Fresh News 2014,  straight from the strawberry patch.
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Wednesday December 17th  --- It took a while but we finally have the Mazes cut and baled.  'Texas' made 502 bales, a large number for a winter baling.  As usual, we get it baled a day before it is supposed to rain.  So off we are this morning to finish hauling hay.  The goats are exicted as well because they get to glean 'Texas' as well as all the surrounding area.  We have to kid all the does up close to the house to keep the coyotes from killing and eating the little ones.  Right now we have 40 mothers and 73 kids on 3 acres which has been eaten close to the ground, supplemental feed is expensive so we would much rather have them out on pasture land.  The 'Texas' Maze field is close to the house and road so it makes a good place for the mothers to raise their kids. 
    We should shred the dead flower plants down in the next day or two and start removing the plastic from those beds.  As soon as that is done we will cultivate that area and start building a lawn mower track for the race coming March 28, 2015.
     Now that the grass is off the school group maze field we will cultivate that area and make beds for potato and onions.  6000 onion sets have been ordered and we want to plant them as soon as they arrive.  Potatos we will wait until late January to plant.
     Guess what?  that's right, we picked a few ripe Strawberries the other day.  "WHAT?" you ask.  It's just a abnomally.  We have not had hardly any freezing weather up to this point and the few blooms they put on in the fall went ahead and made berries.  They were not the best but certainly not bad for Christmas berries.  The plants are in good shape at the moment ....... keep your fingers crossed, everything is looking good at the moment.    

Friday December 5th -----  We hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving and a joyous time leading up to Christmas.  This is a great time here on the farm.  We are moving at a pretty slow pace and it feels good not to have the pressure of  "we have to get this done now!".  The goats are getting a lot of much needed attention, 84 kids born in November.   Sand bags to hold the edges of the frost covers have been made.  Runners are being pulled off the Strawberry plants.  The Mazes have been cut and soon to be baled.  Just a lot of little projects that give us a sense of accomplishment when completing.   

Tuesday November 11 -----  A bitter sweet day it was, we had the last School Field Trip today so the farm is officially closed (this time we are sure) for the winter.  It was a fantastic Fall season and now it is time to clean up and prepare for the Spring.  

Sunday November 9 ----- I want to freeze the weather like this.  This weekend was amazing!  We were closed, then said we would be open to enjoy the weather.  A few folks showed up and together we had a very relaxing time soaking up as much of the awesomness of God's nature as we could.  After the school groups on Tuesday we really will shut the farm down and start cleaning up after a wonderful Fall season. 

The Strawberry plants are looking great.  If we can just keep the deer off them we should be in good shape heading into the winter. 

Friday November 7 ---- I know. I know we said we would close last week (and we did) BUT. the flowers are putting on such a show and the Mazes have not frozen yet so we are going to throw the gates open tomorrow (Saturday). The berry bounce, candy corn maze, sand art, flower picking, hayride and Texas Ma

Tuesday October 28 ---- Only one more weekend to Harvest the Fall Fun at Sweet Berry Farm. All activities will be going full steam, even the Horse Rides and Flower picking. With the promise of cooler weather and a normally much smaller crowd, it should be a great weekend.

**** Those weekend people did it again!  They bought almost all our pumpkins!  Come out to the farm to have a good time but get your Haloween Jack at the grocery store because our supply is very limited.

Hope to see you soon!

Friday night October 24 --- Projections for the upcoming weekend: I think it is going to be another big one (they always are just before Halloween) and the forecasters say it is going to approach 90 degrees. It more important than ever to get to the farm early. We are running the early bird special again this Saturday - before 9:30am - buy one Hayride ticket, get one hayride ticket free. Wear Sunscreen and a hat. Feel free to bring water. Don't do the Maze in the heat of the day unless you are used to the heat. If you don't like crowds, come the following weekend (Nov. 1) when the crowd will be less than half of this coming weekend and wait times will be very small. 

Whew - finished planting the Strawberries today.  It took a little longer than normal, the field was too wet to get into a couple of days last week and we used a smaller crew.  If coming out yet this Fall - be sure to sing to the Strawberry plants and tell them to "grow baby grow".

Saturday night October 18 ---  Wow! Thanks! to the bunch of people that came out today. We had a full house for sure. If anything went wrong today for you, just blame Farmer Dan. We had some longer than we like wait times today - darn that Farmer Dan. If we have a crowd tomorrow like today, get ready for some wait times. Lots of people like to load up on tickets to activities right when they get here and then for lots of reasons run out of juice before getting them all done. There are places all over the farm to get tickets so I suggest only buying for a couple of events at a time. Would you believe all the people that came out today ate most of our Ice Cream? without even giving a thought to those coming tomorrow. We'll be making a bunch more but it won't be ready by tomorrow. If you need a fresh homemade Ice Cream fix, take care of it right when you get here. We open at 11am now on Sundays so come early! Hope to see you soon.

Friday morning ---  The weather has just been wonderful lately and it looks like it will continue through this coming weekend.  Saturday morning from 8:30am to 9:30 am we will be having a special: Buy one Hayride, get another FREE!  That could really add up to great savings so come early and enjoy the farm before it gets busy. 

Tuesday evening October 14 --- We are just about dried up from last weekends rain, still a few muddy spots but they will be drying up soon.  I did not get out into the flower patch today so I'm not totally sure but I feel confindent that it will be dry by the weekend.

Speaking of the upcoming weekend --- it is sure to be awesome!  and ..... a lot of other people are going to think the same thing.  IF YOU ARE COMING THIS WEEKEND - COME EARLY!  You will save yourself a lot of trouble if you will just come early!  Arriving before 9:30am on Saturday and at 10:30am Sunday will make your visit much smoother with very small wait times.  Also, if we have a wait time - it will be at the Horse rides - go there first if you come early. 

