Gierke Blueberry Farm

2011 Christmas Posting

2011-12-22T21:07:00.031-05:00

Status of Farmhands

Mike graduated from Chassell High School in June. Per his request, we had no shindig. Some family came to witness the event (probably to make sure it was true). He worked for Michigan Tech’s Slowing Ash Mortality project this summer and learned a lot about identifying trees and doing field work, plus he got to collect some bugs to boot! He also worked on a gypsy-moth research project, which included raising young and tethering females to trees with dental floss to trap males. All of this experience solidified his ambition to become an entomologist. He plans to get an entomology degree at Michigan State but for now he is a biology student at Michigan Tech, with intentions to transfer to MSU prior to his junior year.

Genny is in the middle of her senior year at Michigan Tech and will graduate with a B.S. in Biomedical Engineering in this spring. She joined Michigan Tech’s Pavlis Institute for Global Leadership as a first-year student and participated in her service-learning project in Ghana this past summer. She really enjoyed her 5-week trip and brought back pictures, stories, and Ghanaian recipes.

She also got engaged, upon her return, to her beau of almost 4 years, Karl Romanowicz IV. Despite the impression of a numerical lineage and the hard-to-spell/pronounce last name, Karl is an avid outdoorsman and very studious student (yeah, John checked). So far he has been a very helpful (and cheap) farmhand. They are going to be married June 16th, here in Chassell. We couldn’t be happier.

Lynn parlayed her remaining-term-appointment to the Chassell School Board into a full-fledged elected position. This was quite an accomplishment considering the spousal baggage she lugs around. Even though she has enough farm responsibilities to employ 4 people (more if they work like John), she fills many parts of days volunteering at Little Brothers—Friends of the Elderly and some afternoons and evenings here and there for the county fair and 4-H. If you are interested, her wine-making hobby produces faster than it can be consumed. She makes/knits/sews all kinds of practical things that can serve as an excuse to visit and yet feel productive.

John continues his efforts to support his hunting and fishing habits. While he gets out a lot for ducks and deer, he has very little but credit card statements and outdoor sporting paraphernalia to show for it. Yet, he takes the lead role in livestock rearing (at least at the beginning and end) to make sure the freezer is full. His professional work fosters interactions with many great students and colleagues, both in terms of their intellect and quality of their person. We especially enjoy their sharing in our farm and cabin facilities.

Farm Status

We increased the farm area by 50% this past year, purchasing a 10-acre parcel adjacent to the Northern boundary. The new property was an old piece of this farm and came equipped with a 1974 mobile home and dilapidated shed and neglected pasture, so it pretty much fit in with the existing facilities. Although we were not purposely looking to increase the acreage, we wanted to improve the chances that this property would continue its agricultural bent, so we scooped it up. We were able to find some folks who could use the trailer. The shed is wintering our honey bees, and the pasture was grazed most of the summer by our llamas and sheep.

We planted a pumpkin patch, growing about 300 pumpkins on half as many plants. Raised some sweet corn and pole beans, experimenting on whether we might add to the availability of produce. Both the corn and pumpkins did great. The pumpkins were sold as a fundraiser for a local charity. The corn was harvested and given away to families and friends. We might raise corn for U-pick to go along with next year’s blueberry crop. The blueberry crop was average this year, about 5500 lbs harvested. It seemed worse because it was half of what we harvested in 2010 and we had to open 2 weeks later due to the cold start to the summer. The apple crop was amazing, and it was a great cider year.

We raised 3 pigs and 5 lambs. We have about 6 chickens for eggs and 2 (heritage-breed) bourbon turkeys. Perpetually we have 2 llamas and the 2 dogs. John continues his ineffective attempts to regain the pastures from quack grass using mechanical means. Progress is slow but in the right direction.

Gratitude

We are evermore grateful each year for the agricultural diversions as we expand our experiences here on the farm. The different seasons bring changing flora and fauna, sounds and smells, and people and activities. The sounds evolve as the livestock inventory change and matures and the wild animal visits adapt to the seasonal norms. Daily we hear farm-turkey gobbles (shock gobbles at any loud noise) and sheep baaing complaints about having to eat hay instead of green grass. The llamas snort and “hum” at each other and at the sheep as they jockey for access to food bowls. Just a month ago the turkeys were limited to “purring” and clucks and the rooster was still only able to muster adolescent crackling attempts to crow. Red squirrels bark daily at Libby, who attempts to stare them down and use doggie ESP to get them to fall from their safe perches. We sometimes hear coyote yips in the summer evenings and wolves howl later in the fall. All summer long the morning sun and evening twilight are confirmed by the calls of sandhill cranes flying between fields used for feeding and marshes for roosting. The apple tree blossoms are followed by the delicate and bell-shaped blueberry blossoms. At the peak, in the best years, the berry bushes will “buzz” with pollinators. Pollination is the sweetest of sounds to a berry farmer.

We are becoming increasingly familiar with the early-summer sounds of tractors preparing fields and planting corn, strawberry plants and cover crops in the neighbors’ fields. June and July are the months for cutting and baling hay. Haying season at the neighbors’ is followed at our farm with the sounds of people picking blueberries. Blueberry picking is conducive to conversations. The opening days are mostly filled with discussions about the crop abundance. As the season wears on and the crop thins out, it can seem that the picking is just an excuse for many to get outside. The sounds of field corn and oats being harvested in the fall seem desperate as the days shorten.

We also are privy to many amazing sights. While installing electric fence in June, John was startled by a fawn when it ran out from its hiding place after Lynn turned on the fence prematurely. This same fawn was stepped over by a llama, twice, without moving, but John’s “electrical” shriek made it head for the hills. On the eve before the berry-season opener, John and a friend encountered a bear in the back patch. A short golf-cart chase ensued (cart chased bear). Deer can be seen most evenings in the summer. The aforementioned cranes are spotted regularly.

Although we cherish all these things, we cherish most the visits of friends and family. We enjoy the cart rides around the farm with kids as much as showing families the llamas and sheep. Watching children pick berries and sweet corn brings as much joy as seeing them scratch the pigs (with our patented "pig scratchers"). We are grateful to those who visit to help around the farm and provide planting, tractor, equipment, and livestock advice. The advice and guidance is most welcome and appreciated. We are lucky to have so many family and friends who help us here: parking/customer assistance during berry season, cutting trees, splitting and stacking wood and cutting logs into lumber, fixing our apple press or snowplow, re-covering our greenhouse, helping to get the tractor unstuck or tow a car to the garage, guiding our attempts to rear honey bees, and treating sick livestock. But most of all, we are glad to those who visit so that we can enjoy each others company for an evening around the fire ring or a weekend in between legs of travel. We hope for more to visit and for those who have, to visit more often and/or longer.

Our wish for all of you is the peace that we enjoy.

Outtakes

Trying to get the pose.

Karl, our tired picture taker.

