing for a couple of hours. We
have most of the Strawberries covered up so I expect that when I pull those covers off
today we will have an ample supply of big ole plump red berries staring us in the face.
The Tomatoes are also covered and the Blackberries are just now showing a few
blooms ---- I would expect both of those crops to be just fine. The potatoes could
have a little damage but they can freeze and will come back out again - so they should be
OK too. The 'Texas' Maze might have taken the biggest hit. The Sorgum is just
about a inch tall and if it was frozen then we will need to replant it again, which
won't set us back too far because we had planted a little early trying to get it open
quicker.
All in all, we should be just fine. So in other words
"Come on out -- we'll be waiting for ya!!!!"
Tuesday morning March 25, 2003 --- Yep, them berrys ripenin up goood. The 'Sweet Charlie' plants have turned up the heat and the ' Chandlers'' are now beginning to put off a few fruit. If all goes well production will be wide open by April 4th. Then the remainder of April looks like it should be tremendous ----- barring any disasters.
Friday morning March 21, 2003 --- Da, DaDa, dadada (this is the
special report sound - sing it with me) da dadddd dddd . Special Report: (don't
worry this is a good one)
The wife has informed me that she thinks the
berries are coming coming on strong and she is worried I haven't really
let the word out (she is actually right but if I use this tone of
voice and say it in this manner then that would not be a blatant admittance that she knows
what she is talking about). So for HER sake, The berries are coming on strong
- no need to hold back now. I took some mouth watering pics yesterday and should get
them loaded up soon - be on the look out. Come see us.
Monday March 17, 2003 ----- Shhhh, don't tell anyone but we are
letting a few people pick ripe, red, juicy, lucious, plump, mouth wateringly sweet
strawberries. So why do you need to keep it quiet? because the berry plants are not
YET producing enough berries to satisfy everyone's needs. In other words, we have
opened the gate so anyone driving out can come in and pick BUT we are not advertising that
we are open yet. Therefore, the 'Hours' page will say that we are still waiting to
open. If you are on the elist and are dismayed that you haven't received notice yet
-- don't be. We send out emails when we KNOW there is plenty of fruit to pick.
The berries are ripening quickly and hopefully by next week will be producing
enough for everyone. This is a difficult period for us, too many berries to let go
but not enough to really 'open' up. I would say that right now we are ripening a
little over 100 pounds per day - so if you just can't wait and want to make the trip ---
come early. The variety 'Sweet Charlie' is producing the most berries right
now. The problem is that we only have 10,000 'Sweet Charlie' plants, the 40,000
'Chandler' plants are still a week or so away from producing much. I feel very
confident in saying that the first three weeks of April will be WIDE OPEN picking.
Looking beyond the Strawberries: the Blackberry canes are
putting out new growth and a few blooms are about to start peeking out, the Potato
plants are really beginning to grow, the Tomato plants are becoming established and
'Texas' has been planted (grow baby grow).
Monday March 10, 2003 ---- Good news --- we do have a few new
pics for your viewing pleasure off the homepage, we finished planting 600 tomato
plants, the potatoes are beginning to come up, dad's turnips are starting to pop out, the
patch is just now getting dry enough to move around in, the Blackberry canes are
beginning to push out some new growth, the animals are doing fine and
.......................................... the Strawberries are ALMOST ready to
start picking.
The plants are looking great for this time of the year and there
is a lot of fruit on the way. It is really hard to say when exactly we will open but
it appears that we are going to miss spring break. We really wanted to open this
week but the weather just has not cooperated. I believe that we will be
able to open next week but we have to see what the weather does. We are very
conscientious about being open with no fruit to pick, so please be patient with us and the
berry plants. Once we begin picking production will start to snowball. I
anticipate a good berry supply the last week of March and then wide open picking
throughout April.
Wednesday March 5, 2003 ---- I promise ----- I really will get
some new pics up for you to see what is going on at the patch. when? good question -
soon ,, maybe. I am sure you want to know how the crop is fairing in this topsy
turvey weather ..... I can't think at the moment ---- my daughter is honking on her
clarinet and the 'music' is piercing my ears and penetrating my brain --- not to mention
that I can barely see through these squinted eyes. Now where is that bottle of
Motrin? Wait a minute, I'll be right back............................Ok, I'm back
...... I was surviving until she walked over and said "now I will play my scales for
you".
Where were we? Oh yeah, the strawberry crop. In last
weeks freezing weather we had 80% of the plants covered with 'frost covers'. The
plants that were protected lost a few newly opened blooms but for the most part, sustained
little damage. The blooms on the unprotected plants were frozen. Therefore,
we should start picking berries in about two weeks, slow down a bit the first
of April and then wind up to a feverish pitch by Easter (April 19th this year).