Monday morning 7:40am --- Wasn't that a rock'em sock'em front?  I show a half inch on the gauge.  As I look out the window it does not look like half inch fell, but as soon as I get in the truck with the window left down I will have a better idea.  It sounded like 60 mph winds but then again, all the port o potties are still standing so they must have been less than that.  The farm will be open today.  The Flower patch is sure to be muddy, No Pumpkin Grille and the Horse Rides will be iffy but everything else will be running strong.  By noon the grounds should have dried a bit and all will be good.  Come see us!

Sunday evening October 12 ----  The farm looks great at the moment.  We will be open and running tomorrow rain or shine.  Looking at the radar, it appears a band of showers is heading our way.  WE can't take much more rain before making a mess.  We will update again tomorrow morning. 

Saturday 10:30 am October 11 ---- the rain has stopped, a gentle breeze and cooler temps are going to make for a very nice afternoon here at the farm. I show 1.12 inches of rain this morning all of which the grounds have handled very nicely.   No Horse Rides today but all other events will be going strong. The only mud you might encounter will be in the Candy Corn Maze, between some of the Flower rows and overflow parking. Give us a couple of hours and you might not even have to worry about those areas.  It is going to be a great day, finally a little bit of Fall weather to Harvest the Fun in.

Saturday 7:30am, October 11 ---  It is raining here now, so far the weather gauge says .6 inches.   It looks pretty wet outside, I wonder if my electronic gauge is correct.  More rain on the radar headed this way so I would not recommend coming to the farm this morning.  As soon as the sun comes up and we get a little closer to the back side of this front we will discuss this afternoon and tomorrow.

Friday night October 10 ---- The Farm is pretty dry so a shower to night would be fantastic.  The Pumpkins are in grand supply, the Flowers have blooming all week, the events are all set up and even Scarecrow village is growing.  I feel good about the shape of the farm and am sooooooooo ready for a little cooler weather.  I look forward to a little rain even if it is on a crucial income weekend.  I will update the Fresh News in the morning as to how much we get and what that will do to the place.  A half inch of rain would be great!  It would settle the dust, freshen up the place and just make everything better.  Over an inch might begin to complicate things.  We will be open rain or shine.  Most of the areas are grass covered, the Mazes will be a little questionable with a lot of rain - we'll just have to wait and see what happens.

Saturday night October 5 ------ Wow!  Great Day, Great Weather, Great People!  It was a big day.  Lots of Flowers to start the day, not a whole lot to pick at the end of the day.  Everything will be going full steam tommorrow but the flower picking will be a little slim. 

Wednesday August 30 --- Ohhhhh come on down you cool front.  All 5 of our weather sources agree that a cool front is coming just in time for this weekend!!! YES!  Today was pretty warm.  Summer always seems to make one last appearance before yielding to overall cooler temperatures.  It is no secret that we purchase all the pumpkins we have here at the farm.  We just unloaded a bunch of really nice Jack O Lanterns that I think folks will be happy with.  I am just pretty happy with everything right now, well ..... Sunflowers and veggies not so much, but everything else is in great shape.

Expecting the Strawberry plants tomorrow, hope to start planting on thursday!

Sunday August 28 ---  YeHaw!  The Harvest of Fall Fun has begun!  This is opening weekend and we could not be happier.  We have been diligently working up to this point and the Farm reflects that work in appearance and operation.  Let's see ..... what changes have we made ..... more Ice Cream, more ticket outlets, adding pumpkins to the 'house' side of the road, more facepainters, more piano men, reorganized some of the events to make them flow better, moved the Sweet Berry Express Barrel Train to a field full of little goats, few more Zinnias, planted more Sunflowers but they didn't come up so they took a step backwards, more port a potties, another ATM, we planted some veggies but they are not doing very good, worked really hard on making the grounds greener and Scare Crow village has grown.  When I write them down it doesn't seem like too much.  We have had a difficult summer so a lot of ideas did not make it to fruition but for now, the place looks really good and everyone that has come out so far has seemed to have a great time.

We are changing our FALL opening time on Sundays to 11am.  This should make our Sundays flow a little better.  Don't skip church, just go to the early service and then come out.  

Monday August 18 - Busy, Busy, busy we are!  Things are sure getting lively around here as NOW is the time to get things done.  We had a little moisture in the ground so we have built most of the Strawberry beds.  The paths in the Texas Maze have been cut.  And we just started planting Zinnias.  If only those jobs took no longer than the time it took to write them!  Overall things are looking pretty good around here, we are ready for a fantastic Fall season - hope you are too!

Friday August 1 ---- This summer is flying by!  After a litte vacation we are ready to get busy again.  The maze has been cut, baled, cultivated and replanted.  It is about a foot tall now and we will be putting in pathways soon.  The Zinnia beds have all been made and we are planting seeds now.  Sunflower beds are made too, getting ready to plant those.  The Strawberry fields have all be cleaned and cultivated.  92000 plants have been ordered as well as the plastic for the new beds.  We took out 4 old rows of blackberries, planted 4 new ones that the deer are working over (argh!).  The Peaches have all been picked.  Granny has been busy making 1600 jars of jam.  56 baby goats so far, 3 of which are bottle babies.  Bottle babies are fun for a limited amount of time and then they become a nuisance.  
  Our minds are tuned into the fall now - it is coming!

Sunday June 27 ---- I don't know what we are thinking, we just planted 800 Blackberry plants.  It is just another example of our hardheadedness "lets plant more of the least dependable crop".  We'll see how they turn out, we planted them by the Peach Trees so if we ever have a Peach Crop maybe we'll have a Blackberry crop too.
  The Strawberry plants have just about been removed now.  We will cutlivate the fields and get ready to start again come September.  Now pruning Blackberries as well.  Even though we are closed to the public a lot is still going on here at the farm.