Post Labor Day Report 2011

2011-09-06T09:23:00.001-04:00

The picking rate continues to decline. This will be our last week that we will be open for public picking. We will be closing at dark on the evening of Saturday, Sept. 10th. Also, we will be closed Friday evening for 2 hours: 4:30-6:30 pm. Please avoid coming out to pick during that period. Thanks.

End of Season Announcement

2011-09-02T21:48:00.001-04:00

We are going to call it a season on Saturday, Sept. 10th. Picking rates are slower every day. You are still welcome to come and pick, just not encouraged because of the meager offerings. Certainly not our best season, but we have had worse. Thanks for your patronage.

TV6 News

2011-08-31T09:28:00.003-04:00

In case you saw the TV6 News last night and saw the nice story about our farm and great interview with my wife and some pickers (http://www.uppermichiganssource.com/news/story.aspx?id=657609), I just wanted to point out that that story was done on our 3rd day of picking. The picking conditions have slowed tremendously since then (5-10% of opening weekend rate). Conditions have not "picked up." A bucket in 2 hrs or so is still possible.

Early Sunday Report of Saturday's Pickings

2011-08-28T07:48:00.002-04:00

The pickings remain slim. Only 100 lbs recorded for the day at the checkout. Saw a couple reports of 10 or more lbs picked, but most of the reports were for 5 lbs or less. Those that had picked 10 lbs or more would make a note to the effect, "Found a great bush (or row)." This means that your time is well spent looking around and "discovering" some that others have overlooked. There are still those two long rows with a lot of berries, predominantly unripe. We wish we could tell you when they will be ready to pick but there is no way of knowing. Some years they have not ripened before the first fall frost. Everyone is welcome to come pick until there is nothing left.

Picking is slow

2011-08-24T21:25:00.002-04:00

Today's harvest was less than 100 lbs, which was less than yesterday's (130 lbs) and the days before (200-250 lbs/day). The weather was not great today, but could hear a family having a great time in the back when I got home this evening. We will remain open another week or so, but come with low expectations. If things improve (there are still berries to get ripe), I will report when they appear ready.

Picking may be slower yet

2011-08-20T09:49:00.000-04:00

Getting reports that it is taking longer than three hours to get a full pail. Don't know if it reflects actual conditions or the picker (my brother) is not skilled. Might have a better sense of conditions to report tomorrow morning, after today's harvest.

Definitely in the Doldrums

2011-08-18T09:19:00.002-04:00

Average amount of berries picked per day are consistently about in the couple-hundred pounds per day but seemingly dropping. It is taking 2+ hours to fill a five-quart ice cream pail. Still lots of berries to get ripe, but experience suggests that there will not be another "banner" day this year and that the harvest will probably remain modestly steady for the next week or two. Even though the picking has slowed, the evening weather has turned great, with cooler temps keeping bugs down. If picking conditions change, I will post an update, otherwise assume the conditions above remain.

Easy pickin's are over, at least for awhile

2011-08-15T23:34:00.004-04:00

Picking has dropped off considerably. If you are coming from a long ways and/or expecting to pick 10s of lbs, we encourage you to wait for the unripe varieties to ripen (I don't know when that will be). If you are looking for a bucket, you can find them but you have to work the rows that are more overgrown and lift up the low branches and look under. The easy picking is over until the later varieties turn blue.

Opening Weekend Report

2011-08-14T22:40:00.005-04:00

Opening day was pretty wet to start. The cloud cover slowed the arrival of daylight and so the first arrivals were later than normal (after 6:30 am) and pickers showed up in fewer numbers. Nevertheless, if you found the right bush, picking was good and those skilled at picking and disciplined at not eating half of what they picked could fill a 5-qt ice cream pail in about 40 minutes (some less). The weather conditions turned to great in the afternoon and the evening was beautiful.

Over the past 6 seasons that we have owned this farm, we frequently are asked about bears. Seems natural, eh: bears love blueberries (who doesn't?) and we are located in one of the richest bear habitats in the lower 48. I (John) was an avid bear hunter in the 1980s and so I know what to look for when it comes to bear sign. Well, if they didn't before, pretty much everybody who visited farm this weekend does so now, as there were enough bear droppings around to half fill a 5 gal bucket, even after filling the treads of dozens of shoes. The amount of bear sign is very unusual this year. We have kept track of previous signs of bear over the past 6 years: 2 different bear tracks and only one pile of droppings. This year the bear "piles" are too numerous to count. John and a friend chased a bear off the back patch while putting out the garbage pails the late evening prior to opening. About the same time and place tonight (second day of picking season), a picker got a glimpse of a bear picking berries and trying to get away without paying (fat chance!). Well, watch where you step and we will keep an eye on things.

Reports on the quality of picking have been mixed so far. Some think that the picking is better than last year and others less so (but still good). I am pretty sure it is not as good. We have crop insurance, which we started two years ago, and as part of that the adjuster visits the fields just prior to opening and performs some very standardized assessment and uses some sort of calculations to forecast the harvest. Last year the estimate was 15,000 lbs and we ended up with about 9000 picked. This year the estimate is a more modest 8000 lbs, which would still be an above-average year. Nevertheless, last year there were 1500 lbs picked on opening day and this year a whopping 1200 lbs, despite what seemed like almost meager numbers of pickers. There are still many, many 1000s of lbs to harvest, after they ripen. Blueberry ripening is still a mystery to us. If it were me, I would come on evenings late in the work week and/or very early on Saturdays. The evenings temps and breezes (if any) are quite pleasant this time of year, so any night would be nice, regardless of the picking. The mornings are quite beautiful, too. Often a little foggy, always very dewy, and lots of bird noises. I would skip the afternoon sun but that is just me...

First day "report"

2011-08-14T00:28:00.000-04:00

Do not have the numbers yet, but a pretty good day of picking. Probably over 500 lbs by a rather spartan, but expert, crowd for a first day. Still lots of berries. The evening reports were that 5 qt-pails can be filled in 40 minutes. Thanks to everyone for their patience for opening and their participation in picking!

Let's get the 2011 season going on Saturday, August 13th

2011-08-10T19:42:00.003-04:00

Well, the fields are not as ripe as we would like for the opener but we feel we cannot stave off opening any longer. So we are going to open on Saturday, August 13th, at daylight, and we will remain open during daylight hours until we are picked out (usually about one month).

Price and operation remain the same as the last couple of years: Open daily during daylight hours, self serve (we are not always home, so use a check if you don't have correct change, honest people have simply put in an IOU and paid up later, too), $2/lb. If you can, bring your own containers. New this year we will have a limited supply (100) of food-grade, 5-qt, plastic pails, artistically decorated as shown, available for purchase at cost ($2.50 ea.).

Check this blog (or our Facebook site: search Gierke Blueberry Farm on FB) or call to get reports of the picking conditions, especially if you are traveling long distances and you are one of those who wants to pick 10s of lbs per visit. We'll try to give you a sense of how the picking is. First two days are usually very productive. After that, depends on how thoroughly we were picked and how fast the unripe berries are bluing up!