We will be sending an email out to everyone on the 'email list'
as soon as we get close to picking.
Tuesday February 25, 2003 ---- Well, seems like my
'Monday' observation was proven wrong. It also looks like it didn't take long
to break last weeks comment "A little cold is OK, but we do not want to set any
record lows the rest of this winter".
Man, it is cold out at the patch!! How cold is it? I
don't know,,,,, the goat ate the temperature sensor off the recording thermometer. I
can say - you know it is cold when the water in the port-o-potty is frozen solid
(don't ask how I found that out).
Yep, I thought I had gone mad when we were out covering up the
berries in 78 degree temps Sunday afternoon. Now only time will tell if the covers
were enough to prevent much damage. This is where our faith in God kicks into high
gear, he has promised us that he will provide and we are confident in that promise.
If/when we finally thaw out and pull the covers off we will take a look at the
extent of the damage --- and let you know. The neighbors said they were down in the
upper teens last night and we did not get out of the twenties today. It would be
good for us if this cold spell did not last too much longer. That thick coat of ice
on top of the covers might be helping us out in this situation, hopefully it is acting
like a insulating blanket - retaining some of the heat underneath.
Monday February 17, 2003 ----- And another great Monday
---- what is it with Monday's? lately the weather has been great on Monday and
deteriorating throughout the week. I am not complaining -- just observing.
Strawberries are looking very good!!! We had a cold night
last night - luckily we had the majority of the patch covered. All the blooms that
were not covered were froze but those under the covers are nice and healthy. We have
two varieties planted: Sweet Charlie and Chandler Sweet Charlie is a little
bit earlier producing and those 10,000 plants are loaded with blooms/fruit.
There is between 6 and 15 blooms/fruit on each of these plants. Believe me, the
Sweet Charlie's are the first plants to get covered when a freeze is coming. The
40,000 'Chandler' plants are a little behind the Sweet Charlie with only 1 or 2
blooms/fruit per plant right now. There is a ton of blossoms down deep in the plant
crown that are on their way out. Depending on the weather, the Chandler plants
should be covered with blooms in a week or two. Soooo, we are very happy with the
way the plants are progressing at this point. The next couple of weeks will be
critical weather wise ------ make sure you keep the bizarre weather away from us! A
little cold is OK, but we do not want to set any record lows the rest of this winter.
Stay tuned ---- we might be able to open somewhere in Spring
Break week (March 13th or there abouts). That is not concrete yet ---- all depends
on the weather.
Monday February 10, 2003 ---- What a glorious day today was/is!
Hope all of you were able to spend a little time out in it.
In case you were wondering ---- we came through last weeks messy
cold weather just fine. It did not get as cold as we were afraid of, thank goodness!
We do still have the covers down because I did not want a frost to sneak up on us
in the morning without protection. I think we will remove them tomorrow in
anticipation of some milder weather. It was pretty warm today and I imagine it was a
good 15 degrees warmer under the covers. Therefore I expect to see quite a few
strawberry blooms tomorrow when we pull the covers off. Keep your fingers crossed,
if the weather holds out we will be picking these berries in early to mid March ----------
YIKES! that is only 3 weeks out ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, ok, don't panic! stay tuned here to
keep an eye on the berries --------- and make sure you keep the severe weather away!
We finished planting taters today, finally!!!
now for the rest of the chores.
Monday February 03, 2003 --- I'm Back! You might ask,
'Where have you been Joe Farmer?'
(Joe Farmer ................. kinda sounds like Joe
Millionaire .................. maybe I could have the next reality show ..................
Yeah that's right ..I can picture it now ......... Joe Millionaire had his 'dates' pick
grapes once, I could have them pick strawberries ----- JM had his dates then stomp on the
grapes and make wine, I could have them squeeze the juice out of the berries to make
lemonade ---- JM went horseback riding, I have a nice gentle horse (Star) and
am keeping one (Utah) that's not quite broke (tame), I could ride Star and see how
long the 'dates' stay on Utah ---- JM rode bikes, we could ride goats ----- JM had
his 'dates' clean stables, I could have mine clean the port-o-cans, then there
is always the hot tub scene on Joe Millionaire, I could break a irrigation pipe and
we could play in the subsequent gieser, then roll in the resulting mud pit! and to top it
off it appears that Joe Millionaire has no money afterall .. guess what - neither do I!
Yee-haw I'm calling the networks tomorrow! Wait a minute, how do I explain
the wife and kids???????? Uh ,,,, Joe Millionaire does have a butler
doesn't he?????????)
Anyway, the Fruitman is back to farming after a short
stint working in the big city to put food on the table and shoes on the kids feet.