Friday June 13 ---- I know what I said but ............. we just walked through the wind blown Tomato patch and Peach orchard ----- we will be selling both Saturday morning from 10am to 1. No kid activities tomorrow but I will be taking folks into the peach orchard on a hayride. Tomatoes are 1.25 a pound, a good many ripe ones and lots of green ones. Peaches are 2.00 per pound, hard to say how long they will last but the first pickers will have no problem finding them.
We will probably do this again next week but have to wait and see what the produce does before we can say for sure. Hope you are having a great summer.

Wednesday June 4 ---- Only two more days left of our Spring season. Thursday and Friday there will be Strawberries to pick, very few Blackberries and lots of Ice Cream. Mom and I are going to pick a few Peaches in the morning and bring them in to the store for sale.  There are only a few Peaches per tree so the ones we do have are very large and taste fantastic.  The mosquitos are out in full force so be sure to bring some insect repellent. Beginning Saturday the farm will be closed until late September.

Sunday evening June 1 ----  This is the final week of our Spring season. The farm will be open Monday through Friday this week. There are still nice Strawberries but it requires effort to find them. A few Blackberries each morning, also requiring effort to get them. Lots of Ice Cream and the animals always want some attention.

Saturday evening May 31 ----- Sunday afternoon (1 to 5) - a few Blackberries right at opening, to find the big ones - squat and look up into the canes for those berries hiding from the folks walking along looking down. We were lucky to have any Blackberries this year after a freeze on April 14 took most of them out.  I don't see hardly any green Blackberries so I think they are just about finished. 
    We still have Strawberries to pick, they do require more effort to find them now. The berries might be few and far between but the ones you find are sure good.  This was by far the best Strawberry season we have had.  No rain outs a cool spring and great pickers made for a wonderful season.  The Spring season is almost over, time is running out on this years berry picking. 

Wednesday evening May 28 --- Thursday morning will be good picking on the farm. Two rainless days has dried out the grounds pretty well, there is still some water/mud in the low places but overall folks should be able to avoid getting muddy. We have some blackberries to pick and a good supply of Strawberries, come on out and enjoy the day with us.  The farm will be open through this weekend, should be plenty of Strawberries but Blackberries will be very limited.  Hopefully we will be able to dig the rest of the Potatoes on Saturday, just depends on if we can get to them on dry ground.

Monday evening May 26 ---- We had a pretty good storm come through just before lunch,  lots of nice soaking rain fell.  It came down so quickly that a good bit of it just ran off.  A few pickers came out and braved the elements.  It just gave the Blackberries a little time to ripen so tomorrows picking won't be too bad.  If it does not rain tonight, the grounds will be in decent shape for tomorrow.  There will still be muddy areas but if your careful you can avoid most of them.

Monday morning May 26 ----- Yes, we are open today, Memorial Day. A little over half of an inch of rain last night means that we probably won't dig potatoes or pick tomatoes today. That brings the total to almost 3 inches between yesterday and last night.  It seems like I can hear the grass (and weeds) growing as we speak. 
We will have a good supply of Strawberries today, wear your boots because the best berries will be in the muddiest spots. There is a very small amount of Blackberries to pick as well. The farm is holding up better than I expected with almost 3 inches of rain. The grounds are just a little squishy. The aisles between the Strawberry rows will be a bit muddy.  Berry Bounce will be open but it is too wet for the barrel train to run. I believe we will have Sand Art and Facepainting today but don't hold me to that just yet.  The sun is out as we speak, the birds are singing, the goats want some attention - come on out and enjoy a relaxing day with us.

Today - it will be a good day to bring an extra pair of shoes to wear on the way home and a bag to put your old ones in.  It sounds silly but we don't have a place to wash up if the kids get muddy.

Sunday morning May 25 ----  Oh man we need this rain! but it won't be to good for business today. It is Sunday morning and the farm is in a pretty big downpour. The radar says more is coming with a clearing line out west. Even if it clears out this afternoon, it is sure to be muddy between the Strawberry rows. We will be open ...... pull them shoes off...... its been a long time since we had the opportunity to get mud between the toes.

Saturday evening May 24 --- today was a good day to be at the farm ---- unless you happened to get caught in one of the little rain showers that came by. Sunday afternoon (1 to 5 on Sundays) we will have Strawberries to pick, We are going to give the Potatoes and Tomatoes a rest and get back into them on Monday. We did pick some of the few Blackberries that made it through the April freeze today, I think we will try to pick some more Monday morning as well. Blackberry supply is very limited so as close to 8:30am Monday morning would be the best chance to find some.  My dad is very worried that he mislead folks by telling them we were not going to have Blackberries this year so take it easy on him when you walk up to the Welcome barn.  I really did not think we were going to have much more than enough for our Ice Cream and Jam. 
   We just can not believe these amazing temperatures.  We have only had a few days in the 90's so far this Spring.  This is one of the main reasons we are still picking nice Strawberries. 
  

Monday morning May 19 ---- We are pleasantly surprised by the quality of Strawberries that are coming out of the fields. The size has improved to at least mid size and larger berries now and the flavor has been exceptionally good. It looks like we will have plenty of berries for most of this week. We will update again mid week concerning Saturday and the holiday weekend.  Yes, we will be open the weekend and Memorial day.  Saturday morning we will dig the rest of the Potatoes, pick some Tomatoes (green or red) and who knows what else.

Wednesday evening May 14 ---- Tomorrow through the weekend will be a super time to come to the farm.  The Strawberry picking will be very good and the recent rains did a great job cleaning the berries and freshening up the farm.  There will be a few muddy spots for little Johnny to get into but on the whole the farm is in good shape and you should not have to worry about sinking in mud.  The forecast is for very nice temperatures.  Everything is lining up for an awesome couple of days on the farm ---- come have some fun with us!