Going out on a limb: Looking like the 13th

2011-08-08T09:21:00.002-04:00

As I breezed through the rows this weekend, a brisk clip and while squinting, I assessed the status optimistically at about 50% ripe, which is more than double from the week before, so we are going to cross our fingers and hope that we can open on the 13th. When I refer to % ripe, it does not mean that X% of the bushes are ripe, rather that % refers to the fraction of berries amongst all the bushes appear ripe. Final decision about the opener will be Wednesday, evening. If we do not make any significant ripening between now and then, the opener will be delayed. Thanks for your patience.

Won't be this week, maybe the 13th

2011-07-31T11:21:00.002-04:00

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

2011-07-24T10:48:00.002-04:00

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

2011-07-17T11:17:00.002-04:00

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.

Now We are Closed for the Season!

2010-09-20T11:32:00.001-04:00

Berries are picked out and what little were left were frozen by the hard freeze/frost we had last night. All done, kaput, stick-a-fork-in-it, whatever. Thanks for your patronage.

Let's Lumber to the Finish Line: Sept. 15th

2010-09-10T07:41:00.002-04:00

We are going to call it quits for the season as the sun sets on Wednesday, September 15th. Pickers are still grabbing a pail or two in an hour or two. After we close for the regular season, if you are desperate to pick, feel free to call the rest of September and arrange to come out and pick for yourself. You may find pockets of late-ripening berries. Thanks for your help in a great harvest. I'll report the numbers in an October posting.

Not always sure what is going in the patch.

2010-09-02T06:59:00.001-04:00

Still must be berries. Heard 3 pickers, all women, picking (and gabbing/giggling) into the late evening last night. Later, after dark, I noticed a vehicle parked with its lights aimed at the weigh station and went out to investigate. Same 3 women, they picked 10-11 lbs each and were just giddy about it. They claimed that there were lots of berries. They were making noise to keep animals (specifically "cougars") away. I suspect they were smoking something and plan to investigate in the daylight...

Belated Update

2010-08-25T23:07:00.003-04:00

Sorry about the belated update. I do not get much in the way of communication on this blog, so I forget that there are a few (I actually don't know how many people follow it) who check on the berry status here. Our Facebook site gets a lot more regular attention.

Anyways, we are still open for picking. It takes some searching but the meager number of pickers who are still coming out are going home with a gallon or so of berries in about 1-2 hrs of picking. Like last year, there are two rows of berries yet to turn ripe. No idea when they will, but when they do, whoever is here will be pretty happy they are.

If you are driving from a long ways (more than 30 miles) and are hoping to get more than 15 lbs of berries, you might be disappointed (unless you hit the days when those late varieties turn blue). If you are in the area and need some for a few pies, we still have plenty and probably will through August, maybe the first week of September.

End of 2nd Week

2010-08-14T09:47:00.002-04:00

Despite the abundance of berries, pickers have been sparse and sporadic. Don't blame them, it has been hot and humid. Some annoying bugs (blackfly like but non-biting) in the early morning and late evening, when the temps are more pleasant. To avoid the bugs you have to pick in the heat, apparently. Normally don't have bugs this time of year, nor the heat nor the humidity, a trifecta of unpleasantries...

In my opinion, the best picking is in the eastern half of the large, middle patch. Most people park at the western end and don't venture far enough to get to the loaded bushes, choosing instead to pick bushes that have been picked many times already. They are getting berries and it is still taking less than an hour to pick a gallon.

At least another week or so of picking, depending how the berries handle all this moisture and heat. These conditions are new to us, so we are even less certain about predicting the future. It is not like we are ever certain about our predictions...

End of First Week of Picking

2010-08-06T09:40:00.004-04:00

I have not reviewed the berry patch in a few days, but based on the berry ledger, picking must still be very good (over 3000 lbs picked so far but there are tons, literally, still on the bushes). Lots of 10s and 20s of lbs are being picked and verbal reports are still glowing. I imagine, however, that easy picking must be exhausted on the bushes that ripened first. Nevertheless, there certainly are berries to be had on the lower branches of the large bushes and in the rows that are closest to the treeline on the southern boundary of the property, where the bushes are closer together and the picking is more "backwoods" like. There are couple of varieties that ripen later (those smaller bushes, more spread out, next to the big open field) that have not yet ripened. Last year they never did ripen before the first frost but this year they will. Not sure when.

It is never crowded during the weekdays, it seems, even in the evenings. Mornings are the best, both in terms of temperature and room. I suspect this coming weekend (Aug. 7/8) will be our last crowded one. My department will be picking on the evening of Thurs., Aug. 12th, and it might get a little crowded then.

Report on the 3rd Day

2010-08-02T21:42:00.003-04:00

Opening day harvest was 1531 lbs, a new record! The second day was half that (almost half of which was picked by one family, albeit a healthy number of them). Today, the third day, probably half of that.

I went out in the evening and reviewed the conditions. Grabbed these four berries in the picture at left from one bush that had already been picked over the last 3 days. Still a lot of berries to pick, especially in the middle rows at the end closest to the apple orchard. Very few people have been venturing down there. The back field still has ample picking, just not as easy as opening day, when you could have picked a bucket in a half hour using only your toes. Still a LOT of berries need to ripen, but no problem filling a gallon bucket in less than hour.

Opening Day for 2010 will be this Saturday, July 31st

2010-07-29T11:31:00.002-04:00

Despite not yet at peak ripeness for all of our field, we are confident that there are enough bushes where most of the berries are ripe and can sustain public picking. For the most part, everything is going to be the same as last year: cost is still $2/lb, please bring your own containers (ice-cream pails are ideal), remember to drive very slow on the roads and keep an eye out for kids, come any time during daylight. After this weekend, check back here before coming to make sure we have ripe berries available for picking (or call the answering machine (523-6112) for a report), and remember that blueberry bushes attract stinging insects and other bugs and it can get very hot out in the fields.

Tentatively the Opener will be Saturday, July 31

2010-07-27T07:40:00.001-04:00

I just did a walk through the patch this morning. Only a handful of bushes are completely ripe, about half are 50% and the other half have not yet started to show signs of ripening. I am going to go out on a limb and forecast that those that are mostly ripe will finish up before this weekend, so we will be anticipating that as our opener for 2010. Keep checking the answering machine or this blog.

Not Yet, sorry.

2010-07-21T22:31:00.001-04:00

We took stock of the blueberry field tonight (Wednesday) and the berries are not as ripe as they should be for opening. We may have to forgo our tradition of Saturday openers and open in the later half of next week. We will provide an update Monday. No picking before Wednesday, July 28th for sure.

Are we there yet?

2010-07-19T07:50:00.001-04:00

Does a watched blueberry ever ripen? We'll find out. We have been watching. Ripening continues, but there needs to be much more. We will make a decision about whether to open this weekend on Thursday. If not this weekend, very good chance it will be the next (July 31st).

