May Update

Blueray variety of blueberries 5.16.18

A Rainy May-Day!

I thought you might like to see the progress of the berries toward the ripening stage.  I believe the cold weather and late freeze has slowed the berries so that we are looking at an opening of the fields around the middle of June.  This is a little later than normal, but it's to be expected with the cold temperatures that we had.

The variety shown to the left is one that we've had a long time.  It produces a large sweet berry and somehow is still thriving and doing well - even after 25 years of being planted.  Some of our other plants we've replaced, but this one is actually an old planting on our property.

We can see this group of rows from our patio window and often see bunny rabbits bouncing around under the plant bushes or deer grazing in the newly planted field next to it.

Duke variety of blueberries

Just a few years ago, we planted an acre with several new variety of plants and picked on those rows for the first time last season.  The variety you see to the right is an early producer and ripens early in the season.  Les placed a kid-friendly swingset and tower right in front of it, so parents of young children really like picking berries in front of these plants.

The Duke variety is the starter of our season - usually ripening by June 5th and is a mild berry.  It is never sour at all!  It's nice to see how they've grown in the last year and how pretty and green everything is after the rain we had today!

Pimlico variety

Les added a row of Pimlico blueberries and hasn't been very happy with this variety.  The size is always really small - about the size you would want in a blueberry muffin.  Most people seem to prefer picking large berries - the bucket fills faster with the big berries.

Another problem with this variety is that that birds swoop down and easily take off with the crop.  Somehow, we don't find many after they turn blue.  You can see we really do have berries, though!

Blackberries Blooming

Blackberries 5.16.18

The blackberries are looking like they will have another large crop this year.  You can see the blooms are still on, but some of the blooms have fallen and turned into little green berries, so they are beginning their way toward a summer crop.

This variety is our largest variety - the Natchez - and can produce a berry as big as a person's thumb.  They are easy to pick and may take about 10 minutes to pick a gallon when the season is going strong.

Since they are large, the seeds are also large so you may have to strain some seeds if you're sensitive to large seeds.  Otherwise they have a great sweet taste and are wonderful in blackberry jelly and jam.

Nova Raspberries

Raspberries in Decline

Our Nova variety of raspberries have really suffered and don't look like they will bear many berries this year.  You can see that some are still in bloom and are just beginning to form berries.

This seems so late to me.  Last year I was beginning to pick raspberries at this time, so I guess they're at least 2 to 3 weeks later than normal.  It's so sad; raspberries are my favorite berry!

Les thinks we may need to take out the nova and do a replanting of different stock next year.  They've begun a decline in production which can happen with old root stock.  

Thankfully, our purple raspberries - the royalty - seem to be performing well and looking like they're going to have a good crop.  Maybe I can look forward to those raspberries!

Well, I think you've got a glimpse of all 3 types of berries we have on the farm.  I'll check back in with an update soon.  Until then, enjoy the rainy days along with the warm, balmy weather.

God is good - all the time!
Kathy

Surviving the Late Freeze!

April 16 - 4:00 a.m.  - 24 Degrees!

Valley Patch - Duke blueberries

We are blessed beyond measure this year.  On the morning of April 16 when the temperature plummeted, we were pretty sure that we had lost our crop.  The berries were in bloom and at least the first couple of varieties were in a full bloom state.

However, instead of turning brown and falling off to leave nothing to pick, the blooms stayed on and we now have green berries forming.

Blooming blueberries, late April, 2018

Because of the cold temps in the spring, our crop is running late.  Usually the raspberries are beginning to ripen right now and at this point in mid May, they've barely begun to form.

With warm temperatures on the way, we are expecting to have berries to pick around the middle of June.

For now, we are just dancing and happy that there will be a crop. In 2007, the late freeze destroyed the whole crop and we didn't have a harvest that year.  Wouldn't you know that it was the year our oldest daughter had a destination wedding in Jamaica?

Thankfully, it looks like we will have a crop this year.  The first variety - Duke - is a little thin, but there are berries on that variety as well as the other varieties.

God is good - all the time!

Spring Has Sprung!

Well, we can tell with the recent spring rainfall that our blueberries are plumping up and seeming really happy for all the water.  

The Blueray variety of blueberries in this picture to the left even seems to have an underlying blue hue today as the sun comes out to declare that it's springtime and that summer is on the way!

The berries have almost finished with their blooms; there are a few late blooms out there, but most have turned from bloom into little green berries with the leading berries getting bigger.