Tuesday morning May 13 ---- 1.55 inches of glorious rain fell last night - wahoo!  Even though the grounds are in good shape we do have some water standing between the Strawberry rows.  If today is the only day you can make it out, come on this afternoon otherwise I would suggest waiting until Thursday.  This ground was so thirsty that any standing water should be dried up in just a matter of hours.  
   The Strawberry plants are still producing pretty well.  It is hard to say just how much longer they are going to go, perhaps another two weeks.  In past years the crop has been just about finished by now but this Spring was much cooler giving the plants more time to flower and set berries before the heat sets in. We can say that this Thursday through the weekend will be good picking.  The berries are mostly small now but just as tasty.
    This morning was the first good rain of the year and I am so looking forward to breaking some ground.  In years past we grew a spring maze, mainly for the hay that it made in July.  This year has been so dry that we could not even break the ground to get seed in it.  Well, guess what ........ it will be broke as soon as I can get in there without making a big mess,  I can't wait for that fresh dirt smell.

Saturday evening -----  and another great day!  Everyone found plenty of berries today, although they are on the small side.  The small ones taste just as good if not better than the big ones but I have to admit, it is more fun to eat those giant ones.  Potato diggin was fun, we will probably do it again next Saturday.  We will be open Mothers Day Sunday for Strawberry picking but no Potato digging.  The Strawberry picking will be good tomorrow as well, the Berry Bounce will be open and the Barrel Train will be running. 

Thursday evening ---  just a quarter of an inch of rain and we will take every single drop.  The strawberries are nicely washed, the grounds cleaned up well = a good picking weekend coming up.  Don't worry about mud, that rain is long soaked up already. 

Thursday morning May 8 --- Everyone ..... please go wash your car and come to the farm - we really need some rain!  Today we have a good chance for rain, let's hope it happens.  A few sprinkles so far but not enough to discourage several pickers from getting boxes of berries.  Those berries looked so good that even I said "wow, where did you find those?"  Several of our crew are out picking berries for us to put in the freezer for use in the Ice Cream, Jelly, Lemonade, Popsicles and such.  The picking is better than I expected so I think this might just be a pretty good Strawberry picking weekend.  IF we do get some rain it would be so good to freshen up the plants and berries.

 New Potatoes ---  we don't have a lot and they are a little small but we plan on digging potatoes Saturday only.  One thing for sure, they sure are good eating as evidenced by my sparkling clean plate after dinner.  The taters are across the road this year so we plan on having a hayride carry folks to the tunnel where they can walk under the road and harvest their bounty.   

Monday evening May 5 --- Warming up it is.  It is becoming a little harder to get a full box of berries.  We have reached the 'all about your attitude' stage of the Strawberry crop.  You will find plenty if you are diligent and determined.  Don't be afraid to come out this week, next week might get a little dicey.

Saturday evening May 3 --- The sun was out in brilliant form today, it looked hot but was just warm with a gentle breeze.  The Strawberries are waiting to be picked, it is entirely a matter of moving the leaves to find them hiding underneath.  Tomorrow will be another good day as most of next week should be.  Overall production is beginning to taper off, looks like we have at least two more weeks of Strawberries.

Thursday morning May 1 ---- Isn't this weather ...... amazing!  Today promises to be a wonderful day with temps in the 70's and lots of red ripe Strawberries to pick.  Even the wind is forecast to be mild today.  The plants are holding on pretty well, it looks like we will have ripe Strawberries for at least another couple of weeks.  I do see a few 'runners' on some plants which mean they are thinking about switching from a fruiting mode to a vegetative one.  These cooler temps will hold off the runners a little while longer. 

Sunday evening  April 27 ---- Those Strawberry plants are outdoing themselves!  The picking today was very good, the boxes coming out of the fields looked wonderful.  After talking to several customers about their harvest - you have to go down under the leaves to find the big nice ones.  "Walkers" will just cruze the aisles and miss the big ones underneath.  Now, two weeks ago there were sooo many berries that it was OK to be a "walker" but now it is time to "get in there" to get those berries.  Don't let me scare you off, there are still plenty of ripe berries for everyone over the next few days and it won't take long to find them if you know where to find them - the far end of the row, in the middle of the plants. 

The Onions have now been pulled, they were good but gone now.

Saturday evening April 26 ----  The berries picked today looked amazing.  I saw on guy come out with a box as full as I have ever seen, he had mounded the berries over the handle so he had to carry it with two hands.  Needless to say, the picking was very good today.  Tomorrow should be no different.  We open at 1 pm on Sundays giving that much more time for even more berries to ripen. 

Friday evening April 25 ---- Today turned into a pretty big school group day, eleven school busses at one time (508 kids) came out and a farmtastic time.  I feel like some grandparents when working with school field trips;  I'm happy to see them come, have fun while they are here and happy to see them go.  Most of the fieldtrip takes place in a different area of the farm so they won't get in the way of normal customers, the parking lot and picnic area are the only places they might get in your way.

Berry Supply looks good for this weekend.  Overall berry size has gone from large to medium.  Although two ladies brought out some boxes today that I just could not believe.  When asked where they picked "way over there, down in between the plants" they replied with a big grin.   

Thursday part 2 -----  I forgot to mention, when in the Strawberry fields I was very impressed with the berries in one particular area.  If you are standing at the welcome barn, the field farthest right (or closest to the paved road) is loaded with berries BUT especially nice ones seem to be on the last 30 rows of the field, in the middle of the row to the far end. 