Opener at least a couple weeks away

2010-07-13T18:06:00.002-04:00

I checked the bushes yesterday and the crop is more abundant than last year but still very green. We are on pace for an early August opener, but given the earlier/warmer spring/summer, we might open late July. We will announce the opener in advance (at least by a few days). Don't bother asking about picking early. Out of fairness, we never grant such requests. The answering machine (906/523-6112) will have daily updates starting about July 21st. If you are a FaceBook-er, we will send an announcement of the opener a few days in advance. Opening day will be on a Saturday and we will announce which Saturday the Wednesday before. Thanks for your patience.

Pre-Season Scouting Report 2010

2010-06-22T18:10:00.002-04:00

If you are reading this and it is not yet July 2010, then you have a blueberry addiction. There is no help for that. Early indications are that your may have a pretty good opportunity to feed your addiction this year. We have been averaging almost an inch of rain per week this June. That, coupled with the summer-like spring conditions during blossoming, made for excellent pollination. The harvest should be as good or better than last year (nearly 5000 lbs, which is average) and maybe the ripening will be on time. Still early to announce the opening day, but it will be a Saturday in early August, maybe August minus-one. Don't plan your vacation on this still early premonition, just a warning to check in after the middle of July. Yours truly will be gone the first half of July, so the next update will also be noncommittal and forthcoming about July 16th.

If you have facebook, become a fan of "Gierke Blueberry Farm" and you will receive an FB invitation when the blessed event arrives. We are sort of migrating our picture taking and story telling to our FB page, as it is much easier to maintain, and it doesn't take much of a hurdle for yours truly to procrastinate on updates...

Christmas 2009

2009-12-31T10:46:00.031-05:00

Merry Christmas and Happy New Years from the Gierke Blueberry Farm!

For those who do not keep track, our last Christmas mailing was in 2007 (more likely early 2008). This is going to be a shorter update, despite the extended period since the last posting.

Update on John: I wanted to write about all of my traveling adventures and work related stuff, but I thought it would sound like bragging. I mentioned this to Lynn and she replied, "Well, why don't you write on your accomplishments around the farm. That won't sound like bragging at all." She is always ready with thoughtful insights like that, so I thought I would take her up on it.

Here is what I have COMPLETED around the farm: greenhouse has been re-covered, and here is what I have started but not finished: getting the fields in shape for pasture, getting ground ready for a garden, French drain around the addition, thinning the woods, in the back of the property, ..., and these are the items still in the "idea stage": sauna, fishing dock for the pond, fencing, new chicken coop (old one burned down in Christmas '08), sheep shelter, tractor-implement shed, re-siding original parts of the house, new roof for barn, apple-tree trimming, blueberry bush trimming, blueberry irrigation, ... My brother and his family have been a big help during their visits. Jeff has helped roof the addition and berry building, re-covered the greenhouse, and a multitude of other farm projects. His kids have helped put a lot of miles on the farm cart and kept the fish pond from becoming overpopulated.

John & nephew Jack moving dirt, probably for no reason other than it is fun to do.

Update on Lynn: Lynn continues to busy herself with non- and low-paying efforts, many of which are around the farm. Many thankless efforts, too, all around the farm. After many years as co-manager of the Houghton County Fair, she has turned loose of those reins to afford more time to work and volunteer for Little Brothers--Friends of the Elderly. Lots of her work involves volunteer-database management. She is currently chicken sitting for a co-worker's husband's birds, while they escape the winter. We are keeping the birds in our newly recovered greenhouse, which is a good test run for John's plans to rebuild a free-range coop for our future chickens and winter them in the greenhouse. We'll see how that pans out.

Lynn was on a mission to recover control of some of the blueberry rows that have grown out of control. It is a tough job, which is why only she can do it.

A new hobby of Lynn's that John fully supports is wine making. Pictured are some of her red currants, at harvest time, which makes a nice dry red vino. John is considering getting her a "still" in the future.

Update on Gen: Genny is in her second year at Michigan Tech, majoring in biomedical engineering, with future plans to go to dentistry school. She lived in the dorm her first year and now shares an apartment with one of her dorm-mates, Coleen. John was very relieved when she chose to attend Tech. Although he saw her often her first year, the second year has resulted in less frequent encounters, most of them Sunday afternoons, with her sporting a pile of laundry. She spent the summer at home, helping a lot around the farm and working in a lab at Tech and for Summer Youth Programs. Her boyfriend, Karl, is also a big help around the farm on some of our bigger projects, especially where agility and height and no expectation of pay are needed.

Coleen is center in this picture.

Update on Mike: Mike has entered the 11th grade at Chassell. He now has his driving license, but has been very low-key in his vehicle usage expectations. He has been raising bees, his dog (Libby the Brittany), riding his mountain bike and putting in a lot of grass-cutting hours around the farm.

Mike's Libby likes it warm!

Update on the Animals: Libby has started to mellow some. Broemer is uber mellow. We raised three pigs this summer, purchasing them from a friend in Cassopolis, MI. Nice pigs. Have one in the freezer and sold the other two. Took up sheep raising, too, for the first time. John has plans to get more this spring and have them "mow" grass in the apple orchard and berry fields, then sell off the mowers in the fall. Like all his plans, sound good on a blog but their potential for success in practice is much less certain.

Still have llamas, but the older one went where old ones go, and he was replaced with a beautiful female, born at a farm down the road. If you are cute enough and pucker just right, she will give you kisses. John is not cute enough and does not pucker on purpose. Mentioned above that we lost our chickens just after Christmas in '08. Plan to re-build and re-populate, when we get around to it. Priorities for '10 are: sheep shelter(s), chicken coop (portable), sauna, ...

Post-Season Special Event: Pre-School Visit Sept. 30

2009-10-10T09:12:00.005-04:00

Comments from the MTU Pre-School kids. I agree with Sam, my favorite, too. Will post pictures if they send me some.

We welcome school visits.

Hard frost this morning (Sat., Oct. 10th, should do in the last of the berries).

Mrs. Fezzey also said that she "Loved the entire day. Having a walk on the pretty property-eating & picking apples and blueberries and seeing the animals."

Mrs. Stephenson & Mrs. Fezzy seems to have the perfect dispositions for teaching.

Let's call it a year, eh.

2009-09-28T06:47:00.002-04:00

Sorry for the belated update. In case you didn't notice, we closed last week. We appreciate everyone's participation in this year's harvest (as predicted, an average year, about 4,500 lbs picked). Thanks, too, if you and your family and friends checked out the animals. Hopefully you will notice the improvements when you visit next year.

limping to the end

2009-09-16T22:14:00.001-04:00

Checked the fields this evening, Wed., Sep. 16. Picking has remained slow and those rows that have been holding out on ripening continue to do so. There are likely only a hundred pounds or so still on a few rows of bushes. Picking a full bucket on a given day remains an iffy proposition. Despite that, we will continue to allow picking for those that want to, at least for another weekend.