It seems to look like a normal season with our first ripe blueberries (Duke) ripening the first week of June and then the other varieties following it through June and into the first week of July.

We really were slammed with rain this last weekend, getting almost 5 inches of rain Friday night and into Saturday morning.  Les drove down to the valley several times to see if his hay barn was under water.  Thankfully it didn't quite get high enough to put the hay underwater.  You can see a good picture of his finger in the bottom left of the picture.

The bumblebees and honey bees have been busy out in the field.  As I snapped pictures in the field, the bees were almost bumping into me.  We're looking forward to seeing a good crop come to harvest!

Blueberry Season 2016

Duke Blueberries on June 1st

 Our blueberry season has begun!  In fact, I got so busy with keeping up with our Facebook page that I neglected to update my blogspot.  I was excited to get out of school before the picking started; usually school goes late and we're busy picking blueberries the first day I'm out of school.  This year I actually had time to help watch my granddaughter as Les built my daughter's deck on her back porch before heading to the house to get the barn cleaned up for the picking season.

We began picking the Duke variety of blueberries the first week of June.  It is a mellow flavored blueberry that isn't too sour and isn't too strong in flavor.  It's really fun to pick the first crop off the bush.  They seem to just fall in quickly and it makes for a good evening to fill the bucket as the sun goes down in the evening.

Nova Raspberries on June1st

Since it's now mid-June, this variety is almost picked clean.  There probably won't be any left on this variety after this week.  However, the Bluejay, Blue Crop and Blue Ray have all begun their ripening process and we've picked at least one or two pickings off of these varieties.


The Nova raspberries are pictured to the right.  We started picking them in late May and they will probably finish their season by the last week of June.  We also have a red variety that is called Reveille that is sweet and slightly more fragile than the Nova.  Les' favorite raspberry, though, is the Royalty and are purple when ripe.  We also have a berry called a Wye Berry that is a cross between a blackberry and a raspberry.  They're burgundy when ripe and taste a bit like like a Dr Pepper in their scale of sweetness.

If you get a chance, come see the farm on Tuesday, Thursday or Saturday. We're planning to be open from 7 a.m. - 2 p.m.  See you soon!

Jamming!

The Raspberries are right at their peak, if not a bit past, so I've been picking raspberries like a crazy woman.  The variety that I picked tonight was Nova - a berry that keeps its shape and has a yummy raspberry flavor, so I decided to put it into  jam.

I made sure to wash the berries and get rid of any soil, grass or over-ripe berries.


Then I heated the berries to make them easier to push through a strainer with a pestle.  In one batch I tried to eliminate all the seeds.  In a second batch, I only took out half the pulp and left a bit in.  I like the seeds in my jam; it makes it taste like real raspberry jam!

With 9 cups of juice and 6 cups of sugar, I brought the mixture to a boil and stirred often for 24 minutes.

After pouring into Ball jelly jars, I placed them in a hot water bath for 10 minutes and took them out.

Voila!  Raspberry Jam that is almost seedless, and another from a batch that has the seeds.  I can hardly wait to get to work on Blackberry Jam

See you soon!

Nibbling the Natchez

My great niece, Grace, came out to pick berries last Monday and found that her favorite berry was ripe.  I think she stuffed 20 blackberries in her mouth while her mom and dad were picking blueberries.

We just planted these two years ago and they're great tasting berries!  You can tell by the picture that they're about 2 inches long.  Not only are they big and quick to file a bucket with, they're also sweet!

I'm hoping that Grace didn't have a belly-ache after she left that evening.  Her hands were purple and her face had smears of blackberry juice on it.  If you come out to the farm, you will have to come ready to get some blackberry juice on your hands.

This variety is only up the hill by the house, so if you're looking for the Natchez, head on up and ask about the blackberries.

See you soon!  (Open Saturday, Tuesday, Thursday for the upcoming week)

Blueberry Honey!

My nephews robbed the bees this week.  There's nothing like lifting the lid of a strong beehive to set the field on high alert!  Les took a couple of pictures and when I complained that they weren't very good pics, he exclaimed, "They were swarming!"

I'm sure you know, or have some idea how the honey business works.  After the hive is robbed, the honey gets extracted from the frames, is allowed to settle and then poured into jars and labeled.  Soon we'll have the quarts of honey ready to sell on the farm from this last robbing.

Sometimes the honey is light from the spring clover.  If the bees can't find clover, they use the blueberry blossoms and the honey is a bit darker with a stronger flavor.  I can't wait to see what this batch tastes like!

See you soon!