Thursday April 24 ---- The Strawberries have hit their prime, they are very plentiful now so this will be another excellent picking weekend.  I believe this will be the last big surge of Strawberries for this season.  It looks like we will continue to have Strawberries for the next few weeks but I don't think they will be 'jumping in the box' like they are now.  Anyone looking to 'load up' on berries in a short period of time should come on out over the next few days.
      Onions too!  The Onions are going pretty fast, much faster than I expected.  This might be the last good weekend for Onion pulling.
      The Blackberry and Peach crop are looking pretty dismal.  It does not look like we are going to have much, if any, of these two crops for picking this year.  As we say so often, "maybe next year" for these two crops.
    The Potato plants are trying to recover from last weeks freeze.  The tops were all killed by the freeze but the bottom leaves survived.  Even some Tomato plants are trying to recover.  We will keep you updated here concerning these two crops.

Saturday evening April 19 ----  Yes! there will be plenty of Strawberries for tomorrows picking. None of our staff is scheduled for work tomorrow, those that come in are voluntarily working so Sandart, FacePainting and Smoothie making are on the bubble, please don't be upset if those activities are not offered tomorrow. The Berry Bounce and Barrel Train will be running. Remember, we are only open 1 to 5 on Sunday's. Hope to see you soon!

Friday night April 18 ----- And a big day it was!  Still plenty of Strawberries for tomorrows picking so come on out and enjoy with us.  The first part of the rows are picked so ....... go to the far end and pick back.  Today was amazing and we expect tomorrow to be equally awesome.  It is sooooo nice to see people bringing in nice berries all the way to the end of the day.

Friday April 18 ----  We've had a lot of calls asking if we are muddy?  Did you get the rain?  Not here.  We did have a little drizzle earlier today that did nothing but settle the dust and freshen up the place, the sun is even starting to peak out. 

Friday April 18 --- It is going to be a good Good Friday!  The fields are loaded with ripe Strawberries and even though the sun is not out in full force at least the temperatures will be wonderful.  Special treat for this weekend: homemade strawberry smoothies (they are making me fat because I can't drink just one!  they are amazingly good), homemade strawberry lemonade, Facepainting (today and Saturday) and Sandart.  Along with the normal Barrel Train and Berry Bounce the kids are sure to have some fun.  Don't forget the animals - they want some lovin' too

   Good Friday is normally a very big day here at the farm.  Don't be scared by the number of cars when you come in the parking lot, there is plenty of space and berries for everyone.  As always at this time of the year, the real bounty of berries is down under the leaves in the center of the plants.  And of course ....... the far end of the row (don't look down or you will never make it down there). 

   Onions - I almost forgot the Onions.  We are going to start pulling Onions today.  Red, Yellow and White are available.  I have not ate any yet but I am sure they are as good as always. 

Wednesday April 16 --- what?! arghhhh, it did freeze here Tuesday morning and briefly hit 32 this morning.  It is way too late in the season to be dealing with freezing weather but nonetheless, here we are doing just that.  We covered all the Strawberry plants on Monday so they were protected. 
    The Potato plants were not protected and they have the tops burned off them.  They should come back as they have in years past.  
    I had planned to protect the Tomato plants by sprinkling them.  At 4:30am Tuesday morning I turned the sprinklers on and felt good about their chance for survival.  For the first time in YEARS our electricity goes off at 5:30!  No power = no pump = no water pressure = no sprinklers = tender plants covered with water in 30 degree weather = frozen plants = would have been better off sleeping in.  I doubt we will replant the Tomato's this late in the season.
     Blackberries - it is hard to tell how much hurt they have.  The very small immature berries just starting to form are dead but I did find blooms that were not harmed.  There is a good chance that we will not have Blackberries to pick this year, we'll just have to wait a little longer to make that determination.  The Blackberries are on my naughty list as we have not had a boomer crop in several years,  My wife is the only thing that is keeping us in the Blackberry business.

   Strawberries!!! going GREAT!  production is peaking now.  This rest of this week will be fantastic picking and we expect to have plenty for Easter weekend.  Just in time too becasue it looks like production will begin to slow next week.  The plants are very large so dig down under the leaves to find a bounty of red berries.

 Friday evening ----  Wow! that is just about what we say when we see the berries that are coming out of the fields, followed by a look of amazment and awe.  We are just giddy with joy and very happy to announce that there should be plenty of berries for everyone coming to the farm this weekend.  The biggest problem you will have this weekend is knowing when to stop picking.  Remember, each box will hold about 18 dollars worth and they fill fast with this many berries available.  Of course I am OK if you want each one of your four kids to have a box but be ready ....... before you know it you will have ALOT of berries to take home.  One thing for sure though, you can get an enormous amount of goodwill out of just a small gift of fresh Strawberries. 

Thursday afternoon ---- Other than a very stiff wind, the picking has been fabulous today.  Even more Strawberries are ripening as we speak so the remainder of this week should be a fantastic time to come.   

Monday evening ---- Half inch of fast and furious rain fell this afternoon, should make for some nice and clean berries but tomorrows picking might be kind of messy.  The aisles between the strawberry rows are dirt and they are probably going to be slick tomorrow.  I do not think they will be muddy but slippery instead (I am sure little johnny will be able to find a muddy spot).  I suspect afternoon picking would be more enjoyable tomorrow as the field will be able to dry that much more.  Every where else around the farm is nice and grassy which should not pose a problem.  Plenty of berries for everyone as long as you move those leaves around and find the berries hiding underneath.

Sunday evening ----  Today turned out pretty well other than being cold.  I just keep reminding myself that soon it will be miserably hot and I will be wishing for these temps.  I do believe the lower temperatures might keep the Strawberries going a little longer, we'll just have to see.  This coming week looks like it will be wonderful picking with pleasant upcoming temperatures and loads of berries to pick.