2009-09-11T10:27:00.000-04:00

According to Lynn on the morning of Friday, Sept. 11: "I looked out back and I say 20% ripe on the late bushes. The back field looks about 40% with whats left."

The Hoorah Fizzled

2009-09-06T08:01:00.002-04:00

If you are reading this from far away and were considering coming to pick today (Sunday, Aug. 6) or this coming week, don't, the picking is too slow. Just to spite me, it seems, the remaining berries continue to ripen slowly and what was ripe got picked through pretty thoroughly over Friday & Saturday. There still might be a bonanza bush here or there to find, but I couldn't find any. Lynn wants us to close this week and re-open next weeked for one last time. Who am I to argue. Feel free to come out today and Labor Day. You can always visit the animals. Bring work cloths, lots to do around here.

Is Labor Day the last hoorah?

2009-09-05T08:49:00.002-04:00

Might be the last hoorah this Labor Day weekend. Those rows of small bushes that are loaded with berries still were not quite ripe on Thursday, but should ripen any time.

There are still berries to be picked on the bigger-bush varieties. Best strategy is to go to the middle (people start at the ends) and lift up the branches, you will eventually find a motherlode of berries that have gone unnoticed.

Caution: watchout for hornet/wasp nests! You would think with three weeks of picking that all of them would be found but, alas, there still can be a ground nest that goes unnoticed for awhile. Despite still discovering a nest every week or so, hardly anyone has been stung. Good reflexes and attentiveness to the presence of wasps and hornets are the keys. Don't mean to scare, just encourage awareness.

Seventh-Inning Stretch

2009-08-31T07:05:00.000-04:00

Picking picked up on Sunday, almost 400 lbs were picked. Had a month's worth of rain in 24 hrs (about 3.5") on Fri./Sat. Picking should be ok this week still and if those smaller bushes that are loaded with berries ripen by the weekend, then that should be our last hurrah. We'll see.

no change

2009-08-25T20:57:00.002-04:00

maybe this weekend it will be better??? Sorry, no way of knowing when these berries will get ripe. Picking will be decent when they do get ripe. if not this coming weekend, then labor day...

A watched berry never ripens.

2009-08-22T22:59:00.001-04:00

Unless you are desperate to pick, I would stay home. Rate of ripening is about equal to the meager picking (100 lbs/day right now), so we seem to be gaining no ground. Wish there was a way to close for a week or so, but inevitably when we try, we get people showing up and pleading to pick. There are still some bushes loaded with berries, but they need some time and sun (got a lot of water yesterday).

State of Ripeness Still Weak

2009-08-20T12:32:00.002-04:00

I did not assess this myself, but got a couple of expert opinions and it looks like the field is below 50% ripe, probably in the 25-35%. Certainly good enough for picking a couple of pies worth of berries, but not enough to warrant coming from a long distance picking all day for a year's worth of supply. I wish I could tell you when the unripe will become ripe, but I can't.

Picking Doldrum

2009-08-17T20:09:00.002-04:00

Well, the picking was fast and furious on Saturday. Slowed considerably on Sunday, and it looks pretty slow out there tonight (Monday). It was taking 2-3 hours to fill an ice cream pail, which is almost 4 times longer than it took on Saturday morning (when the blueberries were practically jumping in people's buckets). If you are just looking a pie's (or two) worth, sure, come on out and pick. Otherwise wait.

I am outta town Wednesday & Thursday, and my family lacks the decisiveness to make up a statistic that indicates the proportion ripe and how the picking might be.

I'll try to get an assessment in the morning Friday and update this report.

Opening Day Report

2009-08-16T07:43:00.002-04:00

We opened EARLY on Saturday, August 15, 2009. First pickers arrived under the cover of darkness and hit the fields at 5:50 am! Heard they used flashlights to pick until the sun was a up, a half hour or so later. As crazy as that seems, I think it was even crazier to be picking at mid day. Felt like death valley (if death valley was loaded with blueberries) out there. I wasn't picking but was sharing in the experience working on repairing the greenhouse, so I guess I am labeled as crazy, too.

First group of 3 pickers (Joni Barron et al.) to hit the scales picked 30 lbs or so in an hour. Tim Barney in his wife (also of Chassell) and another companion registered the biggest load at 76 lbs. Can't really say that they were the top group because others list their harvest individually. Nevertheless, any amount reported in 10s of lbs is a lot of berries!

Only one casuality to report, a picker ran into a bald-face wasp nest. The bush with the nest is loaded with berries, so I haven't sprayed it, just cordened it off and awaiting a cool night, when the wasps are more sluggish, and will snip it off and toss somewhere in the woods.

Pigs report a lot of people stopping to gander at them, prompting them to ask, "Haven't these people seen a pig before?" Well I explained to them that they are attractive pigs, especially the gilt (female) who sports near perfect natural (birth spots) eyeshadow on both eyes. Sheep and llamas were miserable in the heat. They are looking forward to the cooler weather, too.

I toured the fields this a.m. and amazed at how clean it looks, completely litter free. Still lots of berries, but you will have to be more "surgical" in your picking, as all the big clumps of ripe berries were harvested by those who showed on opening day, but that is why they come then, eh.

2009 Opening Day is Saturday, August 15

2009-08-12T09:22:00.003-04:00

Ripening progress is now rapid, and we WILL open on Saturday, August 15!

The patch nearest the berry bldg/Klingville Rd., which we usually try to reserve for those who can't make the hike to the other fields, is practically devoid of berries, so forgo that patch.

The small bush variety, which comprise the northern most 3 rows on the long middle patch are still unripe (completely). Who knows when they will be ready. The higher (more out of control) varieties) in this middle field are the furthest ripe. The so-called "back field," which is furthest from Klingville Road, is a bit more hit or miss and fewer berries than last year.

Should have locally grown honey available Saturday, too. Ask at the house. We haven't harvested our honey yet, but the stuff for sale is produced just a few miles from our farm, by the Pines (Colling's) Farm on Boundary Road.

Same price, same conditions. Good luck. Keep an eye out for hornets. We still haven't found any nests, which only means they are somewhere, deep in bushes or in the ground. Let us know so we can mark the area to keep out unsuspecting pickers.

by the way, if you have a facebook account, you can become a fan of the Gierke Blueberry Farm on Facebook and receive updates more rapidly.

Ripening progress visible every day

2009-08-11T07:35:00.003-04:00

Berries are making regular progress in ripening now. It looks like about half of the bushes will be ready to pick by Saturday, Aug. 15, maybe even a day or two earlier. The smaller bushes (and berries), which tend to ripen later may not be ready right away, but we will open nonetheless so you can get started on what is ripe. Thanks for your patience.

Ripening Progress

2009-08-09T12:38:00.002-04:00

Ripening has made a lot of progress since wednesday. Still none of the varieties are better than about 50% ripe (in a given bush), but many bushes jumped from 30 to 50% ripe since Wed. Got a great rain last night, which we needed badly. It has been warm and humid during the last few days, which should also help. Outlook for picking on the 15th is good. Hopefully I didn't just jinx it.

