strawberry12.gif (1415 bytes) Fresh News 2008, straight from the strawberry patch.

Friday December 5th, 2008 ----- Well, we have decided to close down for the winter. There is still much to do but we are going about half speed now. We have almost fed all the leftover pumpkins to the goats but still have a lot of cleaning up to do from the Fall season.
      Speaking of goats ---- we turned them into the Maze yesterday and they are trying as hard as they can to eat it down. Between the pumpkins and the Maze we have the fattest goats around.
       Still up ---- we want to plant some rye grass and clover (I wonder if it will come up being planted so late), build some beds for onions and vegetables, get ready to plant some Blackberries and who knows --- we might even plant a few Peach trees!

Sunday November 16th, 2008 ---- We are almost ready to take a deep breath. This has been our best Fall Season yet, 'THANKS' to you folks that came out. We have decided to stay open at least one more weekend because the Maze is still in good shape. Normally by now it has been devastated by pedestrians and the weather - but not yet. Even yesterday we had some customers who could not find all the towns.
    The goats have been enjoying the leftover pumpkins. Everyone has been so worried that we have so many leftover - but not me! The Goats love those pumpkins! We are going to have the only orange herd of goats in the country!
    All 100,000 Strawberry plants have now been planted. I think 99,682 are still alive and growing well (no I did not count them - that is a guess!). The plants do look pretty good at the moment --- we will baby them through the winter and maybe they will start producing berries by mid March of 2009.

Thursday November 6, 2008 ------ Did anyone see October? Slowly we are catching back up, sorry but the FreshNews is one of those things that was left behind. So what has been happening on the farm? We have all 10 miles of Strawberry row planted (now to keep those bloomin deer out!), the plants seem to be getting established and rooted in. We increased the planting at the Marble Falls farm from 57,000 plants last year to 77,000 this year. We intended to add another 5,000 plants to the Lexington farm but somehow ran short and barely got back to the 21,000 mark. The night after planting in Lexington the deer struck, so we had to make an emergency run over there to put up fence. Since the larger perimeter fence was not doing the job, we put up one just around the Strawberry field. The Deer still got in one more time, hopefully Dareen has got the holes filled and has put up the "NO EATING" signs by now. The next step will be to put up a electric fence around the field ----- don't be suprised if you go out to the Lexington farm one day and the field has razor wire around it! We will try to 'baby' the plants for the next two weeks to make sure they get well settled into their new home (the plants originate in Canada before ending up in Texas).
     This has been a marvelous Fall Season!!!! we feel so very blessed. The new Hayride route has been great, the 'Texas' Maze has held up well and the pumpkin painting could not be better. We still have two weekends to go - come on out and enjoy the fun while it lasts!

Monday September 29, 2008 ----- Our first "open" weekend of the Fall is now behind us and we are pleasantly surprised at how well it went. We were/are worried that the current economic situation of the area might adversely affect attendance to the farm. Well, the first weekend did not reflect a drop but instead an increase over years past. I guess when things get tough folks "get back to the basics" and our farm is pretty basic. I am not afraid or ashamed to admit that we are pretty "hokie pokie". We aim for just good ole fashioned relaxed fun, you know - the kind you get when you were a kid and you found a big plain cardboard box.
    We have a new hayride route this year and I kinda like it. I am a sucker for big old oak trees, we have a few on the hayride route that I think you might like.
     'Texas' the Maze has turned out pretty nice. It too has a new location this year, you will need to catch a tractor to take you over to the Maze. Our first family of four completed it in just over a hour. It has hard parts and some easy parts.

Wednesday September 17, 2008 ---- These cool temperatures are great!!!! We hope it stays this cool in October. Speaking of October --- the "Harvest of Fall Fun" is approaching quickly. I know we have not reported here lately but that does not mean we have not been busy on the farm, quite the contrary. The dry weather has caused a lot of extra work in the watering department and the land preparation department as well. We have almost finished building Strawberry beds and installing their irrigation system, are working hard to get the 'Texas' Maze ready, and the Group Kid Maze, and the Mrs. Bessie's Barnyard Maze, setting up a new 'Stuff your own Scarecrow' silo, setting up a new Food Barn area, adjusting the layout of the farm, building a new shed for the Texas Maze (the Maze has moved locations from last year), setting up a new Hayride route (which involved a weeks worth of chainsaw work to expose several massive Oak Trees for viewing), working Goats, mowing (only where we have been watering!!), pruning flowers (we have a beautiful patch of Zinnias to see and take pictures in as you head toward the Maze or Hayride), among other things.

We are very happy with the condition of the farm right now and are gearing up for a wonderful Fall season. Hope to see you soon.

Monday August 4, 2008 --- slowly but surely we are getting ready for the Fall.
     'Texas' is growing like mad. We have been growing one or two Mazes each year for the last 7 years now so it is hard for me to understand why I can't get it just right. I think I planted it a little too thick this year.  There is a fine line between planting too thick (more slender wispy stalks) and not thick enough (if a kid can see an opening he will be going through it). Planting it too thick will only be a problem if we have some thunderstorms roll though this Fall packing strong gusty winds. The smaller diameter stalks are not as strong and easier to blow over.
     I did know that we would have a worm problem but am still baffled by it. Perhaps you, or someone you know, is an Entomologist that can explain this to me. This year we took a field that has not been cultivated in years, in fact it hardly had any grass on it when I broke it up. We chiseled it, disced it, roto-tilled it and worked it up to make a wonderful seed bed. We planted it and watered it and have a lush green growing crop of grass. So can someone explain to me how just two weeks after planting we can have a serious outbreak of worms? Where did they come from? I don't see any moths or butterflies so how did they get there so fast? Lets just say that we planted 240,000 seeds in 'Texas', 95% of which germinated = 228,000 grass stalks of which 40% had at least one worm = 91,200 worms.   I have the worms under control now but I still don't know how they get there so fast. It is kinda like, if I took a can of dog food out into a 10 acre open field, opened it and put it on the ground ---- I guarantee there will be a fly on it in less than two minutes. Where did that fly come from? what was it doing before it found the dog food?
   The Strawberry fields are anxiously awaiting a little rain so we can cultivate them and prepare to build beds. We have ordered 100,000 plants and hope to have them planted in the first two weeks of October.
   The Blackberry canes have all been pruned and are growing nicely. This years crop was pretty bad so we are hoping for a better season in 2009. The canes are healthy and groing so it looks good so far.

