strawberry12.gif (1415 bytes) Fresh News 2013, straight from the strawberry patch.

--- Sweet Berry Farm is on Facebook. It is a lot easier to load photos to Facebook so be sure to take a peek ----Sweet Berry Farm Facebook page

Wednesday November 27 --- We went on a small vacation last week, when we left I was in short sleeves only to return to WINTER. The farm is wet and cold at the moment. It is not real pleasant to work in but it is necessary weather to kick the plants into a dormancy period. Don't worry, the plants will be OK through this all.
We needed this to slow the Strawberry plants down as they look very healthy and were even starting to push some blooms. The plants were put in the ground about two weeks early this year which is good and not so good. It is good to give them a little more time to get established before the cold of winter slows their growth but it is not so good as well because the more established plants put out a lot of 'runners' that need to be pulled off. Overall we are very happy with the way they look and expectation/anticipation for next years crop is high.

We want to wish everyone a HAPPY THANKSGIVING.

Sunday morning November 3 --- Yesterday was an awesome day and it looks like today (Sunday) is going to be a duplicate! Today will be the last Sunday to be open this year, the farm will close for the season next Friday. The weather looks great, the farm looks great, the flowers look great, the Maze is still holding up although a little battered, everything is just great! Remember: open 1 to 5 on Sunday.

Saturday morning November 2 ---- Looks like the weatherman saved the best for last. Sunshine and cooler weather is predicted for this (our last of the year) weekend. Historically, this weekend is not near as big as previous so we are expecting a nice leisurely Fall Fun day. No Horse Rides today but everything else will be going great guns, Hope to see you soon!!

Sunday morning October 27 ---- Sunday morning - no rain here last night so everything is good to go for today. Remember we open at 1 on Sundays (the gates might open a little early to get a jump start on the day). I expect a pretty big day today, come around noon thirty if you can. The flowers were picked pretty hard yesterday, not sure if there will be enough for all day, it will be close. Jerry the piano man will be playing over by the hayride, he loves requests. Hope to see you soon.

Saturday morning October 26 - The Farm looks great, looking for a beautiful weekend. There is a chance of rain late afternoon, another reason to come early. A little shower would 'freshen' up the place. Tonight has a better chance of rain, .5 inch or less would be great and tomorrow would go off just fine. Hope to see you soon!

Saturday morning October 19th ---- Today is going to be Falltastic here on the farm, you might even need a jacket! No rain fell here last night so the grounds should be in good shape for todays revelers. I would still wear old shoes, it might be a little slippery on the far end of the Zinnia patch and in the Sunflowers as well. A stiff North wind is predicted so any wet spots should be dried out by tomorrow. We brought in some more Jack O Lanterns last night, are we crazy? maybe but we sure do like the look of piles and piles and piles of pumpkins. Hope to see you soon!

Wednesday evening October 16th ---- Sorry about the lack of recent updates --- at our farm: reliable and internet service do not go together.
    It is wet on the farm right now. We are open rain or shine but tomorrow (17th) the Texas Maze will be closed for repairs and the Sweet Berry Express Field might be too wet to drive in. Other than those two events, everything else will be going strong. The grounds are squishy but totally passable as most of the areas are grass covered. As soon as I say there is no mud little Johnny would find a puddle so instead I will say there are very few muddy spots. The farm will dry quickly and by Friday we should have everything running.
  The rain has been bad for business but I am sure the newly planted Strawberry plants are loving it. I can't believe we have the job of planting 92,000 plants done --- it feels sooo good to have beaten this rain. The Strawberry fields are pretty wet now and no telling how long it would have taken us to get back in if we had not already finished.

Saturday morning 8:45am --- No rain here or on the radar yet. The farm looks good, even have some Harvesters of Fall Fun here. Suggestion: take a look at the Horse Ride line before purchasing a ticket -- if we have a back up it will be there. The Firemen are here too, this is your chance to let little Johnny sit in a big red Firetruck

Saturday morning October 12 ---- 7am and no rain here or on the radar yet. The most recent prediction is a dry morning and wet afternoon, another good reason to come early. The farm will be open today, rain or shine. All of the events seem to be running very well, it is a good time to be on the farm. We now have all the pumpkins we will get for the season. I hope we get some nice weather occasionally this month or the goats are going to have some fine eating come November.
We are sooooo happy to have the 92000 Strawberry plants in the ground. This is early for us to have this job done by mid October, sometimes we don't finish until the end of the month. I have a feeling in my bones that we are going to have a rainy second half of the month that would have prevented us from getting into the field, it is good to be able to check planting off of the list.

Wednesday October 2nd --- A little rainy but otherwise a great start to the Fall season. It always takes us a few days to knock the rust off, I think we are now ready for a great rest of the month. The Texas Maze came through last weeks storm pretty well, we had some damage control.  It is now ready and waiting for pedestrians.
     The Strawberry plants are set to come in today. We might even try to get some planted in the field tomorrow ----- key word is 'try', we'll see how that goes.

Sunday morning 11:34am --- Today looks squishy. The Farm will be wide open today. The ground is squishy, only a few real muddy spots, but old shoes/boots are recommended as your feet are sure to find soft and wet spots. Picking Sunflowers will be the only event closed for today. Remember: now open all the way through October
I think we had 2 plus inches last night. For that much rain the farm looks pretty passable. This time of the year we just can't enjoy the rain because we are too busy wondering what damage it is causing. The Texas Maze has some damage in the way of grass laying over. Some of that grass will straighten up with some sunshine, the canes still laying over toward the paths we will cut off with a hedger. I just knew I would wake up this morning to see it with more damage than this so I am tickled it is mostly ok. The pathways will be slippery today but I did not find any mud (I am sure little Johnny will though).