For those who have picked here often, this appears to be our latest year. To put it in a temperature perspective, let's look at growing degree days. In 2005-2007, we experienced at least 1200 growing degree days by this time each year, and in all of those years we opened by the first of August. Last year (2008), we opened in Aug. 9th, after 830 growing degree days. This year, as of today, we are at 700. I don't know how many it takes, but obviously we are a bit behind. Everybody with a garden already knows this.

Here is the website where one can look at historical temperature, precipitation, etc.:
http://www.wunderground.com/history/airport/KCMX/2009/8/9/CustomHistory.html

Delaying Opening

2009-08-06T08:38:00.001-04:00

Went through the fields carefully on Wed. evening, Aug. 4. Still less than half ripe. We are going to delay the opening, probably by a week (maybe opening Aug. 15). Keep checking for updates, especially starting Aug. 10.

Second thoughts, may delay opening a week

2009-08-04T22:15:00.002-04:00

Went through the patch thoroughly today, Tues., Aug. 4. Still less than 50% ripe. Having 2nd thoughts about opening this Sat.. Worried that we are going to have to delay the opening. A couple of guys from the Farm Service Agency (part of the USDA) checked the crop for our insurance policy and they have a systematic approach to estimating the crop. They estimate it at about 6000 lbs, which is about the average. Last year's crop was over 10,000 lbs, similar to the summer of 2005. Crops in 2006 & 2007 were in the 2000-3000 lb range. We will decide Thursday about Saturday.

Getting closer, still not ready

2009-08-02T14:46:00.002-04:00

Field check on Saturday, Aug. 1st: fewer than 20% of the berries are ripe. No single bush is ripe yet, many are not ripe at all. Decent quantity it seems, should have at least a couple of weeks of picking, once ripe. The EARLIEST we MIGHT open is Saturday, Aug. 8th, but may be later if the berries don't hustle their ripening. Still could use some rain, eh.

2009 Outlook

2009-07-19T18:21:00.002-04:00

I checked out the blueberry crop on Saturday, July 18th. Although it is not going to be a banner year by any means (lacking rain and poor conditions during pollination), there are going to be berries to pick, probably starting late in the first week of August.

Last year we opened for picking August 9th and never closed. Pickers started running out of steam, it seemed, well before the bushes were empty. 10,000 lbs in all, what a great year! Certainly we would hope to have those conditions every year, but we will be pleased with a modest crop (average is about 5000 lbs/yr).

The small patch of bushes nearest the house are practically devoid of berries. These are the oldest bushes, so maybe they are simply "done". Out in the largest patch, in the middle, at least 50% of the bushes are sporting decent numbers to "loaded". Some bushes are empty, but for the most part there should be berries for everyone when we open. Probably will NOT open any earlier than Aug. 8th (we prefer to have our "opening day" on a Saturday).

As many have noticed, my attention to this blog can be quite spotty. I am going to continue to maintain this, but we are also trying more contemporary ways of keeping you abreast of the berry situation, so we started facebook account for the berry farm. If you have your own facebook account, then search for and make yourself a fan of the Gierke Blueberry Farm facebook site and you can get more regular information on the picking situation. You can also post your own perceptions of the picking.

Still Goin' Solid, more berries to pick

2008-09-04T09:42:00.003-04:00

Admittedly there are increasing numbers of overripe (and dried out ones due to the weather) berries, but some bushes are still loaded with quality berries, and, surprisingly, there are still some unripe berries. We will remain open as long as there are enough quality berries to pick that a customer can get a pail full in an hour or two. Probably about a week or so.

For my amusement, here is a picture of our son, Mike, and a 1-month member of our family, Masa, from Japan. They are "working" the bee "farm" part of our operation. I encourage you to submit a caption for the picture via the comments section of this blog. I will post all those that can be rated G:

Bushes are still loaded, 90% ripe

2008-08-25T05:50:00.002-04:00

Well, I think it is safe to say that we had a bumper crop this year, despite the lack of rain this summer. The wet fall and spring must have been enough. We still have a lot of berries. Pickers have dwindled noticeably. Phone barely rings (which we don't mind). We should have picking thru the Labor day weekend.

Some honey still available, too.

The ripenin' is faster than the pickin'

2008-08-18T11:13:00.002-04:00

The average picker is taking home about 12 lbs of berries (about 2 ice cream pails). Some are harvesting upwares of 20-30 lbs, while many are just getting 5-7 lb. We are seeing many return faces, so I think people are picking when they can.

It appears that the berries are ripening faster than people are picking. We probably should have placed some ads in the paper, but we were afraid to have too many picking and spoiling the fun for the loyal customers/visitors.

We are still lacking rain, when it does come, it may be too late to help the remaining crop. We will remain open now until the berries are sparse. We will NOT be closing/opening off and on, as there are so many berries that there should always be some ripe ones somewhere. We probably won't close until after labor day, unless the berries get picked out.

Happy Picking...

p.s., we have some excellent local honey at the farm. Tim Colling has been mentoring Mike Gierke on raising bees and we have one of his hives out at our farm. We have bottles of Tim's honey for sale at our farm. Mike's bees did not produce enough to off our's for sale this year, but hopefully with an expansion next year we can offer honey, dare we call it "blueberry" honey, next year.

p.s.s., Our kids will be auctioning two pigs at the Houghton County Fair on Saturday, Aug. 23, in the afternoon. They have been fed grain and leftover vegetables (courtesy of World Foods, Houghton). No growth hormones nor antibiotics (besides what they received intially as piglets).

A Lot Still Need to Ripen, Need Rain

2008-08-14T07:50:00.003-04:00

These are some pictures I took on the evening of Aug. 13th (Wed.) of some very typical berry quantities on bushes. The ripening status is also typical in that about half of the berries are ripe, but unfortunately the ripe ones and unripe ones are intermingled (probably due to the drought conditions).

We will remain open as long as there are ripe berries to pick in quantities that allow one to fill a gallon bucket in a couple of hours. Due to the quantities of berries on the bushes, we should be able to have picking for a couple of weeks.

Bumper Crop: still more to ripen

2008-08-11T11:11:00.002-04:00

By the looks of the buckets of berries being hauled out of the field on Saturday, I would venture to say that we have a bumper crop this year--maybe approaching the yield in 2005. There are still more berries to ripen. Surprisingly, the smaller variety(ies) are still green. The large-berry bushes are at least 50% ripe.

Still could use rain to help with those berries not yet ripe.

Apparently, we are open!

2008-08-09T10:30:00.002-04:00

As seems par for the course the last couple of years, I have been out of town the weeks preceding our anticipated opening. Not on purpose, of course, but not very helpful either. To make matters more complicated, my travels have taken me to locales not conducive to communication with the mother farm: no phone and unreliable satellite internet. Before you start accusing me of sneaking off to an exotic fishing place, let me state that although exotic (beringglacier.org), fishing is not part of the trip activities.