Friday July 25, 2008 ----- Where did June go? and whomever took June got most of July too. We have been seriously busy around here and much has been happening. What could be going on in this record heat and serious dryness (we did have a nice shower yesterday - Thank the Lord)? Well, let me tell you: it is far too dry to cultivate so everything we want to plow has to be sprinkled first and putting sprinklers out on several acres at a time is a job. We have now moved 'Texas' across the street, it is about 2 inches tall ---- only 106 inches to go.......... ooopss I gotta go ...... so I will summarize: move Texas, cultivate new block for future Strawberries, plant school group Maze, cultivate and plant new Kid Maze, build beds for Zinnias to outline parking lot, remove old Strawberries and their plastic, prune old Blackberry growth, train new growth, water like crazy, try to keep grass alive, take week long Mission Trip, do lots of work in the office, map out new plantings, install irrigation, put sprinklers in - water - pull sprinklers out - chisel, disc and till - plant - put sprinklers back in, fix lots of flats on tractor (why are we getting so many flats???!!!!!), mow, talk to accountant, make popsicles, feed animals (now have 20 baby goats and 6 baby chicks), scold dog for killing baby chick (now have 5) and plant Zinnias.   One thing for sure: staying busy makes the time go by quickly.

the Harvest of Fall Fun is right around the corner, get ready!!!!

Wednesday June 25, 2008 ---- Still scratchin for those Blackberries but it is getting harder and harder to find a boxful. We have decided Saturday will be the last day of the Spring Season, it was a great one no doubt - thanks for coming out. The 'Texas' Maze is about to be cut and baled, the Fall version is going on new ground. We have a lot of work to get it moved so I better get to it.

Wednesday June 18, 2008 ----- Monday and Tuesday were pretty slow, closed today = tomorrow mornings Blackberry and Tomato picking should be pretty good. If you are after both, go for the Tomatoes first as they are in the shortest supply. I saw some yellow pear, cherry and even some large Tomatoes out there ready for the picking. To find the best Tomatoes look low and inside the plants.
    Blackberries - some very nice berries are ready to be picked. Mom picked a box early this morning and was thrilled with the berries she found.
    The 'Texas' maze is harder than I thought. Very few people have found all the towns. I am not sure if it is because the towns are hard to find or folks get overheated. If you are coming to go through the Maze, look up the towns first so you will know where to find them. Caddo, Catarina, Coke, Cone, Cactus, Sanderson, Cornudas, Coahoma, Castell, Cushing and Charco. Can you guess the theme ..... "come and "C" Texas".
    If you are not used to the heat ---- please come in the morning and bring a water bottle that you can carry with you.

Friday June 13, 2008 ---- Still windy -- thank goodness! The mornings are actually pretty nice to me. Sure is getting dry here, we could use a shower or two. As far as the weather goes, we sure can not complain how it has been thus far this year. We had our best Strawberry crop ever here in Marble Falls largely due to the fact that we only had one complete rain out day. It seemed like it rained mostly at night this past Spring and while it might have stopped a few people from coming the next day it certainly did not stop everyone from coming out. Many seasons we have the production (with the exception of this years Blackberry crop) but it depends on rain outs as to whether we get the crop picked or not.
   Blackberries ---- mornings are not bad picking (earlier the better). We do not have enough supply to last through the day. I tell you, we ARE going to plant more plants --- my wife and I can not handle telling folks we have a limited supply. We have the plants to have a big crop it is just a poor crop this year. I think it is because of the extremely wet summer we had last year and our lack of applying a disease control material. Perhaps next year we will have a bumper crop.
   Few Tomatoes, not a lot though - once again ---- the early bird gets the 'maters and squash.
   Just as soon as I say the Strawberries are absolutely finished, someone picks a box full. The berries did not look great but were fresh Strawberries nonetheless. They really are about to be done because I am going to mow them down next week before the weeds take over the field.

Wednesday June 4, 2008 ---- Saved by the wind ...... the temperatures have been hitting the upper 90's of late but a hefty wind has made picking conditions not too bad.  Even with the wind it is still 'hot' in the afternoon so come in the mornings for more pleasant temperatures.
    We had a small crowd Monday and Tuesday, closed today so tomorrow (Thursday), Friday and even Saturday morning will be pretty good picking.   You will still have to look a little but the berries are there to be had - Blackberries and even some Strawberries.
    A few Tomatoes are turning pink and the yellow squash is ready to pick as well.
    Our first group of kids went through 'Texas' yesterday and they seemed to have a lot of fun. The grass ranges in height from 2 to 5 feet tall. These kids were 4.5 foot or less and all I could see was there little heads bobbing up and down. It will continue to grow so with each passing week it should be harder. There is always a silver lining and I suppose this one is that it is not near as hot in the Maze now as it will be when the grass is 7 or 8 feet tall.
   Speaking of 'Texas', we have decided to move it..... across the street....... for the Fall version.  We have surveyed the field and laid out the perimeter of the State. Yesterday I tried to break the ground with only limited success (we need a rain shower!). Over the next few weeks we will prepare the soil, plant the seed and apply some water to get it going.   We are moving 'Texas' so we can plant more Strawberries and Blackberries, we even have plans for a few Peach trees if we have any money left after everything else.

Friday, May 30, 2008 ----- Look LOW for those Blackberries. The Blackberry crop in Marble Falls is weak, you will need to look to find them and down low, under the canes is where the most berries will be hiding. The Lexington farm is loaded with Blackberries, much better Blackberry supply than the Marble Falls farm.
   All the taters have been dug --- we dug the last of them and have them for sale under the sale barn.
   Tomatoes ---- a few red ones out there! A lot of green ones, they are coming fast.
   Strawberries ---- still picking a few but the picking is getting hard.
  "Texas' the Maze will open June 7th, still a little shorter than we like. By the 14th it should be much better.

