Tuesday, June 26, 2012

Today we are feeling a bit like a meteorologist must feel when he makes a prediction for rain that doesn't pan out... what we thought would surely be the best week for picking berries has changed... just a bit. The cooler weather we've seen these past couple of days has slowed down the ripening process of the raspberries. This, along with high traffic has made the berries much less plentiful than we'd hoped. So.. we have decided to change our hours for the summer red raspberry season to an every-other day schedule, which will allow for more berries on "picking days" and a more enjoyable picking experience.  This is not necessarily a change we see lasting into next year; however, with the highly unusual weather we've seen this year our fruit crops are far from typical. Originally we did not see frost damage in the summer raspberries, but now as we look into the ripening fields we've noticed a less bountiful crop-- likely due to frost damage to the young leaves that shoot out in early spring,
shoots that eventually carry flowers which turn into fruit.

So... all that said, we thank you for your continued support and ask for your patience and understanding throughout the rest of our fruit season. We do our best to predict what the fruit will do, but it's not always an easy thing to do.  Picking conditions can change quickly, so calling ahead before you get in the car is your best bet!

Here's the schedule for the upcoming week --
OPEN: Thursday, June 28 & Saturday, June 30 (8 am - 7 pm unless we pick out sooner)
             Monday, Wed., Friday & Saturday, July 2, 4, 6 & 7 (8 am - 7 pm unless we pick out sooner)
CLOSED: Wednesday, June 27 & Friday, June 29 - Tuesday & Thursday, July 1 & 3

We are also picking red currants now if you are interested in those!

Sunday, June 24, 2012



The days have gotten away from me and I have not been very faithful about keeping this blog up to date, and for that, I apologize.  I will get better as the little guy grows and starts to sleep a bit more.

Hard to believe it, but strawberry season is over and has been now for over a week!  Last year we didn't even open for strawberry picking until June 17-- crazy how different the weather can be from year to year.  Farming in the middle of a global climate change continues to be challenging and anything but predictable -- but we do our best to adjust to the unreliable weather!

Luckily, we finally received some much needed rain.  In the past 2 weeks we've received over 4 inches of rain, which has made the raspberries much happier.  Red raspberries are filling out nicely and we will be picking on both fields this week-- should be the best week for picking. Hours this week will be pretty close to our normal Monday-Saturday 8 am - 7 pm.  Only Thursday, June 28th we will open a bit late at 9:30 am... otherwise it is the regular hours schedule.

We will also have a small number of black raspberries available this week.  If you are interested in these, let us know either by giving us a phone call or stopping in and we will do our best to hook you up with this rare and yummy berry. 

Pricing for raspberries this year is PYO Red Raspberries: $3.50 per pound -- Prepicked red raspberries: $4.50 per pint -- Prepicking Black Raspberries: $5.00 per pint.

We look forward to seeing you out in the fields in the near future!