It IS good to be back and thanks for asking. Now to tidy up those things that have
been slipping through the winter.
We have planted about half the taters now. " Isn't it a tad
bit early?" you ask. Well, I'm going to make you a farmer afterall. Yes,
I thought it was a little early but Ma, Pa, the neighbor and the wife looked in the
almanac and it said NOW is the time --- so I was out voted. I wasn't goin to plant
them anyway 'till I saw a Sign ------ and low and behold a Sign did come ---
'Nimwhit' the Turkey laid her first egg ----- when I saw that egg it kinda looked like a
tater. It seems that Nimwhit must have been telling me to 'lay' them taters in the
ground. So there you have it, I did not go by any ole fortune tellin almanac.
Speaking of Turkeys ------ it breaks my heart
to tell you that Numskull has gone on to wherever Turkeys go when their days on earth are
through. NO, I have not eaten her! or the neighbors either (even though I saw
them lookin at her with a strange look on their face). It seems that she has been
victimized by some vicious no-good Turkey eatin varmit.
Shucks, my wife really liked that Turkey.
Now on a better note, the Strawberry plants are
looking great! They are just beginning to wake from their winter sleep and are pushing out
a little bet of new growth , even a bloom or two every now and then. February is a
critical month for us in regards to the weather. We don't mind a little cold air
just nothing bitterly cold now. Lets try to keep the temps above 25 degrees from now
on out. Should the temperatures remain mild, we should have a few berries to
pick the first part of March ------ hold your breath.
Monday January 20, 2003 --- Just call me SpudMan. We now
have them taters in our possession, just finished building tater beds today, now
just have to get poppa taterhead to cut them up in slivers and they will be ready to
plant. Oh ..... .. wait a minute ........ I think your supposed to plant tuber crops
in the dark of the moon ............ or is it the light of the moon? or is it half moon
before midnight? yikes,,,, I also forgot that we are supposed to cut the taters, put
them in a dark closet with ashes poured over them.
Hey, I've got an idea ........ why not just cut the
taters, let them dry for a day or two, plant them when it is convenient in mid
February and let God do the growing. Yeah, that's the ticket (so what if it is
accidentally in the dark of the moon).
Whew, we had a bit of a cold spell last week. If we would
have known it was going to get that cold we would have covered up the plants (19 degrees
here). Not too much damage, just a few early blooms were nipped. It is almost
time to start covering the strawberry plants up every time a freeze is coming down.
Remember, the plants won't freeze (above 12) but the blooms will. The bloom is what
turns into the fruit (about 30 days from bloom to fruit with strawberry plants) so we want
to keep those blooms nice and healthy. Since our 'opening' target is the first of
March, then we must protect the blooms beginning in the first of Feb.
Wednesday January 8, 2003 ---- Well there is a lot that should
be going on but since I have been working in town lately not much has gone on at the
patch. We have two new goat kids that we are bottle feeding, one cat died and
another showed up (it has a suspicious butterball in its' mid section}. one of the
Turkeys has been coming and going (I can't tell if it is Nimwit or Numskull, they look so
much alike) and the two nanny goats have gone to a friends house to talk to Billie.
The wife hopped on Fireball and mowed down Texas. She is
almost finished with New Mexico. We will let that stubble decompose and maybe even
disc some of it into the soil before burning the field off again. We don't expect to
plant it again until March. We need to get the seed potatoes in here so we can start
cutting them up. Dad spouted off last year and said he would cut them all up - so I
dropped off 200 pounds for him. He promptly took care of them for us just like he
said he would (I wonder just how many mom had to cut?). I can't wait to see his face
when I show up with 500 pounds this year. A good friend is a Tomato grower in The
Woodlands, so we have persuaded him to start us 500 plants we can set in
March. I am NOT a tomato grower so don't get your hopes up. Our tomatoes will
probably turn out blue or square.
The Strawberry plants are looking very good. We have even
been picking and eating a few. Does anyone know what is going to happen with this
weather? I don't get concerned with the cool weather, it is these Indian Summers
that get me worried. It was 72 degrees today and forcast for 70+ tomorrow.
String a week of these mild temps together and the plants say "Lets Roll!"
. Then an Arctic Blast comes in and plays havoc with their growing cycle. God
always watches out for us so we will surredly have a good crop this year. The
question is just when will we start picking the 03 crop. It is 30 days from bloom to
fruit === we will see if the weather spurs blooming on toward the end of this month.
The Blackberries are looking like they ................. are
asleep. They seem to be in great shape for this stage of the season. With all
the recently planted canes coming into production, we expect to double last years harvest.
For Fresh News from previous years, just click the link below:
Somewhere along the way we lost Fresh News 2000. I have some old pc's in the barn, maybe I can find it there.