Tuesday May 27, 2008 ---- If you are planning a trip out to the farm in the next couple of weeks ----- plan a before noon visit. It will be much cooler then and the fruit supply will be better than in the afternoon.
    Our goal is to pick every single last Strawberry, and we are well on the way to accomplishing it.   We have gone from diligence in picking last week to determination this week. There are strawberries to be had but you will need to be determined in order to get a box full. For us as growers the hottest, dirtiest, worst job of growing Strawberries is looming ahead --- mowing the plants down and pulling up all the plasic bed covering. Oh well, we need to lose a little weight and renovating the Strawberry patch is a good way to sweat off a couple of pounds. The Strawberry field will be around for another week or two for all the 'determined' people.
    The last of the taters are being dug as we speak (or as soon as I get out of this office). We have a few plants left that we are going to go ahead and dig so we can sell the spuds from under the barn. For as much as I love those potatoes, I did not get to eat near enough.
    Blackberries --- gotta dig for 'em. Bring a stick with you so you can part the canes - those big ones are hiding in amongst the thorns where folks don't want to reach. Overall our Blackberry crop is not going to be very good this year. The new growth that represents next years crop, looks good so hopefully this will not be a recurring problem. Even though the overall crop won't be big we will have some berries to pick every morning. The first 20 or 30 customers each day should be able to find enough ripe berries to fill a box. If you can come during the week, shoot for Thursday morning. Since we are closed on Wednesdays, Thursdays are the best day to come.
   'Texas' is a bit behind.   The trails have been cut and we should put town signs in this week. Another 2 feet and it will be ready --- at two inches per day ---- two weeks and it should be open.

Wednesday May 21, 2008 ---- It takes a little longer but with a little diligence you can still fill up a box with nice Strawberries. In the majority of the season there is at least one ripe berry per plant, now there is a nice ripe berry about every fourth plant. We are happy to be still picking Strawberries and are hoping they will last into late next week. We don't see many green berries out there so they appear to be close to the end.
    Blackberries ---- now picking 'Brazos' hot and heavy, there are not enough ripe berries each day for everyone so the earlier you arrive the better. In this case, the early bird gets the ripe Blackberries. The 'Kiowa' variety will have a minimal crop this year. Unfortunately most of our Blackberry crop is planted to this variety. A few Kiowa berries are getting ripe and if you walk down enough rows you might get a box worth.
    Red New Potatoes are also still available. We would not be surprised if we dug the remaining taters this weekend. So if you have not gotten any of these delicious potatoes this year, better hurry or they will be all gone.
    'Texas' the Maze ---- a little behind schedule. My wife is singing to it daily but I am not sure if that is helping or hurting. We were hoping to open it in late May but now it looks like it will be around June 10th (maybe a little earlier if we are lucky). The pathways have now been cut and the cities placed in the State. Not much of a theme this spring other than most of the towns start with a 'C'.

Thursday May 15, 2008 ----- it was close but we made it through the storms just fine. The trees just down the road did not fare as well. It is always intriguing to me that a tree is growing for 40, 50, 60 or more years and then one day it is blown over in about 10 minutes. We did get a good bit of rain but it ran off very quickly. There are a few muddy spots but on whole the picking is great, not muddy at all.
    Blackberries ---- we have a lot to pick today, tomorrow and Saturday morning.
    Strawberries ---- a customer picked two of the nicest boxes I have seen in a couple of weeks. The picking is actually pretty good right now. I think we should have plenty to pick from through Saturday morning.
    Potatoes ---- still digging, plenty to choose from
    Onions ---- done pulled. they were good while they lasted but all the Onions have been harvested
    Tomatoes ---- on the horizon. Perhaps we will be picking ripe tomatoes in about two weeks.

Saturday Mornin May 10, 2008 ---- Now where did that come from!? I suppose we were not paying attention because we did not even know there was a chance of rain last night. I think the big bad wolf came out here and huffed and puffed --- he didn't blow the house down but sure blew a lot of stuff around. Not only did the wind blow but, judging by the water standing in the wagons, we got almost an inch of rain. A lot of the water has already dried up but the aisles between the Strawberries are still a little wet. It is supposed to be in the upper 90s today so I expect things to dry out quickly. Shhhh...... don't tell anyone else but we are going to start picking Blackberries tomorrow for Mothers day ---- there won't be tons yet so don't tell anyone until you come get yours first.

Thursday May 8, 2008 ----- Come on and dig them 'taters! We are still pickin' strawberries but you have to hunt for them. Blackberries are not yet ready, but we will keep you posted about them. Come see the 3 new born goats. We need suggetions for their names! So anything that you can come up with would be great.

Monday May 5, 2008 ---- A good crowd turned out for this past weekend that picked a lot of Strawberries, pulled a lot of Onions and dug a lot of Potatoes. I worked in the Horse Pen for awhile on Saturday and it sure was nice to hear a bunch of kids having a good time. The Strawberry fields need a rest before they will be good picking again. Today is already misting rain with more forcast for tonight, so tomorrow should be slow also. It looks like Thursday will be the next decent Strawberry picking.
All the red onions have been pulled, we still have a good amount of white 1015Y onions available.
Potatoes are in ample supply as well, based on last weekends digging - they look like they will last for another 3 weeks.
Blackberries --- not yet. It appears we are only going to have about one half of a normal Blackberry crop, if that much. We have some serious cane dieback going on. I am not afraid to admit that I don't know the exact cause. We do have some ideas and the new Primocane growth looks good so maybe next years crop wont be in the same predicament. Some berries are beginning to turn red now, I would expect to have a box full by next week.

Friday Afernoon May 2nd, 2008 ---- Looks like a good weekend coming up! I think the weather is going to cooperate, there are plenty of: Strawberries to pick, Potatoes to dig, Onions to pull, horses to pet, donkeys to scratch, cats to chase, goats to feed, picnic tables to relax on, ice cream to savor, popsicles to lick, smoothies to enjoy (you HAVE to have a Strawberry smoothie - they are incredible!), and fresh air to breathe. Sure is nice when things come together like this.