Saturday afternoon 1:57 ----- a little shower just popped up and after looking at the radar it looks like the rest of the afternoon might be hit or miss showers. If you haven't already left your house, I would think twice about coming out today. The farm is not muddy but it is not as fun in the rain. We will be open all the way through October (closed Wednesdays) so you still have plenty of time to Harvest some Fall Fun.

Saturday morning 11am ----- No rain yet, clear skies = very nice weather.

Saturday morning 7:30am ---- So far, So good!!! No rain here ---- yet. None on the radar around us or heading our way ---- yet. Rain is predicted later this afternoon, lets hope it holds off until then. We did get a shower last night that really just freshened up the place, we don't have to worry about dust today. The Texas Maze is going to be very hard here at first --- I like it! Are you up for a challenge? come take a shot at the Maze and see how you do.

Friday night Sept. 27 ---- The Farm is opening up tomorrow regardless of the weather. It does look like the chances of rain are pretty high, especially in the afternoon and Sunday. Tomorrow we will try to post here often concerning field conditions. Everything looks marvelous, can't wait for the weather to cooperate so you all can come out and enjoy it with us.

Wednesday Sept 25 ---- Opening this Saturday thru October for the Harvest of Fall Fun! When my wife and I had our babies I thought they were the prettiest things ever ........ to be honest they looked like an alien at first, but still the prettiest alien you ever did see. Maybe it is not all I think of it, but our Farm is the prettiest, most amazing place ever especially in the ambiance of a setting sun. Every day I look at it with awestruck eyes and thank God for giving us this opportunity. Now we want to share it with you. The 22,000 flowers are blooming up a storm, at least 200 of the Sunflowers are starting to bloom, the Texas Maze is super nice (and hard), the pumpkins are in great shape, Granny has done an awesome job on Scarecrow Island, even the goats seem happy that we are opening.

Monday Sept. 16 ---- The countdown is on! The Harvest of Fall Fun is only two weeks away (aaaaahhhhh!). Actually the farm is in great shape and we don't feel the tremendous amount of pressure as other years, could we be learning to do things early instead of the last minute? The gourd arbors did not grow out well this year which is kind of a bummer. Gourds are in the same family as pumpkins which do not like humid hot weather. We had some of that through the summer creating a great environment for Powdery Mildew to grow. I never got around to spraying them sooooo they did not grow out well. Other than the gourds, everything is looking good. Can't wait to see everybody again - only two weeks to opening.

Sunday night September 8 ----- Busy, Busy, Busy! Things are shaping up for the upcoming Harvest of Fall Fun. The Strawberry beds have been made (all 9 miles worth), the Texas maze is growing well, the Zinnias have all been planted and even putting out a few blooms already, goats are haivng babies for show, Scarecrow Island is coming together (Hayride), and more, more, more. The only thing not doing so well are the gourd arbors which kind of stinks, it is hard to get every single thing to work every year.

Monday August 26 ---- I suppose I need to get back in the habit of updating the Fresh News, now that we are getting closer to opening for the Fall I will do better.
   This has been a busy summer. We have been working harder in an attempt to keep up with things instead of letting them go and trying to get it all done at the last minute.
   'Texas' Maze - as you can see in past updates we planted seed July 20th, it germinated wonderfully. The stand was awesome and it was growing so well until ----- worms! An Army of worms hit it and did their share of damage before we got them under control. It looked bad for a moment but now the grass is growing out of it and trying to reach the moon. It has been 37 days since planting, how tall do you think it is???????     If you guessed five to six feet you would be right. The pathways have been cut and cities chosen. It might not be quite as tall as in years past but so far it is looking pretty good. The only thing we have to worry about now is strong winds coupled with rain that will push it over. Keep your fingers crossed.
   We also made Zinnia beds and have planted roughly 22,000 plants. So far so good, they should be blooming well by opening the last weekend in September. I am always amazed at the beauty of the flower patch.
   New for this Fall - maybe - Sunflowers. A Sunflower patch has been made, 7500 seeds planted the majority of which have germinated. We have tried Sunflowers in the past and they bloomed at all the wrong times. So it is still iffy if we will have some available for picking.
The Blackberries have been pruned and trained. Strawberry bed making will be the next big project.

Monday July 22 --- Rain? in July? Yes! Over three inches last week and another inch last night. All we can say is WOW! It is not often that I can't do tractor work in July because the ground is too wet.
'Texas' Maze Saga - ran the sprinklers heavy back in early July in an attempt to germinate as many seeds as possible. Sprayed the entire field with Roundup around the 12th to kill the vegetation popping up. Then the rain set in on the 15th, threw out some fertilizer as soon as we could get on the field, ran the tiller across the field on the 20th (more seeds had germinated, areas I missed with Roundup where thick with plantlets), tried to drag the harrow but was not getting the smoothing effect I was looking for so I just drilled the seed. Intended to run the cultipacker and drag over the field but ran out of daylight. Didn't really want to do anything after church yesterday so I was going to put it off until today, pop up shower last night so I am not sure if it will get dragged or not. I think we will be very pleased with some of the weed control. A rain right after planting the seed is about as good as we could hope for.
The Blackberry pruning is sure dragging out. We are down to the last row, it is time to bear down and get this job done ..... starting tomorrow.

Friday July 5 ----- Happy 4th of July weekend everyone! Here we are in the dog days of summer again. It sure would be nice to get an inch or so of rain. Finally -- the Texas Maze has been cut and baled. We hauled the Hay bales out of the field yesterday and have some sprinklers running today.
The Strawberry fields have all been cultivated now. Pruning Blackberries is the name of the game now, along with watering and general upkeep.

