Closed Monday Through Friday, Aug. 31-Sep. 4

We pretty much got picked out of ripe berries on Saturday morning, Aug. 29th.  We are going to let things ripen up this work week, remaining closed to picking, and re-opening for picking on the morning of Saturday, Sep. 5. Hard to say what percentage of the remaining crop, will ripen by then. We'll report conditions at the end of this week and post the outlook again on the 5th.

Best to stay home, now, and think about Saturday, Sept. 5 (early).

Picking Status is already awful, sorry, not enough berries ripened for the numbers of pickers that showed up this morning. No one really got more than 4-10 lbs, but there were so many pickers that the berries that ripened during the past work-week hiatus have been pretty much picked out. Because we promised to be open this weekend, we'll stay open today and tomorrow, but plan on it being more of an outdoor outing rather than a picking expedition. We WILL CLOSE for the WORK WEEK (Monday through Friday) again this week. Better conditions are likely next Saturday.

Saturday, it'll be...

Everyone has been honoring this work-week closure to patiently await for more ripening. We are seeing a lot of progress (more to go) and we'll be opening to allow everyone to harvest the newly ripe berries at dawn on Saturday. We'll stay open all of Saturday and Sunday, and re-assess Sunday evening about whether to close again (likely).  Assuming when we re-open the next Saturday, Sept. 5, that we can just remain open until the crop is picked out. We'll keep you posted.

Here are some pictures from the opening morning this year, taken by one of our volunteer workers:

Nothing ripe at the moment, wait a week

We are going to stay open today (Sunday) as promised, but there really is nothing ripe to pick at the moment.  We have had too many people coming this week, despite the discouraging conditions since Wednesday, picking faster than the ripening is happening.

We are certainly closing Monday through Friday this week (Aug. 24-28) and will reopen for the weekend, Aug. 29-30.  Most likely we will close for Aug. 31 - Sept. 4 and then open for the rest of the season on the 5th of September.  This is the pattern we operated last year in an attempt to manage the protracted ripening.

The protracted ripening is likely the result of the cool June conditions during pollination, making pollination slow and protracted.

Picking is slow, time for ripening needed

I walked through the patch tonight and it seems that the ripe berries are in the minority. If you want more than a bucket and/or you are coming from afar, I wouldn't bother and give it some time. We are on a pace very similar to last year, and last year our peak weekend was Sept. 6-7.

Very much likely we will close M-F this coming week, open on the weekend, and maybe likewise the week after.  If it plays out like last year, then we can stay open after the 6th of September.

Conditions might improve, so check back this blog or the Farm Facebook or the answering machine.

Even though there were well over 3000 lbs of berries that came off this place in the last 36 hours (examples depicted below), we still have ripe berries to pick, if you spend time looking for them (deep in the middle of the middle patch and lift up the lower branches to expose the hidden branches. So we will give it a go this week and remain open at least through Sunday, Aug. 23rd. We'll reassess the conditions on the 23rd. Usually the work-week picking is slower and so you can pretty much plan on great picking conditions on Saturday, Aug. 22nd.

It is getting tedious mentioning that, "there are a LOT of berries yet to get ripe,..." so let's just assume there will be lots still to come for a few weeks, until I post otherwise...

End of the 2015 Opener

Picking was pretty awesome today (Saturday, Aug. 15).  Lots of people, lots of berries, lots of heat, whew. Sunday will will be fewer berries but still some good picking.  The back patch (west of the parking) is pretty picked out of ripe berries (but lots to still ripen) and the front patch (near the road) could use more ripening, but the middle of the middle patch is pretty good still.  Not opening-day good, but pretty good for those who didn't pick here today.  If you come tomorrow (Sunday), don't stop at the first bush that has some ripe berries, go towards the solar panels-weather station and start your searching there. If you are early (morning), you will be rewarded.

Opening Day, Saturday, August 15, should yield a great harvest, but...

This picture was taken about 9 pm on Friday evening, August 14th, eve of the opener, while we were going around to put finishing touches on the fields and facilities.

The opener is going to be HOT!  We'll be open all day, and moping around because of the heat.  We'll be open all day Sunday, too.  If the pickers get all the ripe berries, we'll close for the work week and let things ripen for the next weekend.  We'll let you know on Sunday evening.

2015 Opener will be Saturday, Aug. 15.

This evening's report: a little less than 50% ripe. Looks like Saturday, August 15th, we are opening for sure. Not before. Open at daylight and close at dusk. The picking is going to be awesome. Same cost ($2/lb) and conditions (bring your own containers, pay with cash, check, Project Fresh, WIC, or IOU if you have to (not set up for credit card), pick to your heart's content, dress for the weather, bring proper sun screen and bug repellent, etc.). Drive especially slow on the farm and park in designated areas.

On pace for an August 15th Opener

Checked the patch again last evening (Sunday, August 2nd) and the stage of ripeness is still far below our goals for opening.  I think it will be safe to assume that we will most likely open for 2015 picking on Saturday, August 15th, and not before.

Daily changes in the ripeness are imperceptible, so I'll wait until after mid week to assess and report again.

Thanks for your patience.