Wednesday morning March 12

There is no easy way to say this ...... we are picked out of Strawberries and Tulips.  Do not come to the farm expecting Strawberries.  The initial push of 12,000 pounds has been picked, it will be at least two weeks before the plants start to produce more berries.  It takes aprox. 30 days to go from flower to berry, think back a month ago and you will remember 14 degree weather here at the farm.  The plants were covered and not producing flowers at that time hence the absence of fruit now.  They are growing and flowering now but it will take some time for those berries to mature.  We will continue to let folks browse the fields but there is no fruit to pick.
   Regarding Tulips - it was extreme cold that dampened the Strawberry crop and extreme heat has damaged the Tulips.  Go figure.  We are seeing a lot of 'blind' plants meaning they are growing but have no flower.  This is caused by many things but temperature is the main one.  Remember those 14 degree nights?  They were followed by upper 80s and even low 90 degree days.  We will continue to harvest what we can there as well but don't expect much.
     The Ranunculus field is a bright spot at the moment.  The plants look better than ever before and will begin to bloom soon.  They are my favorite flower so maybe they get a little extra attention?  hmmmm

  Don't worry it is all good!!! Farming is a challenge and this year is no different.  We are super excited to be here and the kids are having a lot of fun running around doing the activities.  The weather has been good, the grounds look great and the ice cream is delicious.   There is a silver lining in every cloud ---- your visit will be a lot cheaper without boxes of Strawberries :).