Tuesday morn June 18 ---- We had a surprise little rain shower this morning. I did not even now we had a chance for rain. The Good: that moisture is going to go a LONG way in keeping the grass in the pasture growing = happy goats. The Not as Good: this throws a little wrench in the plans to get the Texas Maze cut down for hay. We have been pulling the sprinklers out of the Maze with the hopes of cutting it tomorrow. It needs to be cut as soon as possible so I can start reworking it. Because of the cool Spring? it did not grow off as quickly as normal so we did not even attempt to have a Spring version ready for pedestrians. Which was OK with me because we have been getting an increasing amount of noxious weeds growing. So the plan was to cut it early, before the weeds seeded out, and completely cultivate it in an attempt to kill out the weeds (in prior years we just cut the Maze in July and let it regrow from the stalks, therefore preventing us from renovating the field). But, as you know, sometimes the best laid plans don't work out. We depend on someone else to cut and bale for us and he has not been able to get to us as of yet which is about two weeks later than I had hoped. Oh well, we should have lots of Hay out of the field and it just means I get to spend more time on the tractor working it back into shape.
We have also been removing the Strawberry plastic, only doing a few rows every day. So far, six miles of plastic have been pulled up and only two to go. After the plastic is removed we will cultivate those fields and get ready to rebuild the beds this September. We are going to expand the Strawberry patch a little bit, instead of 80,000 plants we are going to bump up to 92,000 plants for the upcoming season. Are we crazy? maybe so, but if it doesn't turn out right I will just blame it on my wife. As she says, "everything that works is your (mine) idea and everything that doesn't work is my idea". You know, I think she is starting to catch on.

Tuesday evening June 11 --- The home page says we are closed, Facebook says we are closed, the sign at the gate says we are closed BUT ..... for you loyal folks that continue to read the 'Fresh News' ---- we are going to let you have one last shot at Blackberries. Thursday morning June 13 we are going to have the gates open for anyone wishing to do some picking. The Blackberry supply will be pretty good at first, there will be Yellow Crookneck Squash, Zucchini, Tomatoes and Eggplant as well. Plenty of all these things at first, just depends on how many folks come out as to how long they last. We will open at 8:30am and close the gates at noon. Since most people wont read this it might be some pleasant picking. I do think this will be the last offering of the Spring season so I hope you can make it out.

Monday evening June 10 --- And the heat is on! Today we moved the Horses and Donkeys to greener pastures - grassier pastures that is, fenced off some areas so the goats wouldn't eat our newly planted gourds, doctored a few goats, and pulled up ten rows of Strawberry plastic (only 72 more to go).

Friday evening June 7 ---- I know, I know - I said we were closing yesterday ....... and we did ....... but ..... since we knew not everyone would get the memo we had the gates open today and will do so again tomorrow morning. There will actually be some very good Blackberry picking in the morning. We have now dug all the potatoes and working on Onions. The Strawberries are just about played out.

Even though we are "closed" we will be open Saturday morning June 8 for some very good Blackberry picking. We picked 50 pounds for our freezer today and the customers that came out probably got another 75. I guess there will be close to that tomorrow as well. Next week ????? we still need about 200 pounds for Ice Cream and Jelly, if the berries hold out you might see a post here saying "come and get them".

I am absolutely sure we will be closed this Sunday.

Monday evening June 3 --- Winding down we are. Thursday is set to be the last 'open' day of the Spring 2013.
     The Strawberries are playing out fast. Some folks picked a few today but not without a hunt. We do not see any green ones coming and we are starting to remove some of the plants/plastic.
     Blackberries are still holding on. Thursday morning will be good picking. The crop is winding down BUT if we allow any more Blackberry picking - we will only announce it here.
     Onions and Potatoes are on their last leg as well. After Thursday we will dig any remaining ones and donate them to a local food bank.

Sunday morning June 2 ---- Where'd it go? Seems like May came and went in a hurry. The farm had a pleasant little surprise rain shower last night. I don't see any standing water and don't think it will do anything but enhance todays picking. We will have Blackberries at opening and still have Strawberries, Onions and Potatoes as well. Even though we have a good amount to pick today, all of the crops are well past their prime. I do expect to be open most of the upcoming week --- I do not expect the Farm to be open next weekend.

Wednesday evening May 29 --- What a beautiful day!! The farm was closed today but that didn't keep us from enjoying a very pleasant weather pattern, we even had a very brief shower. I hope you were able to enjoy it as well.

Tomorrows picking is going to be pretty good. We will have Blackberries early. Probably no more than 150 pounds of ripe ones, come early to make sure you get plenty. It is funny, one customer might come out of the Blackberry patch and say "there aren't any Blackberries out there" when the next one will go right behind them and find a full box. I tell you, you have to look low and get in there amongst the canes to get the good ones. I don't think the Blackberry harvest is going to last much longer, the next few days will be your last best chance. We have been having berries every morning to pick --- early morning that is.

Strawberries - pretty good supply. Most everyone has found as many berries as they were looking for, it might take a little longer though to fill up your box. The berries are now small, still sweet but small. The plants are beginning to 'runner' and I don't see many nice green ones coming. We think their season is coming to a close as well.

Potatoes and Onions: all the red onions have now been pulled, still a decent supply of white and yellow 1015 ones left. Still have Potatoes to dig as well.

The farm looks great right now. The grass is green, most of the water puddles have dried up and the temperatures have not been unbareably hot. This Thursday through next Tuesday will be your last best chance to enjoy the 2013 Spring season. Since we have no Peaches this year to extend our season, we will probably close down for the summer sometime late next week. The crops are just about played out, we will glean the fields after closing for any remaining produce to put in our freezers for Ice Cream, Popsicles and Jam.

Sunday evening May 26 ----- The farm will be open Memorial Monday. We do have Strawberries to pick, they are scattered so you have to stick to the picking a llittle longer to fill up your box. Still lots of Potatoes, the amount of Onions to pull is getting a slimmer. Some very nice Blackberries were picked even at the end of the day today. If you are dillegent you can find Blackberries even after others have been picking right in front of you. The key is to look LOW and inside the canes.