Monday morning April 28, 2008 --- I guess I did not realize how dry it was because the rain that fell yesterday morning is quickly being soaked up. The aisles between the Strawberry rows are a little damp today but I expect them to be mostly dry by tomorrow. I do not expect a big crowd today so tomorrow should be very nice picking and by Thursday there should be tons out in the field again.
Potatoes --- are you ready to dig? We should start digging this Thursday the 1st of May. I suppose we might get a little more weight out of the taters if we waited a little longer but I am ready to get into them now. As you know, the potatoes are ready to eat whenever you dig them, it is not a question of when they are 'ripe'. Sometimes our customers go after just the big ones, which is OK because I know the little ones are what I like to eat. My only problem is that the kids are getting past that stage where I can tell them to "go out there and collect those little ones" and it still be fun for them. Now I have to pay them to gather those taters.
Onions --- we are pulling away. once again, they could probably stand a little more time in the field. We planted a lot more onions this year so I don't want to wait until they are all ready at once.
Blackberries ---- just around the corner. I am GUESSING that we will start picking them around the 15th of May. The variety that ripens first looks like it will have a good crop, the second variety is going to have a weak crop. So, try to pick your Blackberries in May when we will have more available.
'Texas' is growing. We planted it in the dark this year (only because we were trying to beat the threat of rain), so I was anxious to see how many spots I missed. Actually the problem is not that I missed a spot but that I went over the same spot too many times. There are a few areas where the grass is planted very thick, we shall see if that turns out to be a problem. Other than that, it appears to be growing nicely.

Sunday Morning April 27, 2008 --- Just have time for a quick update as we are heading out the door to church ----- wet. It has been raining here for a hour or two, the Strawberry fields are sure to be muddy. We will be open this afternoon just in case someone wants to brave the mud.

Friday Evening April 25, 2008 ---- The storms just missed us, we hardly had more than a couple of rain drops at the Marble Falls farm. Tomorrows picking should be wonderful and as it stands at 11pm tonight, the field will be nice and dry.

Friday afternoon April 25, 2008 ---- For sure the warm weather of late has accelerated the Strawberry ripening. We picked 400 pounds yesterday for processing and today you can't even tell where we picked them from. I think we will try to pick another 400 pounds today (I am hiding here in the office to get out of picking, ha!). Each year we try to put up 1500 pounds or so to use in Jam, Ice Cream, Popsicles, Smoothies, Lemonade etc. So far this year the fields have been picked so close we have not been able to get many berries for our freezer. The warmer weather has really turned the berries on and the end of April is normally slower customer wise so here we are trying to get as many as we can to put up. Don't worry, there are still plenty of berries for everyone to pick, we are only picking on the ends of the rows no one gets to. I tell you, the best picking is always on the FAR end of the row. Do not start picking until you have walked at least 3/4 way down the row you choose.

Recap: This weekend will be very good Strawberry picking, we will try to get an update here IF we get rain tonight.

Tuesday April 22, 2008 ----- A couple of warm days and nights (nightime temps are probably more critical than daytime) and BOOM - we have lots of Strawberries to pick. Today will be good picking, Thursday should be incredible picking even Friday will be good. I do not think we will clean out the field Thursday and Friday so the weekend looks like it will be a good one for Strawberry picking and Onion pulling (the onions are ready!)

Saturday morning April 19, 2008 ---- Today will be a good day, wonderful weather and lots of berries to pick (many more than I expected).

Friday morning April 18, 2008 ---- Just what the doctor ordered. Thanks God for a nice little shower of about 1/2 inch last night that should not adversely affect picking today at all. It was getting a little parched around here, that little shower that came through last night delivered some high winds and just enough rain to wash the dust off the berries and plants. There will be mud in some areas of the field so old shoes might be in order. All in all, today should be a good day to pick with lots of berries available.

Wednesday Afternoon April 16, 2008 ----- Okay, here is the Strawberry lowdown ..... might be some, might not be some. Does that help? Yeah, it wouldn't do me any good either.

Best guess ----
Thursday morning we will have ripe berries to pick, afternoon could get iffy.
Thursday night we supposedly have a good chance of showers.

Friday... if it does not rain Thursday night --- we will have berries in the morning, afternoon could get iffy.
Friday .... if it does rain Thursday night ----- morning is sure to be wet/muddy in the field, could dry up by afternoon if we get 1/2 inch or less. Assuming we don't get more than 1.5 inches, the picnic and parking area will be dry enough to get around in without being in the mud. If it rains we will try to get an update posted here.

Saturday --- if we are unable to get into the field Friday then we will have a good many Strawberries to pick. If Friday is beautiful weather then Saturdays good picking won't last long.

Sunday ---- in any scenario I do not think Sunday will be a good day to pick.

Now, having said all that. Normally there are ripe berries to be picked even if we have had a big crowd. It just takes longer to find them. You must move those leaves around and find the berries hidden below. The only time this year we seemed not to have ripe berries is in the afternoons and Sundays. Several hundred pounds ripen each night so the earlier you can come, the better the chance of getting ripe berries. Note: our berry size is beginning to dwindle. In a normal year, berry size and quantity will fall off the last two weeks of April only to have a short lived burst of nice berries the first part of May. In some of the cooler years we have been able to pick Strawberries all the way to June but typically the Strawberry patch is played out by May 20.

Potatoes --- almost ready to dig. Perhaps we will start digging by the first of May.

Blackberries ---- the early variety 'Brazos' looks good and should start by mid May. The 'Kiowa' are struggling, I only expect a partial crop on this variety beginning toward the end of May.

Texas Maze ---- has germinated and emerging from the soil. We are trying to put water on it but can't because of the high winds the last few days. Since we use sprinklers, the water is very susceptable to drift and evaporation in windy situations. Sounds like God might water the field for us tomorrow night - Thanks God.

Saturday Evening April 12, 2008 ---- We had a big day, lots of pickers, tons of berries picked ---- we were scratching for ripe berries in the afternoon ---- tomorrows picking will be tough finding ripe berries.