Sunday morning 12:45 ---- .28 fell mid morning, just right to wash off the berries that were soooo dusty.  No mud but still slick spots, sticky enough to get all over your shoes ---- old shoes are in order for today.  It is chilly! so a jacket would also be needed. 

Sunday morning 8:30am -----  No rain here so far.  This rain event is supposed to be over by noon so our chances are getting slimmer.  I don't see anything, at the moment, in our vicinity and it looks like the few showers that are out there are fast moving.  We will post again around noon but for now everything looks great for afternoon picking.   

Saturday evening April 5 ---  Just watched the weather, checked 3 weather pages - it looks like we might get a little rain in the morning then clearing by opening time on Sunday (1pm). A little rain would be great to wash the berries off, settle the dust and freshen up the farm a bit. Even though we had a big day today, there will be plenty of ripe berries for everyone to pick tomorrow. Less than a quarter of an inch and you will just barely know it rained at the farm, old shoes might be good just to make sure.

Thursday evening April 3 ---- and the berries are back!  after a few days of light picking the fields are once again full of ripe strawberries to pick.  Berry size is slipping a bit but taste certainly is not.  I believe we will have more than enough for everyone this weekend, Saturday and Sunday.  We will try to post an update Saturday evening just to provide a heads up concerning ripe berry supply.  We are now moving into the thick of the crop.  The next three weeks should be excellent picking.  If it does not get too hot too fast it looks like we might have good production into May and maybe beyond.
   The Peaches were hurt more than I thought by the March 3rd freeze.  Some varieties will have fruit while others will not.  Let's keep our fingers crossed for those few Peaches left on the trees.

Sunday morning March 30 ---  Yesterday was an awesome day!  The fields were picked pretty close by the end of the day.  More berries will have ripened by the one oclock opening today but they probably won't last all afternoon.  If you will move those leaves around you will find lots of big berries the 'walkers' left behind because they could not see them while passing by. 

Friday evening March 28 ---- After the clouds passed by I said to dad "it looks like the rain missed us" to which he responded dejectedly "it never rains in Marble Falls, left out once again".  About an hour later I get a call from him "well, I guess we didn't want that storm afterall.  A fellow just drove down from Lampasas in a brand new truck ...... it is beat all up from hail stones".  Well Thank Godness we it missed us this time.  It was April 2nd, 2013 when we lost all the Spring crops to a hail storm.  We certainly feel bad for you folks that had damage.

So..... the farm is open for the weekend and still pretty dry.

Friday March 28 --- The warm weather is just what the Dr. ordered to ripen up some berries.  This weekend will be good time to come to the farm.  The picking will be good, the fields look very good (it is dry here, we do have a chance for rain this afternoon.  If under a inch falls it will do nothing but make it even better) and the temperatures look perfect for Saturday and Sunday.  The promise of weekends like this one coming make me very happy because everyone that comes out will be happy.  You could say we are just "Happy, happy, happy".

Wednesday March 26 ---- Opening weekend was awesome, great berries, great races and great people came out. 
   
Strawberries: some farmer I am! I tried to downplay the amount we had for picking because we became concerned that there would not be enough for everyone on opening weekend but even I was amazed I the amount we ended up pulling out of the field.  By the end of last Sunday ripe berry supply was beginning to dwindle.  This cooler weather is not helping to ripen up as many as we would like.  Sooo many berries that just need a little sunshine to make the turn to red.  What does that mean for the rest of this week?  The berries are out there but it will require some searching.  The plants are a little larger than we would like for this time of the year so we are getting the old saying out of the bag early "Move those leaves around and find the berries underneath".  It will become increasingly difficult to simply walk down the row and see the berries from above.  Still coming, an enormous amount of berries are only two weeks away.  The Harvest will continue to gradually improve and then BOOM, the field will turn red with Strawberries.

  Lawnmower Races were great as well.  Overall $2,246 was raised and given to the American Cancer Society.  I can't help but wonder if the overcast skies and call for rain affected the attendance some.  The 250 that did come out seemed to have a great time.  I loved every minute of it and even awoke a part of me that is crazy for Bluegrass Music. 

  Peaches:  I spent some time in the field yesterday.  We will have Peaches this year (assuming no more weather calamities) but not on the CaroRed, JunePrince and JuneGold varieties.  Those did suffer significant freeze damage from the March 4th event.  But we still have other varieties that seem to be good so far.

Friday Night March 21 ----  Tomorrow is opening day!!!!  It is a late start to the season but we have a huge crop of Strawberries .... coming.  It looks like we have somewhere around 400 pounds of ripe berries to pick tomorrow.  Since it is opening day we really don't know what to expect in the way of customer traffic.  The majority of our customers get to the farm between 10:30 and 11am - the best picking will be early.  The berries are very large and taste very good but not as plentiful as in two or three weeks,  in April the berries will be everywhere but a bit smaller and you don't have to worry about arrival time.  
   Lawnmower races are tomorrow!!!!  Racers have been showing up all day, the track looks great - it is sure to be a great time.  Come on out and help us "Mow down Cancer!"

Wednesday March 19 ---- The Lawnmower Races this Saturday are going to be awesome!  The track is coming along nicely, and everything is just about set up.  This will be my first race to participate in with a fast mower (first year Damon and I ran in the stock division and put everyone to sleep).  I needed a nickname and asked Facebook - I think I have narrowed it down to two: Mr. Mow it All or The Lawn Ranger.

   Strawberries ---- Saturday is set to be the first day of the 2014 season.  Please be advised: it is just the first day --- berry supply will be very limited.  There is a huge load of immature berries on the plants which looks to me to ripen over the course of April.  Nonetheless, we will be open regardless.  We have lots of homemade Ice Cream and the Berry Bouncers and Train will be running.