The Berry Bouncers and Barrel Train will be running tomorrow as well.

The end of the season looks like it is in sight. We will stay open as long as the fruit lasts but I don't think that will be long.

Saturday morning 7:30am --- Yesterdays rain was pretty light --- it has just started raining again but this time with gusto. We will have the farm open but at this point it will be very muddy for the rest of this day. At this point, I would not advise coming to the farm today. I will try to put up another post around mid day concerning tomorrow's conditions.

Friday evening May 24 ---- When I turned in last night we had a ten percent chance of rain today, imagine my surprise and delight when the skies opened up about noon. The rain has stopped now, I sure did hate to see it go. I'm not sure how much fell, I would guess an inch or so.

Picking this weekend: We are now picking Blackberries, to ensure your Blackberry picking success - come as early as possible to 'opening'. We will not have enough ripe Blackberries to last all day. Still picking Strawberries, Onions and Potatoes as well. Plenty of Taters and Onions, lots of Strawberries just pretty scattered across the field.

Field conditions for this weekend: it will be slippery and perhaps muddy in the Strawberry aisles, Potato area and possibly the Onion area. The Blackberries have grass between the rows and should be fine as well as the rest of the farm. I would expect the conditions to get much better by Sunday afternoon. Wear old shoes, and perhaps some to change into as we do not have a place to clean shoes up.

The Berry Bounce and Barrel Train will be running, and the animals are looking for attention.

Thursday evening May 16 ---- Have you ever had one of those 'what was I thinking?!" moments? There are Thornless and Thorny types of Blackberries, ours are very thorny. As I was walking through the Blackberry patch I noticed a Stink Bug on a berry. Somewhere in my brain I came up with the brilliant idea to 'thump' that stink bug. I am sure for a micro second I felt joy when the tip of my finger made contact with the Stink Bug, but soon after I felt the intense pain of the thorn just behind the berry entering the soft and delicate flesh just under my fingernail. Ughhh!

Speaking of Blackberries: we started picking today. If you want Blackberries, you really need to be at the farm at opening time. And .... look low, to find the best berries you must squat and look up into the vines. The Berries are down low, everyone else will pick standing straight up and miss those down low.

We will have Strawberries this weekend. Lots of Potatoes and Onions as well. The Berry Bounce and Barrel train will be running as well.

Monday morning May 13 --- Happy day after Mothers Day. This past weekend was a good one for us. Finally we had some Strawberries for folks to pick and it felt so good to see full boxes of berries coming out of the fields. By yesterday afternoon the picking was getting scarce again. It will take a few days for more berries to ripen so I would hold off on coming to the farm until late week. It appears we might have Strawberries for at least two more weeks. The cooler weather over the last few weeks has definately helped extend our season but I can't see them going into June. We are seeing some runners starting to pop out, usually this means the end of fruit production is coming.

Blackberries ---- I am aftraid I am trying to make them ripen faster than they are going to. I wanted to start picking this Thursday (and we still might) but the amount of berries available will be very small. If you are after a good many Blackberries to pick, aim for 8:30 am on Thursday the 23rd.

Lots of Potatoes and Onions are available. Folks have been having a lot of fun harvesting them.

Friday morning May 10 ------ Well, a little rain last night and all the sudden everyone is in a really good mood! Here at 9am the rain has pushed through and the sun has come out. The middles between the Strawberry rows are a little wet and slippery. If we don't get more rain we will be dried out by the afternoon.

There is plenty of Strawberries to pick! Here we are 5 weeks after the great hail storm and all those blooms that pushed out have turned into ripe berries. Today, Tomorrow and Sunday should be good picking.

Plenty of Potatoes and Onions as well.

Sorry, Blackberries are NOT ready yet. Looking for them to start ripening late next week.

Wednesday evening May 8th ---- School kids seem to be falling from the sky! The Strawberries are holding up well and even getting ahead of the kids. Production is picking up, and about time! The plants are ripening around 250 pounds a day. The Blackberries will not be ready by this weekend, looks like late next week will be the start of Blackberry picking. The Potatoes and Onions are going strong.

Monday evening May 6th --- Well what do you know? While not good yet, the Strawberry picking this past weekend was better than it has been for several weeks. We are now starting to pick berries from the blooms that popped out right after the hail storm. There is a ton of kids coming out this week because of rescheduled field trips so you might want to hold off your visit till Saturday. I think you will find plenty of berries to choose from if you can get to the farm before 10am on Saturday. There will still be berries most of the day but you just have to look harder for them as the day goes by. About 200 to 300 pounds are ripening each day now.
Now digging Potatoes and pulling Onions! We have plenty of these two for everyone.

Thursday May 2nd ---- Maybe it is because I haven't had one in awhile, maybe because of the rare cold front that came in last night and has chilled them down to what feels like freezing temperatures, maybe the little rain from last night, maybe who knows but I tasted a strawberry this morning that was the sweetest and best tasting one that I have had in a long time. It was so good that I started eating on the end and before I knew it I was eating the green cap as well. Some berries always taste better than others, I just happened to pick the perfect one. Shhh, don't tell everyone --- there are a few more ripe berries to pick. Right now it is 50 degrees with 30 mph+ winds and we have had a total of 3 sets of customers come out. You have heard 'the early bird gets the worm' well today 'the ones who braved the wind, rain and cold got the Strawberries'.

Careful: I am not saying we are back into the Strawberries but we do have more to pick now than we have had in the last two weeks. Picking will still be scattered and it will still be a hunt but at least Friday we have a chance to fill up your boxes. IF tomorrows weather runs everyone off, then Saturday morning might have some berries as well.