Friday Afternoon April 11, 2008 ---- What just happened? Someone please knock some since into me. My calendar says that today is Friday ---- so why did the skies part and all of these kids fall out today? Someone said Leander ISD was out of school, or maybe Leander just held school at our place. Regardless, the picking will be good in the morning but afternoon might be iffy.

Thursday Evening April 10, 2008 ---- The bad weather last night missed us ---- thank Heavens! We did get a little rain, enough to make it wet this morning but by afternoon all was good. Tomorrow and Saturday should be fantastic picking. I just can hardly believe that we are going to have two weekends in a row with marvelous weather and lots of berries to pick.

Wednesday April 9, 2008 ------ The Strawberry fields are beginning to recover from last weekend, the weather was so wonderful that folks just wanted to get out and enjoy it. Saturday the fields were a little bare by late afternoon so the ripe berries on Sunday did not last long. When the nighttime temperatures are warm as they are, lots of berries will ripen overnight. So even if we had a good crowd the previous day, there will always be some to pick the first of the next day. Typically berry supply builds through the week and by the weekend the picking is great. Right now I think I can hear the berries ripening. The weather this weekend looks to be equally as nice as last. We will have lots of berries to pick Saturday morning. Depending on the turnout, late afternoon might be a little iffy.
    We planted 'Texas' last night. We had a little problem getting seed so it was a tad later getting planted than we like. So, yesterday between the mayhem I disced up the ground (and boy did it smell good!). I never get it as smooth as I would like but had to draw the line somewhere as we were fighting the daylight. Just before dusk I had the grain drill on the tractor and making the first round.   I thought about saving the rest for today but noticed the lightning in the distance. It would be a real setback to have it rain on the field before we get it planted so 'give it a little more gas'. It seemed like the storm was getting closer so 'speed it up a little more'. By the time I finished I must have been flying and since it was very dark I am not sure if it was 'Texas' that got planted or any other neighboring state. This grass grows extremely fast. I expect to have 6 feet tall functioning maze in 50 days (end of May).
    'Brazos' Blackberries are in full bloom now. 'Kiowa' are struggling a little, I don't think their chilling requirement was met over the winter. Regardless we are looking for a good Blackberry crop.
    Onions, Potatoes and Tomatoes are growing great. May for Potatoes and Onions. Late May on Tomatoes.

Saturday Evening April 5, 2008 ---- It was an absolutely beautiful day!! and it was good to see so many people enjoying it with us. The fields were worked over pretty good today, we will have ripe berries for tomorrow but they might not last the entire time we will be open. We are open 1 to 5 on Sundays, you will greatly increase your odds of getting ripe berries by arriving close to 1. There are sooo many berries on the plants just waiting to ripen. It looks like the crop will be good if we can escape any weather calamities.

Friday April 4, 2008 ---- We were drying out, another inch and 2 tenths this morning has set us back a bit though. The wind is gusting pretty strong which will dry things out fairly quickly. Even now, everywhere but between the rows of berries is dry enough to get around without dealing with mud. I would think that by this afternoon the aisles will be dry enough to get into and by tomorrow most of the field will be dry enough to pick without slipping and sliding. Don't worry, we will still have a few muddy spots for the kids to get into while you are not looking. By the way, did one of you leave your shoes here last week?

Wednesday April 2, 2008 --- Hey, we are drying out. Not completely dry but at least enough to get to most of the good berries. The Strawberry plants are really putting on, incredibly so. Tomorrow and this weekend should be good picking. The plants are starting to get big enough now that they will hide many of the big berries under their leaves. It is important to move the leaves back and forth so you can find those good ones. I tell you a lady found one the size of a lime the other day after a bunch of people had already picked that spot. You won't find those incredible ones if you just walk down the row and look for them from overhead. Remember, go to the far end of the row and pick back. Don't look down before you get there are you will stop before you get to the ones that jump in your basket as you walk by.

Monday March 31, 2008 ---- It is a bit wet, with another little off and on shower this morning, and the aisles between the Strawberry rows are sure slippery in spots but that has not stopped quite a few folks from gathering their bounty of Strawberries. To be honest, the aisles were muddy. It is a good thing we were dry before this rain event because the land seems to be soaking up the water pretty quickly. Tomorrow the farm will be mostly dry and surely by Thursday we will be in great shape.
I think today I could hear the berries ripening. We are heading into what is typically the peak of the season. From now to April 20 we should be wide open Strawberry picking.

Saturday Evening March 29, 2008 ---- Slish Slosh. Whew, the skies opened up last night and let us have a drink or should I say - gulp. I am probably the only farmer in Texas that does not have a rain gauge out, but I am pretty good at walking out the door and saying "gee, I think it rained". Who needs a rain gauge when you have million pieces of junk in the boneyard that will hold water. Just head back there with a tape measure and you have your rainfall.
As promised, the Strawberries picked today where very nice. A good many customers braved the mud and won a sweet reward to take home. I suppose there is nothing like pulling your shoes off and getting mud between your toes. Some kids that came out today got mud in a lot more places than between their toes. I thought we were going to have to wrap them in a trash bag before they could get in their car.
We picked rows 20 - 30 pretty good, don't worry, in a couple of days these rows will be loaded again.

Tomorrow the picking in Marble Falls will only be decent. Be sure to get down and move the leaves of the plant as those big ones are hiding. The picking at the Lexington farm will be very good tomorrow and it is not muddy there. If you are trying to decide which farm to go to - Lexington will have more berries to pick from.