Anyways, I am in route home, at an airport, and called to learn that the wife and daughter are womanning the farm and there were already 40 cars of pickers as of 10 am on Saturday, August 9th. The crop is not fully ripe, but in far more abundance than the past two years. I can't wait to get home and see for myself.

Remember, you can pick any time, it is all self serve. Call (906/523-6112) or check the blog first, just in case we have to close due to a lack of ripe berries. We look forward to seeing you.

Proposing to Open on Saturday, August 9th

2008-07-25T14:47:00.002-04:00

My return from travel the first half of July was bitter sweet: brought a nasty sickness that I am slowly recovering from and observed what seems to be a pretty good blueberry crop on the horizon. The outlook is for better yields than the last two years. We have been getting rain, but we still need some regular precipitation if the berries are going to ripen completely.

We anticipate a week later opening than normal. Local strawberries were about a week later than average and whatever caused their slow start (probably the cool start to summer) has likewise affected the rate of maturation of the blueberries.

August 9th is a pretty safe bet, and hopefully the crop will be enough to sustain a few weeks of picking.

2008 is not Yet Ready to Start

2008-07-02T16:20:00.002-04:00

Well, being remiss is becoming a more common character trait of the person responsible for posting to the farm blog. Rather than bore you with a litany of lame excuses, let's just forgo the whining and get on with another hollow promise to be better in the future.

Most of our readers are interested in the outlook for the blueberry crop. Before I start expounding on all the conditions and omens that suggest good, bad or otherwise, let me remind you that I have no business expounding because I have so little experience and every year seems to be different than the others preceding it. Lack of expertise has never prevented me from expounding before, so I am not going to let it stop me now.

Much like the plethora of signs to indicate conditions for fishing, hunting, etc., the longer we are in the "business" of blueberry growing, the more signs we learn of. The last two years have been poor berry years (less than 3000 lbs picked each year, the crop lasting only a meager couple of weeks), compared to the bumper crop in 2005 (more than 10,000 lbs picked and seemingly a similar amount going unpicked). 2006 seemed to be short on pollinators, based on the sparse berry production among the fields. 2007 was certainly the dearth of precipitation, as the crop appeared promising in July, but despite the warm weather, ripening was slow and eventually berries just dried up on the branches and fell off.

As soon as the last berry fell from the patch, it seemed, the rains started in September '07, and didn't stop until November. Seemingly, the precipitation lacking in June-August, showing up in September and October, AFTER the berries shriveled and fell off the bushes. We were told that the moisture in the soil in the fall is what determines the berry crop the next summer. Although this helps our optimism, it contradicts my sensibilities (and literature). Logic dictates that moisture is needed over the entire growing season, more so at critical parts, to be sure.

To add insult to injury, May and June have been really dry in Klingville. July is looking better so far (today is July 1) and it can not come too soon. There are a lot of berries on at least 2/3rds of the bushes right now. Some variety is still in blossom and another shows no berries nor blossoms, but these are a small fraction of the overall field. So, if the rain keeps up (unlikely), we should be better off than the past two years.

The spring was cooler than normal and summer started later, and so start to the growing season seemed to lag. We are anticipating opening August 9th, and will update as July progresses (next report July 18th.

For those who recall my threats to install irrigation, that was just a threat, hoping to fool Ma nature into raining more often. Well, the bluff is not working, and so I am actively researching irrigation systems (drip, supplied with water from a well or our ponds using a wind- or solar-powered pump). The cost investment is significant, and probably not justifiable with a kid heading off to college this year. If we experience a good crop this year, it might finance the a system for '09 that will help us overcome the drought conditions in the future.

Christmas 2007

2008-01-01T19:09:00.004-05:00

Belated Merry Christmas and Belated Happy New Year--and Belated Happy Thankgsgiving, Halloween, Labor Day, ... whew, I have been remiss in updating our blog. I have had only two complaints, so I am not sure whether our readership is of the non-complaining persuasion or very few in numbers. For those of you that keep tabs, you probably know that I am prone to making promises to be better about communicating and then not. But, I do promise to be better. We have recently joined the fast-internet world, as of mid-December, so maybe that will reduce another hurdle, or not... Let's start this newsletter with the major events of 2007 for the Klingville Gierke clan, then if you make it through those, we will degenerate to the minor events:

Major Event Number 1: John's Deer

John was obsessed with getting a deer this year, more so than normal. He and Lynn and Mike hunted the first two mornings of season over at Michelle Danielson's property. John saw 36 deer over those first 2 mornings, but none had antlers and he lacked an anterless tag. Mike had a tags for bucks and does, but wanted to hunt with his mother, which I know sounds sweet, but it was a mistake because his ol'man was into the doe deer (irresistible to the ladies, eh). The two of them saw deer, even some with antlers, but nothing presenting a reasonable opportunity. Lynn and Mike called it quits after those first 2 days and John continued to hunt despite the dwindling deer sightings. He finally caught up with a standard-size, 1.5-year old, 4-pt buck on Thanksgiving morn, while his brother and family were here visiting. John was very pleased to arrive home still early in the morning with a dressed out buck in the back of the pickup. Nephew Jack was only mildly impressed, as he was party to an 8-pointer that John's brother got in the evening of opening day.

Major Event No. 2: Mike's first Duck and Goose

Mike was finally able to stay awake in the duck blind long enough to get a crack at a couple of ducks and a goose. He connected on the goose while his dad called it in to the decoy spread. He got his first duck (a mallard) shortly after. Daniel Saari, a neighbor of similar age to Mike but more like John in his obsession with all things outdoors, was successful that day as well. Daniel guided John on a short goose hunt at his grandfather's a few days later. Daniel was pretty successful at acquiring geese and John coached him on cooking them in a way that was pleasing to his family.

Major Event No. 3: Gierkes Add 2 Bedrooms and a Bathroom to the Farmhouse

Those of you who have visited our farm for an overnight quickly learned that space was a premium in the farmhouse. Mike outgrew the vertical span of his attic bedroom and Gen was tired of everyone traipsing through her bedroom to gain access to the bathroom. Lynn worked out a financial deal with the credit union and we embarked on our first ever building project--beyond housing for chickens and pigs, that is. Construction began with a flurry (by a contractor, had it been led by John, it would have started as a fog and grown to a drizzle and then probably turned to drought) in late June and continued through August. John's brother Jeff and family arrived to shingle the old parts of the house in August. The Tapiola Atens helped with the shingling for a day, as did Tom Figures. John's Dad came in late September to give unsolicited advice on tiling the bathroom to John and Gen. Gen not only was a big part of the shingling and tiling, but her and Tom Figures put laminate flooring in the new hallway and bedrooms in one 14-hr day. Gen's old bedroom is now a family office. Mike's old room is a guest room and "gaming" area, and Mike now resides in the bedroom previously used by his parents. The old master bath will be converted to laundry down the road. Visitors now will find more ample space if they choose to stay.