Friday evening April 26 --- wait another week or so before coming out. Very Few ripe berries for the picking tomorrow BUT have faith, there are some green ones coming! I have never been through a hail storm that has devastated the plants like the one we just went through so I did not know how they would respond. So lets walk through what they have done up to now: April 2nd, the plants are loaded with fruit and poised for the peak of the season, wiped out in the afternoon by tangerine size hail. Much of the fruit was knocked off and the leaves shredded. The rest of that week the plants are in shock and nothing happens. Starting about April 8 the plants begin to put out new leaves and struggle with a few blooms. We begin picking some of the green fruit that is now ripening, most of which is damaged. The week stays cool. Week 3 - picking a good amount of berries that were small and green when the storm hit, now ripening. The temps remain cool and the plants are putting out quite a few blooms. Week 4 (this week) - hardly anything ripening, this is when the blooms that were on the plant when the storm hit would be ripening. Again, highs in the low 80s or below, still blooming some and I think these blooms are setting. Late next week - the blooms from week one are starting to mature, the week after next (May 6+) - much more fruit is ripening as a result of all those blooms from week two. SO, I think there is hope that we will get back into some Strawberries again this year!
I guess it is poetic justice? I have been relocating racoons lately because I don't want to share the few Strawberries we have. Yesterday I went to turn on a water valve and what do you think I found on the top of the valve cover? Yep, a big ole pile of coon poop. That's alright mister coon, your time is coming!
It looks to me like mid May is going to be the time to plan your trip to the farm. There might be a week or two maybe even three, when we are picking Strawberries, Blackberries, digging Potatoes and pulling Onions.
We for sure will not be picking Peaches, they are just not there. A freeze on March 26 and the hail storm have taken care of that crop. Out of 650 trees I have found a handfull of baby peaches. Yea, after that freeze I said in a smug kind of way "oh well, thats why we grow Strawberries so we can protect them" to my peach growing friends, then the Strawberries get wiped out ---- why can't I learn to keep my mouth shut?!

Monday morning April 22 --- Last Friday we were worried about cold weather ---- it was close but most everything escaped damage. The Figs were burned just a little on the newest leaves, maybe a Strawberry bloom or two got nicked but overall it looks like we made it through.

This weeks Strawberry supply looks very slim to none. We think it will be mid May before we get back into Strawberries along with Blackberries, Onions and Potatoes. IF we have a very slow week we might have some berries for Saturday.

The Potatoes and Onions are a little behind schedule. It looks like it took them about two weeks to recover from the hail storm and that is about how far they are behind.

The 'Texas Maze' has germinated and is up about one inch. grow baby grow!

Friday evenining April 19 ---- Is it going to frost/freeze tonight? I hope not because I did not take any precautions. We could have put out the frost covers but I just could not get motivated to do it. All the covers are tucked away and we were covered up with school kids all morning. I am not sure which one has more hot air (actually I do know) but maybe my wife or I should go out early tomorrow morning and warm up the plants. If the wind will stay up we won't get a frost, the problem is that it normally lays right at sun up and the temperature just plummets.

Picking tomorrow --- some berries just not a lot. The farm looks great right now, come out for a enjoyable experience and a few berries.

Thursday April 18 --- Geesh! It is COLD outside! Only a few drips (and I am not talking about my wife and I) here at the farm, just enough to settle the dust. What we didn't get in rainfall is being made up by the wind and cold. We do have some Strawberries to pick, still not a whole lot though. The berries are small now, seems that the plants require leaves to size up the fruit. They are putting on new growth and maybe we will get another little splash of berries in May.

Monday April 15 ---- Strawberries --- well, the plants are tough little buggers. New growth is coming on and a decent number of blooms are popping out. If we can just keep the temperatures down those blooms might set and turn into fruit in May. For now, we are still picking some Strawberries every day, just not a whole lot and they require some effort to find them. I would not shy away from coming to the farm if you are looking for a couple of pounds and a fun outing. Now is not a good time if you are looking for lots of berries.

Looks like the Potato's and Onion's are trying to make a come back as well. We expected the potatoes to come back but are pleasantly surprised to see the onions put on so much growth. Hopefully we will be pulling/digging these crops in the first part of May.

The Blackberries are coming on too! We are not going to have a huge crop but at least we have a decent crop coming. Maybe by the 15th of May we will be picking some.

I see some grass emerging in the Texas maze..... we will be giving the Maze a little extra attention this year as we attempt to have it ready for pedestrians by the first of June.

Thursday April 11 --- A week without internet has been TOUGH. The Strawberry plants are starting to put on new growth now. Folks picked some very nice berries today but they had to look pretty hard for them. I think we will have one or two hundred pounds of berries for the weekends picking.

The taters and onions look like they are going to make a comeback as well - look for them in May along with some Blackberries! I see some live open blossoms, lets hope they set!

We now have the Texas Maze planted - grow baby grow!

Friday April 5 ----- A whopping 15.8 pounds of Strawberries were picked today by a few adventurers. Unfortunately, the berry supply does not look much better than it did a day or so ago. Sure, some folks are going to be able to find a few. The weather is beautiful, the farm looks nice and green, the Ice Cream and Popsicles are still very good, the Berry Bouncers and Barrel Train are lots of fun, the animals are still hungry and looking for attention -- come on out for an delightful excursion but not to take home Strawberries.

The Strawberry Recovery ---- still up in the air, depends on the weather. The plants will put on new growth and new blooms. I do expect to pick Strawberries again in the first part of May, as well as digging potatoes. The other crops will need a little more time before we can tell what to expect out of them.

Our Internet has been down and the service man cannot get here till next Friday. Sorry if you have sent and email and not gotten a response. If you see someone roaming the neighborhoods looking for a wireless connection to jump on --- it is probably me. The tractor I'm driving will give me away.

Since we can't get on the internet - the ATM machine does not work. Bring cash or checks if you do decide to come out.

At least we did get some MUCH needed rain! Almost 4 inches. I wonder what a 'seemed like' foot of hail equates to in inches of water? I can't wait to get the Texas Maze plowed and planted.