Friday Evening March 28, 2008 ---- Unbelievable!! Even I am in awe of the Strawberries being picked right now. Berries the size of your fist (maybe a little exagerration but not much) are being plucked from the vine. It is very hard to check people out because all we want to do is reach in their box and grab a few to eat. Every box that comes through we say is the best one we have ever seen. Not only are they big but they taste great (I just got through walking through the field munching on them as I go). I felt like my grandmother did when she was out in the patch a few years ago, she would walk along and pick one berry for her box, then the next one she picked she would say "oh my, isn't this purdy" and then eat it. I think the only reason she put one in her box is because it gave her enough time to swallow the last one she ate so she could get the next "purdy" one in. Well, that is just what I did as I 'inspected' the field. Since no one was around to hear me I went ahead and said "oh my, isn't that one purdy" as I ate that big one that took my two hands to pick it. I thought maybe someone had planted melons out in the field but when I walked up on them they were Strawberries! Just last week we were scraping for ripe berries but now the tide has turned. And if you happen to be coming out tomorrow (saturday), go straight down to row 23 in the field next to the parking lot, don't look down until you get at least half way down the row, then open your eyes and pinch yourself to make sure you are not dreaming. If someone has already beat you there then go on any row between 20 and 30, at least half way down. Now if you come out in the afternoon, go to the back field and pick on any row 1 through 60, the closer you get to the donkeys, the better the picking will be.
Speaking of Donkeys!!!! Jenny had her baby yesterday. It is a cute little girl that needs a name, any suggestions? It has to start with a J though, see Jack and Jenny had JJ first, now this is their second. Sorry we are not going to name it JackA_ _ either!

Monday Evening March 24, 2008 ----- What a difference a day, sunshine, mild temperatures and a slow Easter Sunday makes. There were some beautiful Strawberries picked today and everyone seemed to get all they wanted. The plants are not producing wildly yet, that should come in about a week or two, but every sunny day that goes by will ripen more and more berries. So far this looks like it might be a good Strawberry season. I hate to say anything because it can change in a moment but for now -- things are looking good. Since we are closed on Wednesdays, Thursdays automatically become a great day to pick.
    The Blackberries are starting to break bud now, we even have few blooms popping out. Look for ripe Blackberries in mid May.
    We are planting Tomatoes now ---- anyone know if we are going to have a late cold spell? We will not breathe a sigh of relief until late April. A few years ago we went down to 19 degrees on April 14. The Mesquite trees are leafing out well but our Pecan trees are still pretty tight. Dareen says that it thundered on February 15 so that means a cool spell on April 15, keep your fingers crossed that it is only a 'cool' spell.

Friday Evening March 21, 2008 ----- Sadly, the Marble Falls farm is 'picked out' of ripe Strawberries. High picking pressure over the last two days coupled with the earliness in the season means that we will not have ripe Strawberries for the remainder of this weekend. The berry crop looks like it is going to be good but we need to wait until the end of March and the first of April for production to pick up dramatically. I think the next best time to pick ripe Strawberries will be next Thursday (27th) and beyond.   Believe me, the berries are out there - just not ripe yet. The farm will still be open the remainder of this weekend and all are welcome to come out and enjoy the outdoors, pet the animals, picnic and maybe pick very few Strawberries.

  The Lexington farm has a decent supply of ripe berries available for tomorrow.

Monday Evening March 17, 2008 ---- The Strawberry plants are trying to keep up but it is just a little too early in the season. In a normal year this production amount would be just right but with some Spring Breaks last week, some this week and Easter rounding out the week we just don't have enough ripe berries to go around. So far most of our customers have been able to get want they wanted but we are concerned about this coming weekend. Typically, Easter weekend is very busy for us and we will not have anywhere close to the amount of ripe berries we have had in the past for this event. Sooooo, I would suggest Friday morning will be the only time we have a decent supply of ripe berries to pick. Everyone is welcome to come anytime over the weekend, visit the goats and donkeys, have a picnic and enjoy the outdoors just don't expect a lot of ripe berries to pick from.

But not to worry!!! the berries are coming and the harvest looks like it will be great ------ but not until the month of April.

Friday Evening March 14, 2008 ---- Woaaaa, not quite so fast. You are the best customers in the world and we appreciate your eagerness to pick those lusciously good and full of flavor fresh Strawberries but it is still early in the season and berry production is just getting started. My wife and I just can't stand for someone to come out to the farm and not be able to get all the berries they want,  we had plenty of berries to pick yesterday and today but I am concerned about tomorrow. We almost always have berries in the mornings so my advice is to try to come out before 11am on Saturdays or right at 1pm on Sundays to make sure you get the pick of the day. I think this scenerio will hold true through next week then all through April we will be begging for everyone to bring every person they have ever known to come and pick.

Actually, I think the Lexington farm will have more ripe berries available for tomorrows picking.

Monday, March 10, 2008 --- We are getting a nice shower as we speak. It is coming at a good time, just what we needed to freshen things up. It would be nice to get less than an inch but we I guess we will live with whatever comes our way.
    Strawberries ---- we uncovered the patch last Saturday (good thing we had the covers out because Friday night we had a freeze) only to find some little red bundles of delectable joy waiting for me to eat. I believe we will officially open this Thursday (13th) for picking. PLEASE be advised that the picking will be slim for a week or two. There will be berries to pick but it might be more of a hunt now as compared to 3 weeks from now. For you Strawberry aficionados, we have 3 varieties in the front block - all of which have a little variation in taste. The first 4 rows next to the parking lot are Sweet Charlie, which are producing well. These berries do not last long after they have been picked and are light red when ripe. The middle of the block is Chandler, which is not producing well yet. These berries are my favorite, they are dark red when ripe and hold up reasonably well after picked. The last 3 rows, next to the Blackberries, are Festival. These plants are not producing as much as the Sweet Charlie but more than the Chandler. Festival berries are dark red when ripe and are firmer than the other two varieties. My wife likes these berries to dip in chocolate because they hold their shape the best.
    Blackberries -- beginning to show a little growth.
    Potatoes --- a few were nipped by last weeks freeze but most have not sent a plant up out of the soil yet.
    Onions ---- we have always had some but they always get pulled early, so this year we planted 3000 maybe a few will make get a little size on them before they get pulled.
    Donkeys ---- Jenny is pregnant and due any day now (like I know! I thought she would have it in Feb.)
    Horses --- have gone for a little training, they should be back in mid April.
    Goats ---- enjoying a little pasture time right now, we should bring a few over this week to put in the pen for kids to pet.
    Chickens --- cackling and laying up a storm, dad will be selling eggs when you come out.
    Cats ----- annoying! someone please come pet them!
    Dogs --- upset because their free reign on the farm is about to come to an end. As soon as the farm opens we will keep them over at the house because they are a little to protective.