Friday March 14 ---- The freeze this week was very light, nonetheless we covered up on Wednesday and uncovered yesterday.  This seems to be a recurring theme over the last several weeks.  The forecast does look good for the coming week, other than this coming Sunday night, it looks like we will be mostly in the clear.  Sure would be nice if we were finished 'freezing' for this year.
    We tried ....... but we just could not get the plants to produce Strawberries for Spring Break.  Even though we are going to start late, the Strawberry crop looks like it will be a big one!  The plants are large, healthy and loaded with immature fruit.  A few days of mild weather will go a long way in moving the berries from green to ripe so I am fairly confident we will be able to open for the season Saturday March 22 (which is also the day of the Lawnmower Races).  I believe it will be an avalance of ripe Strawberries once the crop gets going. 
     Almost all the varieties of Peaches are now in a state of past full bloom, in full bloom or almost full bloom.  The earlier freezes did take off many blooms in the JunePrince, JuneGold and CaroRed varieties but it looks like enough were spared to have some fruit on those trees.  The low temps over the next two weeks will determine if we make a Peach crop or not - a hard freeze would be devasting to this years crop.  If we can make it into April without a freeze then the crops' go up significantly. 

Thursday March 6 --- And the freezes just got nastier!  I figured sustained 19 and 20 degree temps early this week, coupled with wet frozen covers were a recipe for bad news ----- but I was wrong ..... ish.  We pulled the covers off of the Strawberry plants today only to find a minimal amount of damage (and everybody said "WaHoo!!!").   Once again, the blooms touching the covers were frozen and perhaps a few more that were close.  We did find lots of blooms that were not injured and many green fruits also unharmed.  In all - very positive news considering the severity of the freeze.

It looks like we will be able to open somewhere around the 21st of this month!  Get ready.

Friday February 28 --- Well ...... that was a nasty little freeze earlier this week.  All the Strawberry plants were covered but we still ended up losing a few blooms.  The little bit of rain we had weighed down the covers forming them over the plants, those blooms in direct contact don't get near the protection as the ones underneath - the covers are supposed to 'float' over the plants.  Don't worry though, it is just a very small amount of blooms lost and we still have LOTS of good ones.  The CaroRed, JuneGold and JunePrince peach varieties have begun blooming.  I looked at them this morning and did not see freeze damage but then I did not have my glasses on either.  If we did loose some blooms I think it will be OK because we have to thin most of them off anyway to get the remaining fruit to size.
    We do have some green Strawberries (I have even ate a handfull of ripe ones), we are just waiting on some mild temps to ripen them up.  It looks like we are going to cover again tomorrow for freezing weather Sunday and Monday night. 
     Everyone (especially me) is ready to start picking.  We will open up as soon as we have enough berries to handle a good crowd.  At the moment - my best guess is ...................... between the 15th and 20th of March.
    The annual 'Mike Cupps Memorial Lawnmower Races' are coming up on the 22nd of March.  Entry fee is just $5 per person which 100% of is donated to the American Cancer Society.  As a special treat - we are pleased to have a Bluegrass band coming from Missouri just to play for us.   Here is some info on The Baker Family:

  Trustin Baker is 15 plays fiddle/banjo/guitar sings lead/harmony. He is the 2013 Jr. National Grand Masters fiddle championship winner at The Country Music Hall of Fame in Nashville, TN. He won 2013 Male entertainer of the year at National fiddle contest in Weiser, Idaho. He also holds many State fiddle championships such as Texas State freshman champion, reigning 3 time Missouri Jr. State Champion, Arkansas 2 time Jr.State Champion. Carina is 13 plays mandolin sings lead/harmony and old time jig dances and has won numerous dance competitions. Elijah is 10 plays upright bass sings lead/ harmony Carrie(mother) on guitar sings lead/harmony.  The Baker Family is a contracted act at Branson's Silver Dollar City.  

Friday February 21 ----  Still no rain but otherwise - awesome weather!  Last night was waaaay too close for comfort.  I was lulled asleep by a week of highs in the 70/80s and lows in the 40/50s.  Luckily I happened to be talking to another grower in Fredericksburg yesterday who mentioned it might get cold that (last) night.  When I looked at the forecast yesterday morning it called for a 40 degree low.  Well, after talking to him I began checking other locations around us that are normally colder - the lowest forecast I found was 35.  I didn't think it would freeze with a stiff wind and moderate dew point but not wanting to chance everything we threw some covers out on the 'Festival' which are blooming heavily.  This morning at 5am I look at the temperature and what do you think I see ..... 32 blasted degrees!  32 is not too bad but I know it is going to drop at sunup, which it did to 30 and briefly 29.  Turns out we were in a cold spot because I could not find that low of a temp in a hundred mile radius.
   Everything under the covers was fine.  The plants not covered ....... not too bad.  I was happy to only find about 1 in 20 open blooms that were bit by the cold, which is hardly any damage at this point.  Like I said .... way too close!
    The plants are looking great.  We hope to be picking sometime in mid March - get ready!

Saturday February 15 ---- We finally pulled the covers this past Thursday ............ and the plants look pretty good!  The Festival variety has a lot of blooms which we should be picking in Mid March.  I am a little surprised that our main variety 'Chandler' does not have more than just the occasional bloom.  Blooms are just emerging out of the crown which I think will be open in about a week.  At the moment it looks like we will have a few berries for Spring Break and then a lot of berries by the end of March.  We were hoping for an early start to this season but I don't think it is going to happen (last year we were picking berries by the end of February).
  We should finish pruning the Peach trees today - good to that job done.  It got up to 80 yesterday, mid 70s today -- boy we are feeling good! 