Wednesday April 3 --- We had a nasty little hail storm come through yesterday that pretty much wiped out the Strawberries, Tomatoes, Potatoes and Onions. Don't make any plans to come to the farm until we can get a true picture of the farm, which is going to take a day or two after this rain stops and the sun comes out. A late season freeze on March 25 took care of a large portion of the Blackberry and Peach crop as well. Farmers (me included) are notorious for painting a bleaker picture than it actually is so don't give up hope on this season just yet.

Monday morning April 1 --- The Strawberries are recovering nicely after a big Easter weekend. I expect plenty of ripe berries all this week and probably next week as well. A little rain fell yesterday, just enough to settle the dust and clean the berries. Strawberry production is going to start to pick up now, these first three weeks of April will be the height of the season and then we will see production fall off.

Good Friday evening ---- A really big crowd today picked a really big amount of Strawberries. The picking was getting pretty tough by mid afternoon. The good thing is a warm night will ripen up quite a few berries for tomorrow mornings picking. If coming Saturday, the earlier the better. Face painters, barrel train and berry bounce will be running Saturday. No Face Painting on Sunday.

Thursday evening ---- Wowee! A lot of amazing berries were picked today. There will be lots of ripe berries tomorrow morning, just depends on the crowd as to how long they last. Good Friday has been a big day in the past so the earlier you get to the farm the better. The Pumpkin Grill will be open serving food and we will have Facepainters painting, along with the Berry Bounce and Barrel Train.

** There are two spots that will have the most amount of ripe berries tomorrow ---- all the way to the far end of the last 20 rows on your right. And in the field to your left - the middle to far end of the rows straight across from the open air barn (toward the Horses). **

Wednesday evening March 27 --- The Frost covers were pulled off the plants today. There are a lot of ripe Strawberries for picking tomorrow. I expect to have plenty of berries to get through tomorrow and into Friday. In the past, Good Friday has been a big day, we will have berries to start out the day so if coming Friday - the earlier the better picking.

Tuesday morning -- Good thing the plants are covered up because it is freezing here now. This was a nasty little late season freeze and the reason we do not grow Peaches as a primary crop. I do not think the temps were low enough in this event to wipe out the Peach crop but a degree or two lower and they would have definitely been hurt. Peach trees are very hard to protect from late freezes and in this area I think you could expect to lose at least one crop in five. I used to think Blackberries were dependable until we lost a few crops. So for now, Strawberries are number one around here.

Sunday evening March 24 --- Don't come to the farm tomorrow (Monday). We covered up all the Strawberry plants today because of freezing weather in the forecast for tonight and Monday night. I am only going to uncover a small portion of the plants tomorrow (Monday) for picking and there will not be enough ripe berries on those plants. It takes too long to cover and uncover for us to do more than a small portion of the plants. Not to worry though, Thursday will be great picking.

Saturday evening March 23 ---- The lawnmowers raised 3700.00 today, and 3700.00 of it went to the American Cancer Society. "THANK YOU' to all the folks that came out to enjoy the races, you had a big part in helping raise those funds. We hope you will come back and watch them again next year.

A lot of Strawberries were picked today. They were getting pretty well picked over by late in the day but don't worry there will be bunches to pick tomorrow. If coming tomorrow (Sunday), the closer you can come to opening at 1pm the better. Not just because you will have better picking but also because it looks like we are going to have to cover everything up for a potential freeze Sunday night. We will start around 2pm so by 5pm more than half the fields will be covered up.

Monday the 25th will probably NOT be a good day to come out because the fields will be covered with frost covers and I am not going to want to uncover too many plants since we will have to cover them right back up for another potential freeze Monday night.

Thursday evening March 21 ---- We love it when we can greet folks with a box and say "there's plenty of ripe Strawberries waiting for ya". The fields have recovered from last weeks over picking. We now have plenty of ripe berries for everyone to enjoy. It looks like the picking is going to be good all the way to Easter. I can not envision being picked out any day this week and even if we were picked close one day, several hundred pounds would be ripe by the next. 'Over there' is the best place to pick, the farther away from the Welcome barn you get, the better the picking. Whatever you do, do NOT start picking on the closest end of the first you come to - a hundred people have already done that. Until it gets picked out, I would head down the green belt, pick in the back patch, go 5 rows past the barn on your right, don't look down until you get almost to the Horse Pen - that area is covered in Big Beautiful Berries.

The Peach trees are starting to bloom now. We should have some nice peaches to offer everyone if they don't get bit by a late freeze. Do you think we have any more freezing weather in store? It looks like Sunday night is going to get into the 30s here. The Mesquite trees are starting to put out but the Pecans are still pretty tight.

Lawnmower Races this Saturday 11am to 3ish, they will be fun!

Monday evening, March 18 --- As promised, we are now picking nice ripe Strawberries. Always go to the FAR side of the farm to pick first - the berries are the biggest and ripest over there. We expect the picking to be good all week (closed Wed) especially 'over there'.

The Lawnmower Races are this Saturday!!!!!! Come see the racers Mow Down Cancer. 11am to 3ish, $5 per person, ALL proceeds go to the American Cancer Society.

Sunday night --- The Strawberries are back. I believe we will turn the corner soon and the ripe berries will outpace the pickers. Warm nights like tonightwill ripen up hundreds of pounds. There were still a few ripe berries at the end of the day so tomorrow should be that much better. We think the picking will be good throughout the week.

Saturday evening March 16 --- Unlike any other day this past week, there was a little bit of color out in the field at the end of the day today. In this warm weather berries will ripen overnight and with a few extra hours tomorrow before opening (Sundays 1 to 5) we might actually have a few ripe berries to pick tomorrow.

Friday evening ----- I am afraid that after another big day, tomorrows ripe berry supply will be very limited. The Bouncers and Barrel train are fun, the goats are hungry and we have plenty of space for the kids to run but just not many ripe berries.