Tuesday, March 4, 2008 ---- I am whipped, wind whipped that is. It seems like the last few weeks have been a constant battle with the wind -- one day it is blowing 50 miles an hour out of the North and the next day, 50 miles an hour out of the South. I think mother nature is just trying to figure out what side of my head my hair needs to part on. Well, I have her fooled because when it blows out of the North - I just walk around facing East and when it blows out of the South - I walk around facing West. So don't think ill of the odd fellow walking sideways when you come out - he is just trying to maintain "the look".
    The wind is also wreaking havoc with our frost covers. It is hard to keep a 50 * 300 foot blanket in place when the wind is whipping. This time of year is difficult to manage because there is a potential freeze at night and 70's or 80's during the day. We need the covers in place to protect against freezing temperatures but don't like them out when it gets that hot. Then you must consider the leaf damage the whipping covers are causing to the plants. For instance, yesterday the 30 mph winds blew several of the covers partly off. Since it is extremely hard to pull a cover against the wind and with an impending freeze we find ourselves fixing covers in the middle of the night after the wind has died down a bit. Now today it is going to be beautiful and bump 70 degrees, tomorrow 75 ---- wonderful you say, lets' pull off the covers and let the plants air out a bit, give the Bees a chance to work some flowers over. But wait a second, Thursday night looks like another freeze. It takes about 4 or 5 hours (depending on the wind) to cover all 3 acres and Thursday has a good chance of rain so we would have to recover tomorrow. If we had to recover tomorrow then what is the point of spending most of today uncovering? But the plants really need some airing out time ------- so, what should we do? I think we will uncover the Sweet Charlie, pick the ripe berries underneath, remove some of the covers we did a poor job of fixing last night and then leave the rest of the field covered up.
   We have not opened up for the season yet but are picking a few early berries to make Jelly with. I think we will have enough berries to open up for the season late next week, perhaps Thursday (13th). Remember, production is not overwhelming at first. We will open slowly, production will build and by the first week of April we should be rocking ---- depending on the weather. We will only announce our opening here and on the phone message so picking pressure should not be too heavy at first. Oh my, my stress level just went up now that I said, and realized, we are opening next week ----- I better get to work!

Monday Evening, February 25, 2008 ---- Well, the time has come. I have fought and fought, tried with all my might to prevent this. Ignoring it has not helped, denying it has not helped, postponing it has not helped, the inevitable has arrived and I don't like it one bit ------ it is time to increase the font size here in the Fresh News so I can see it.  I used to be able to see Spider Mites on the bottom of a leaf with my naked eye, now I need a magnifying glass. Maybe it is just because the Mites are getting smaller --- yeah, that has to be it!
   Today is was 90 degrees and here I sit planning to put out Frost covers tomorrow. Even as I write this the wind has switched around to the North and is howling. If the wind keeps up like this it will sure enough be fun putting out those covers. We left some in place from last week and I am wondering if that was a good idea or not. I don't have a problem with the covers being left on the plants for an extended time frame but am not crazy about them being deployed in this kind of heat. I sure hope they are still there in the morning, it is a huge pain in the neck to have a cover blow off in this kind of wind.
    The immature Strawberries are progressing nicely ---- surely we will have berries in two or three weeks? stay tuned, we will keep you posted here. I saw a few Blackberry canes popping out and some Peach buds beginning to swell ---- Spring is coming!

Tuesday February 19, 2008 ----- Wow, February is flying by! The spare tire around my waist says it is time to hit the grindstone again, my brain says that is has been fun using our posterior, but my mouth overrules everyone by saying with a loud voice "get to work or go hungry!".
     The Strawberry plants sure do think it is time to get going. Right now they are still covered from last weeks application but I expect when we uncover them today we will find some perky plants and emerging blooms. Even though the temperatures did not get near as low over the weekend as I expected, it gave me a piece of mind knowing they where protected 'just in case'. Covering them was also a good exercise to make sure all the covers are 'good to go' when we have to put them out in a hurry (are we going to have a late freeze this year?). Every year we don't know what we are going to find when we get them out of storage. We have started fertilizing them now and with a little mild weather we hope to get them energized.
    The onions and potatoes have been planted. The Blackberries are sitting pretty right now.  We removed one row of Blackberries planted to a variety that did not perform well here and replaced it with "Oauchita" a Arkansas variety that is thornless. We have not had much luck with the thornless varieties in the past but maybe this one will break the mold.
    Get ready, it won't be long before we are picking berries!

Tuesday February 12, 2008---- Yeah, that getting out of bed when the Rooster crows thing lasted about two days. Here I know sit procrastinating an impending task. Sure I could use the excuse that I am just waiting for the wind to die down or let it warm up just a bit more but the truth of the matter is that I am just putting it off. We pulled the covers off the front block Sunday afternoon to get a good look at the plants. Now I am afraid it is going to be close to freezing tonight and this weekend so today we should put all the covers out. It is really not that hard to do, we have plenty of jobs that are much less appealing and I should go get after it ---- as soon as I finish this, which could take a while. I mean after I finish writing this, I'll have to publish it, then the email will need to be checked, check the weather one more time (all 5 forecasts), maybe answer a call or two, by then it will surely be close to lunch and I would not want to get started and then have to stop to go to lunch so ..... perhaps this afternoon we will cover.
     One thing for sure, the plants that were covered in the front block look very good. The 'Sweet Charlies' are blooming well, not far behind are the Festival and even a few blooms on the Chandler are popping out. Now that I think of it, I really should go cover now especially since we have not covered the back block this year.
    Healthy blooms on the Sweet Charlie now = berries not too far away, maybe Mid March!

