Won't be this week, maybe the 13th

Berries are still mostly green and not ready for picking. Blueberries are at their peak flavor about 3 days AFTER turning blue and will maintain their quality for over a week after ripening. Therefore, we will now anticipate Aug. 13th as the potential opener. Although we have caught up to our average growing degree days, we did so after starting out the first month about half of normal, so the berries apparently still need some time. The weather has been great. Lots of heat and the we have been getting some rain every week, so it is all looking good. The bugs (mosquitos, black, deer, and horse flies) have even started to let up some and the evenings are pretty bearable. Last couple of weeks they have been awful. All in all, patience will pay off with a great crop and good conditions.

Still too Early to Call

Checked the berry patches this morning, but still 99.999% green. Could count the ripe berries on one hand (because I picked all five of them). Earliest we "might" open is Aug. 6. Keep monitoring this blog, the message on the answering machine, or the FB site.

First Pre-Season Report for 2011

Well, I have gone 9 months with no reports on this blog about the goings-on here at the farm. If you are a devote reader, my apologies. I am much better at "blogging" on the farm's Facebook page.

I reviewed the fields on this weekend, July 15-17. Lots of berries; none are ripe (or even close). We had a very cold start to summer in May and June, so we are anticipating a later ripening. Probably the soonest we will open is Aug. 6th, but check here to be sure. We are about at three-fourths of the average growing-degree days at this time.