Monday February 3rd ----  We decided to leave the covers on because of weather coming up this week.  Last Friday and Saturday were close to 70 then yesterday the high was in the 40's with a freeze last night.  Looks like we might have some upper 20's mid week so we will leave them out for a little longer.  This will make the third week they have been covered which is not a huge deal although it would be better if the plants were uncovered.  
  Since the covers have been out we have been able to spend a lot of time in other places.  Only four more rows to go in the Peaches.  We are making all the big cuts this round then if we have time we will go back through and do some detail work.  I hope we have had enough chilling requirement met for the trees to come out of dormancy well.  Surely we have had more cold weather than last winter, now we just have to get by that late freeze to make a peach crop.

Wednesday January 29 --- Temps have certainly been on a roller coaster lately.  The covers were all out early last week just in time for some low 20's, toward the end of the week it got up to 80, then back down into the upper teens Monday and yesterday.  Light freeze tonight then a warm up to mid 70's coming.  The covers are still out, tomorrow we will start pulling them up.  Lows next week might be close to freezing but rain is predicted and we don't want the covers out so long, especially wet.  It will be interesting to see what the plants look like after we get the covers off.  Lately we have been messing with goats and pruning peach trees.   

Monday January 20 ----- Pruned Peaches today, late afternoon we started putting out some frost covers, tomorrow we will try to get them all out.  A light freeze is predicted for Tuesday night.  Some of the Festival plants have a few open blossoms, Chandlers have some tight flower busds coming.  I would not expect a light freeze to do much damage but a hard freeze is in store for later in the week so we might as well get the covers out now.  We would like to open in early March so now is the time to start protecting blooms.

Thursday January 16 ----  It did not rain last Friday so it turns out that we did not need to rush to get the covers off.  It did turn very warm over the weekend with brilliant sunshine, it would have been warmer than we want under the covers so it all worked out anyway.  Almost finished pulling runners off the plants, one of the diadvantages of planting the plants a little early is their tendency to put out runners (little plantlets on a long stem, one of the ways Strawberry plants proliferate).  This has been a week of mild temps, sunshine highs in the 60/70s lows close to freezing - great temps to get the plants energized.  We will need to watch them closely, winter is surely not over and it has a bad habit of hitting back pretty hard.
    We started pruning Peach trees today, 

January 10 --- This is how the last cover deployment went down: Fri (3rd) - 4 covers C, all of A - 35 degrees, Sat cold front, Sun - cover remainder of C - 19 degrees, Mon - cover B, 30s all day 15 at night, Tues - 40s drizzle, Wed warming, 50s and 60s, more drizzle, Thurs 70s covers a little wet, wind picked up in afternoon, rolled everything up in 4 hours.  Rain forecast for last night and today, not falling as of am - might have left covers on one more day to kick start the plants.  Sunshine and 70s predicted for next couple of days with lows in 40s.  Debated leaving covers on through weekend but felt the plants might get too hot with 70s and sunshine, also thought wet covers might increase disease pressure (doesn't look like they are going to get wet at the moment although there is a 60% chance today).
  Finished pruning Figs yesterday, burning brush piles as we go.  Will start taking out water sprouts on Peaches today.  Used box blade to clean out corral, had a huge pile of droppings/compost - put on every other row of top flower section with bucket (mabye 30 Kubota buckets worth), will till in today.
  Everyone is pulling one row of Strawberry runners per day.  First pass on C is done, about 15 rows of B left and all of A yet to go.   

January 6 ---- We covered the remainder of Block C yesterday,  17 degrees last night.  Covered Block B today, another potential night of mid teens.  It was a good trial run putting out the covers.  I don't think it was critical that we get the plants covered but it certainly won't hurt.

January 3, 2014 --- Covered up early producing Strawberries today, mainly just to knock the rust off and get the covers marked for upcoming season.  Covered Block A and 4 covers in C, starting at Arbors.  Monday night temps could be in upper teens here, little colder than we want.  Might try to cover up rest of fields on Monday just to find out what condition the covers are in.

January 1, 2014 ---- Happy New Year! We hope everyone made it to the new year ok as we look forward to spending it with YOU.  "Next Year" has arrived and we are optimistic so far.  It seems we are always saying "Well, maybe Next Year things will be different".  Last Spring was a disaster with a hail storm just before the Strawberries were getting ready to really start producing.  Even though we had a lot of rain last Fall, it turned out to be a great season and kept us in business.  Now for this year:
   Strawberries - the plants look fantastic for this time of the year, maybe better than I have ever seen them.  The plants are large and healthy other than some leaf spot from a cold wet period a couple of weeks back.  They won't put on much top growth right now, hopefully they are growing some roots down under.  About mid month we would like them to start getting active again and even pushing some blooms by the end of the month.  Currently we are pulling runners and any weeds that have grown in amongst the plants.
   Peaches and Blackberries are dormant.  Soon we will clean up the Blackberry patch doing some minor pruning and a little trellising.  My intentions are to start pruning Peach trees soon, perhaps a little early but I have to start early to have any chance of getting it done in time.
   This has been the worst goat kidding season I can remember.  I have spent all my time recently with the goats and am not sure if I am making it better or worse.  We started out with 3 does aborting (who knows why, blood samples have come back clean), we lost one doe (and her 3 babies) in birth, another doe from worms (my fault) and we have lost 17 out of 116 kids born to a myriad of problems some of which was probably mismanagement.  I also am holding two does three times a day to let the kids they are trying to kick off, nurse.  This is typical behavior for me, spend the most amount of time on the things that don't make much profit ---- why do I do that?!  Oh, Damon just finished building them a circular stair case to get up to the goat bridge as well. I am sure we will find some more ways to spend money on them in the future. Good thing we love goats ......  
  Onions:  planted 5000 back in mid December, they look good so far.