Tuesday February 05, 2008 --- Here we are, early Tuesday morning. It is time to start getting out of bed when the Rooster crows. Speaking of Rooster ..... a fellow down the road thought he would play a joke on us by throwing two of his gamey looking chickens in with ours (as if we wouldn't know). We pretty much figured out they did not wander up on their own and it did not take us long to guess 'who dunnit'. During the interrogation he quickly fessed up and assured me they were both hens (in case you did not know, it is very hard to distinguish the sex of a young chicken - you almost have to wait until they fill out, observe their behavior and listen for the familiar "cock a doodle do" ). Having a Rooster is not a big deal if you realize: he can not lay an egg, he can be noisy, you might be eating fertilized eggs (I am not afraid to admit I do not like the thought of eating fertilized eggs) and you can't sell fertile eggs. I have never seen a hen hatch her own chicks, so for now, maybe we will just keep that Rooster around and see what happens
    Down on the farm things seem to be going well. We have two Strawberry varieties (Sweet Charlie and Festival) that tend to produce berries a little before our main variety (Chandler). Last week we were forecast to go into the low 20's, their are not many blooms showing but there are a lot down in the crown on the early varieties about to come out, so we covered up that block with the Frost Covers. We have not taken them off yet because I thought it was going to get into the low 30's tonight. I probably should have pulled them off since it has been in the upper 70's the last few days - we'll see what happens because there is no turning back now.
    We are still shooting for ripe Strawberries by Mid to Late March ---- stay tuned.

Tuesday January 29, 2008 ---- Yipee Yi Yea, Yipee Yi Yo, here come them, big fat lusciously sweet juice drippin Strawberries. Well, not exactly .......... the plants have not even started blooming but weather like this is sure to get them going. The days are getting longer and the temperatures are creeping upward, it is a sure sign that we are about to turn the corner and head into Spring. Just as soon as I say that it will probably turn off cold next week, but for now I will remain in my prophetic mode and say "Yipee, Spring is coming". We have to watch out for an Indian Summer, two or three weeks of mild weather followed by a strong cold snap, which normally happens about this time of the year. The Strawberry plants are easy to be fooled, a little mild weather and boom - they are blooming up a storm. So now is the time we will get all the Frost Covers out and be ready to cover them up when the cold weather comes back.
The Blackberry plants are still deep in their winter sleep. It has been so dry here lately that we have been giving them a little to drink. I am not sure if the roots of the plant ever go completely dormant. We will want to tidy up the rows and pin up a few branches before long. It is a lot easier to work with them when they are without leaves.

Tuesday January 22, 2008 --- It seems we are going through a cold wet spell here. Everyone I see has asked "are the Strawberries covered" to which I answer "Nope". Once again, the Strawberry plant can handle temps into the low teens without much damage, the Strawberry bloom (which eventually turns into the berry) on the other hand is very tender. When the plants start blooming, hopefully soon, we will cover them up when threatened by a freeze. The Marble Falls farm is particularly susceptible because the berry fields are in a low spot by the creek where cold air tends to settle. Therefore, one of the items on the agenda soon will be getting the frost covers out and checking them
All in all we are very happy with the condition of the farm. Last year was a great year and we are hoping that we can string two good years in a row together, that would be awesome!

Monday January 14, 2008 ---- I went to the Lexington farm today and ........... am pleased to report the Strawberry plants are looking pretty good! I had worked the fence over late last year so I thought we had the deer situation under control. Unfortunately I found some deer damage today so off to the back fence I went. What do you think I found? Yes, I was mumbling under my breath the entire time I was fixing it! AARRGGGHHH! Although there is some deer damage, it is nothing like last year and I expect to make a good crop in Lexington this year. Today we fertilized those plants and removed the sprinklers in preparation for frost covers. I think we might go ahead and put the covers out in Lexington and just leave them on for a month or so.
The Strawberry plants here in Marble Falls are looking very good as well. I continue to be amazed at how the planting date affects plant growth and production. I don't understand this concept because you never know what kind of Fall you are going to have (warm, cold, wet etc..). For instance, we planted the plants in one block on a Thursday and the plants in the other block the following Wed., Thurs and Fri. It was a very warm weekend in between planting dates. The plants planted first are covered with runners that we are going to have to pull off, the later plants hardly have a runner on them. The object is to pick just the right date so the plants develop 4 or 5 crowns which will give you the optimum yield and size. Plant too early and ours go right into making runners, way too early and they will make too many crowns yielding small fruit. Plant too late and production is affected greatly. I wish I could say that we strategically pick the planting dates but the fact of the matter is that we put them in the ground whenever we can break loose from a busy pumpkin season. The dates we would like to get them planted and the actual planting dates very seldom match.
The vegetable beds have been made and we should begin planting Onions soon, not far behind will be the taters. As soon as the seed potatoes come in we will get them over to dad so he can cut them into pieces for us. He will cut all 500 pounds by himself ---- Thanks Dad!

Wednesday January 10, 2008 ------ This is what we wrote last year at this time:

"We have had a wonderful Holiday season and we hope you have had the same. Not too much is happening on the farm right now. We have almost finished cleaning up after the past Fall pumpkin season. The goats are eating the last of the leftover pumpkins now. A few more things need to be put away and the farm will be ready for the upcoming Strawberry season. The Strawberry plants are in pretty good shape right now. They are not growing much on the top but you can be sure that they are establishing a root system. It would be nice for us to get a week or two of cold weather right now. We have had a few cold spells so far this winter but nothing sustained. If I could order up the weather I would ask for a couple of days of freezing weather to kill some bugs and fulfill a dormancy period in the plants. I know one thing for sure, we will live with what we get."

That pretty much sums up where we stand this year as well. Today we hope to make some Vegetable beds in preparation for Potatoes and Onions. We will wait until March to plant the Tomatoes and other misc. vegetables but it will be nice to already have the beds built. For us this is a pleasant time of the year -- we have plenty to do but we don't have any pressing deadlines looming. We always get lulled into slowing down and then the weather will break in about mid February and we will catch ourselves saying "why didn't I already have this done?!" Oh well ...... since this has gone on for several years I certainly would not want to break the cycle now. I suppose I will mosey on out the door, maybe it has warmed up enough for me to get outside. The sun is brightly shining today -- good, I need to work on my tan.

For Fresh News from previous years, just click the link below:

Somewhere along the way we lost Fresh News 2000. I have some old pc's in the barn, maybe I can find it there.