Thursday evening March 14 ---- It was another big day today. Unfortunately that means there won't be ripe berries tomorrow (Friday) either. Everything is open and folks seem to be having a good time but just not getting berries to go home with. Please remember: Strawberries ripen very little after being picked. Do not pick them unless they are 97% red, try for very little green color on the berry.
We did get a few Tomatos planted today, Bell Peppers and Eggplants yesterday. The Potato plants are starting to come up. The farm looks pretty good other that the absence of ripe berries.

Wednesday evening March 13 ---Tuesdays update still holds true: Option 1: come out, enjoy the fabulous weather, animals, Berry Bounce, Barrel Train, Popsicles and fresh made Ice Cream while NOT expecting to get ripe Strawberries or Option 2: it is still way early in the season, wait till next week or the next few weeks and come out when the farm is loaded with berries. The Strawberries are just now starting to produce, we should have berries all the way through mid May with peak production during the first week or two of April.

I just finished walking through the Strawberry fields without finding a single ripe berry. There will be a precious few that ripen overnight but not near enough. Do not come to the farm tomorrow after Strawberries. We have 80,000 Strawberry plants loaded with only green berries.

What about the rest of the week? I do not think things are going to get better. It is just too hard to resist picking that almost ripe berry. It will be next week before the berries get ahead of the pickers.

Tuesday March 12 ---- 3pm -- it is a gorgeous sunshiny day ....... and ....... the city of Austin decided to come to the farm today. The ripe berries are picked out. The farm is closed Wednesday and normally Thursday morning is a great time to come --- but the fields are being picked so clean today that I don't know what to suggest. So I think I we have two options now: Option 1: come out, enjoy the fabulous weather, animals, Berry Bounce, Barrel Train, Popsicles and fresh made Ice Cream while NOT expecting to get very many ripe berries or Option 2: it is still way early in the season, wait till next week or the next few weeks and come out when the farm is loaded with berries. The Strawberries are just now starting to produce, we should have berries all the way through mid May with peak production during the first week or two of April. Believe me, I wish I could go out there and paint every berry red. My wife and I are so sorry if you came out and were not able to find what you were looking for (I am beginning to wonder just what affect her singing is doing on the plants).

Monday Morning March 11 ----- Do Not come to the farm today. We covered the plants yesterday and it is a good thing because we have a pretty heavy frost this morning. Tuesday late morning and afternoon will be good picking. We will start taking the covers off on Tuesday as soon as the dew dries (about 9:30 or 10). It will take several hours to get them off so it doesnt matter when you come because you can just pick on the most recently uncovered rows. open 8:30 to 5:30 tuesday, closed wed, same hours thurs, fri, sat. I expect most of the rows will be dried out by tomorrow but there will still be a few muddy spots for little Johnny to jump in when you are not watching.

Sunday Night March 10 ---- Do Not come to the farm tomorrow (Monday), a front has blown in and we have covered the Strawberry plants to protect from a potential freeze. The forecast for Monday night has another potential freeze in store so we will leave the covers out tomorrow. We left a very small piece uncovered for those who must come out but it is in a very wet area. Tuesday late morning and afternoon will be the next best time to picking time. We will have plenty of Ice Cream, the Berry Bounce and Train will be operating and the animals will be out but don't expect to get Strawberries tomorrow.

Sunday March 10 ----- Whoaa, don't come out just yet. We did get a nice little rain shower last night and yesterdays crowd was way bigger than I expected with the high percentage of rain chance. The fields will be wet and the berries need another day to ripen. Spring Break week can be very busy so it will be tough to predict what berry supply will be through the week. Luckily the sun is supposed to be in brilliant form which will help ripen up a lot of berries. The Barrel train and Berry Bounce will be operating all week.

Friday March 8 ---- This weekends weather might be a little sketchy but the Strawberries certainly aren't. Strawberry supply is very good at the moment. We should have plenty of berries for the entire upcoming weekend and it looks like we will have a good supply heading into Spring Break week. We have been so dry here that I expect if we do get any moisture this weekend it will be quickly soaked up.

Wednesday March 6th --- That was a nasty little freeze! It is a good thing we covered the Strawberry plants back up because we hit 26 degrees this morning. At those temps a few blooms that are touching the covers will be burned but that will be a small number compared to the amount that will be saved. This is why Strawberries are our primary crop, we can semi protect them from these later freezes. Some of the potato plants are starting to emerge and I can't believe I forgot to cover them - aaargh. They should bounce back though and put on a new flush of growth as it warms up.

Yesterday was opening day! Not many folks braved the wind and lower temps so there are still plenty of very nice berries for Thursdays picking. As it looks now, we should have plenty of berries for the weekend.

Monday March 4th ---- We are pulling the covers off the plants today. So far we have revealed some very nice Strawberries wanting to be picked. Therefore, we will open up for the 2013 season tomorrow the 5th. The picking will be very good for the first few days, we will just have to see how many folks come out before we can determine what the weekend will look like. Please remember: we are closed on Wednesdays! So we will be open Tuesday, closed Wednesday and then open again Thursday. Check the 'Hours'' page if I confused you.

Now, back to berry supply. Last week I was picking about two boxes per row taking about 30 minutes. I was picking everything though, if you are selective then it might take 30 minutes per box. The berries are somewhat scattered through the field so prepare for a little walking. April is when you can pretty much sit in one spot and pick a box full. It is hard to tell how the ripe berries will hold out leading to next week since we don't know how many pickers will show up. I will try to update berry availability here often.
The price will stay the same as the last few years at 2.75 per pound. Picking boxes are the same at 50 cents per box or you can bring back your boxes from previous years. Customers are required to use Sweet Berry Farm boxes, no bowls or tupperware or bags.
Please try to keep the kids from walking on the plants/beds. Stay on the same row and walk to the end before moving to a different row.
The Berry Bounce will be available during the week. The Sweet Berry Express barrel train should be running this weekend (Sat, Sun). We should be putting goats in the pens today, I am positive they will be hungry by the time you get to the farm. The horses and donkeys are already waiting. Yep, the wife has been churning that Ice Cream all winter (not really, we have an electric mixer) and it should be available along with Grannys fresh made Jelly.

Thursday Feb. 28 --- We rounded up all the covers that were blown away on Monday and I am happy to say only two were torn to pieces. The plants are all covered now as there is a chance of freezing weather each night this week. We have been pulling a cover or two off each day and picking berries for the freezer, about 600 pounds so far this week. You might ask "You knucklehead, why don't you open up to the public and actually make a income off those berries (because you need an income) instead of spending more money getting those in the freezer?". Well, your question is not without merit but .... we need to get those berries in the freezer for all the goodies we make throughout the season. We will not even entertain the thought of using someone elses berries in our jam, ice cream, popsicles, etc. Also we are cleaning the plants pretty well. These first berries are a mixture of small and big berries. They are a culmination of a week or two of ripening. If we let everyone in to pick these, many would be left behind to decay.

Monday we will be pulling the covers off and then we will determine 'opening' and berry supply. I do expect to open next week so get ready for Strawberry Time!

Monday Feb. 25 --- Argh! What a day! At the start of the day the Strawberry plants were nice and cozy under the frost covers ..... and then the winds hit. Sustained gusts of 40+ mph (seemed like 100 mph to me) uncovered most of the plants for us. To our chagrin, some of the covers were torn to bits. Oh well, we know that everything works together for good. We did find quite a few berries on the now uncovered plants. Another 200 pounds of berries went into the freezer. I think the weather forecast for this week will push opening day back to next week. It is coming soon!

Monday February 18 --- We pulled the Frost Covers off the Strawberry plants today and out popped some very nice, very sweet, very ripe and very tasty Strawberries. We will pick these first berries for family and processing. We ty to be very careful not to 'open' before there is an ample supply available for all pickers who might come out. The plants are covered in blooms (mid March ripening) and even a good supply of green berries. Things are looking good at the moment, we will watch the weather like a hawk now. Get ready, expect an opening by the first of March.

Monday February 4 --- Could it be? I just knew that after the warm weather last week we would be walloped by a nasty cold spell. It still could/will happen but for now it looks like we are going to have these mild temperatures for at least another week or so. The Strawberry plants are responding in kind to the amazing weather. The plants are beginning to grow and even put some blooms on.
    Dad is cutting seed potatoes. We remade the beds today because a strong wind last week blew up much of the plastic exposing an abundance of sprouts. So we ripped off the plastic, tilled the beds up and made the beds again. We hope to begin planting Potatoes later this week.
    This weather is not good for the Peach Trees. I am not sure if they have received the necessary chilling hours to break dormancy well. Peaches can be a contrary crop, hence the reason they are not our primary crop.
    20 goat babies over the last few days, Spring kidding has begun. We wanted all these kids to be born last November but their mothers did not cooperate.
   It looks like we might be opening in the first part of March if this weather holds out!

Saturday January 19 ---- We had a pretty good week here on the farm. With a little moisture in the soil we were able to make all the onion and potato beds. We have a bedding implement that we pull behind the tractor to make the beds. The machine collects the soil, presses it into a raised square bed while laying a drip tape in the center of the bed. After the press pan, black plastic covers the bed and finally discs cover the edges of the plastic. If the soil is too dry, it won't form a bed, too wet and it clumps up. The soil also has to be loose and tilthy several inches deep. The better the job of soil preparation the better the beds turn out. It turns into a pride issue in how pretty and straight the beds turn out. I have to say, these beds turned out very good. Since we did not have many to make and the field was perfectly prepared we took our time making the beds. It felt good making the beds without a rushed feeling as we were able to do a little experimenting - even learning a few things.
Soon after making the beds the Onions were planted. 1500 each of Texas Legend, 1015Y, Red Burgandy, and White Contessa.

Monday January 14 ---- Last weeks rain was amazing! Today I plowed up and tilled an area in preparation for onions and potato beds. Hopefully tomorrow morning we can make the beds and be planting Onions by afternoon. I forgot to mention we planted the 'peach field' to Rye and Oats over the weekend.

Saturday January 12 ---- We covered up some Strawberries yesterday. The covers needed to be taken out of storage and a trial run was in order. We certainly wouldn't want any surprises later in the Spring when time would be of the essence. It will also be good to heat the plants up a bit to get them back in the 'growing' mode. I was hoping to make onion beds today but we just had a little shower. We have been wanting rain for so long that "the beds can wait, bring on Rain!"

Wednesday January 9 ---- It is raining! and it rained much of yesterday! The only ones not too happy about this rain are the goats, which I am sure are miserable. The pastures needed the rain sooooo bad. Last October we had a few rains that got the clover and winter grasses growing. No rain in November and December caused all that nice growth to wither up. Since we had no grass we have been pouring the feed (and money) into our goats. This rain right here will go a long way in improving our grass situation. So, take heart you goats, a little misery now will soon give way to a delectable buffet of green grass.
Speaking of goats, only 54 of the 102 mothers gave birth when we wanted them to last Fall. It looks like another batch will start dropping in February. I would rather see all the mothers give birth in a small window to make it easier to manage the herd. Last year it was very hot and dry when we turned the bucks in which obviously prevented many does from cycling.
This rain is good all the way around. The Strawberry plants will enjoy the cleaning. We have been irrigating them but our ground water is no where close to the quality of rain water. Overall the plants are looking pretty good. The mild weather last December had them growing faster than we would like but several cold spells lately have slowed them down to where they need to be.

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