Major Event No. 4: There is a Queen in our Midst

Although not groomed for competition (notice the scabs/bruises on the right knee of Genny's picture at left), Genny competed for the queen in the Chassell Strawberry Festival (where she was sponsored by the Gierke Blueberry Farm) and the Houghton County Fair (where her sponsor was the Stoney Hedge Hog Farm--where we buy all of our piglets). The strawberry queen competition focused on poise and personality, and the competition was fierce. The Fair competition included a talent show. Having given up on instruments and dancing in her early teens and pretty much unable to sing, Gen used her creativity and wit (and likewise contributions from her father) to put together a pretty funny skit on fitting and showing a chicken (including bringing her favorite chicken, Speckles, to play a role in the skit). The synchronization of the sound effects and the act fell apart in the middle, along with a snafu with the electrical power to the main prop, but she persevered, improvised, plus hammed it up a little, and took home the tiara (and Miss Congeniality to boot). Pictures of her rein over the Fair are below (along with her sponsor and some of the piglets we purchased a few months prior. The one she is dragging backwards as a 40-lb piglet is the same one shown in the market photo at about 270 lbs.).

Its all over for '07

2007-08-20T17:14:00.000-04:00

The fat lady has sung, signifying it is all over for this year: the last berries were picked on Saturday, August 18th. Miserable season. In June, while taking stock of the berries growing on the bushes as we mowed the grass, we had higher hopes than last year, but our hopes became increasingly dashed as the drought conditions persisted. Many unripe berries have dried up and fallen off the bushes.

We will be looking into irrigation, taking advantage of the irrigation ponds that were dug years ago when our farm was a strawberry farm. The design and planning will be a good winter project for the head engineer at the house, and setting up will be a good spring project for his minions.

August 9

2007-08-09T09:59:00.000-04:00

Yesterday the back patch got picked out again. There are still berries in the middle patch that are green and may ripen with rain.

We will be leaving the farm open till the berries are gone but it is up to you if you want to come. We can't guarantee the quantities but you may get a couple pounds.

Our next post will be when we officially close.

August 8th

2007-08-07T19:21:00.000-04:00

Tomorrow all fields will be officially open.

If you have been following the blog then here is your heads up. The back field will reopen. If you can't make it tomorrow then you should call ahead to check the conditions.

We are still waiting for rain and that would really help out the middle field. Yesterday was good and today people picked as best they could in that field.

There are still more green berries but I don't know if they will dry up or not. Pray for rain, do your rain dances and we hope to see you soon.

Open-August 6th

2007-08-06T14:52:00.000-04:00

Hi Bloggers, sorry for not getting this posted sooner. We opened today and had lots of pickers. This morning there were over 20 cars of people at the farm.

We opened the middle patch today. The back patch is closed for ripening. There are lots of berries on these bushes and more to ripen. But we could use some rain to help the berries out.

Stay tuned and I hope we can keep picking for a few weeks, but we'll let you know.

Still Waiting on the Ripening

2007-08-03T22:26:00.001-04:00

I know everyone wants to know, "When will we be opening, again?"

Current supply is not ready for the demand. We appreciate that everyone wants to come and pick at our farm, but we do not people to come from far away and not have any berries. Therefore we are looking at opening on Monday, August 6th. But please call ahead to make sure we are open.

Thanks for being patient with us. There still are more berries to come but we just need to give them more time to ripen.

First Day of Picking-Closed Tomorrow

2007-08-01T22:11:00.000-04:00

Today was a hot one with temperatures soring as high as 98 degrees. We had blueberry pickers out at 6:30 am! The picking was good and over 1400 quarts were picked today.

But because so many berries were picked today we will need to close the farm to ripen the berries some more. I am hoping the berries will ripen enough to open on Saturday. I will check the fields Friday night and post to the blog.

There are more berries to come but they will need some time. The temperature is supposed to drop tonight and it is trying to rain. I hope this will help with all the berry ripening.

Thanks to all of you who came out today and everyone else for being patient. Hope to see you soon. Lynn

Pre-Opening Post

2007-07-29T10:17:00.000-04:00

Hopefully reports will be more frequent, although the main poster is away from the farm for a couple weeks, doing some research up in AK (www.beringglacier.org). The deputized bloggers maybe too busy to keep this as up to date as it should be.

Yes, we are going to open for picking on Aug. 1. No starting gun or anything, just show up when you want. We operate as self everything, so as long as you don't need change or help with anything, you can pick as independently as you can.

We are going to try to manage the picking a little more than usual, focusing on picking varieties/areas that are mostly ripe and protecting the varieties/areas that are not yet ready.

3rd Report: Ripening Slow and Notso Sure

2007-07-22T09:57:00.001-04:00

The berry ripening situation seems slowed by the lack of rain and, possibly, cool nights. We continue to estimate that we will open for picking Aug. 1, but keep checking this blog or our phone for updates as the 1st nears.

Do NOT try to sneak in and pick or peek, we have guard chickens placed around the property. Llamas and pigs patrolling the grounds, it is quite dangerous to be on the farm unescorted at the moment.

Sorry for the delay, we have filed formal protests with Ma Nature, but like how most mothers deal with insolence, she is ignoring us.

2nd Report: Still early, still looks like Aug. 1 we'll open

2007-07-15T19:06:00.001-04:00

These pictures were taken today, July 15th. Still some time is needed for the berries to both mature and ripen.

These ones are furthest from ready. Better prospects are shown below.

Ripening is slow. This should be comforting, because slow ripening means they will remain ripe for awhile. We have observed that ripe berries can last a week or more on the bush, which is why it is IMPORTANT to WAIT until they are ripe BEFORE opening. So, please, don't be disappointed if we delay the opening until we are confident in the amount of ripe berries.

These berries were green 10 days ago, so they are making progress, but more time is needed.

Gen snapped this picture of a leopard frog in our front yard on a pile of sand. Don't know what he was doing there, we have two nice ponds in the back, no reason to be out in the open and dry. Photography buffs, click on this image and focus on the frog's eye and see what you can see...

As a picture, this is not all that great, but in case you were wondering, the sushi was "ripe" and ready for harvesting the other night. These were made by Genny and Lynn, but I ate most. Yep, the tuna was raw and delicious.

First Real Berry Report for 2007: Opening Day Looks like 1 August

2007-07-09T11:55:00.000-04:00

Please bear with us as we continue to learn about the management side of commercial blueberry farming. The two most common questions we encounter are: "How do the berries look?" and "When can we start picking?" The answers require us to develop some experience with this to be able to answer them specifically.

The berry crop looks better than last year, which was a poor year (less than 3000 lbs picked), but not as good as 2005, which was a banner year (more than 10,000 lbs harvested). So those of you with a memory capacity of 2 yrs or better, don't get your hopes up about 2005-like conditions but then don't fret that it will be as bad as last year, depending on when you come. As for "when," the berries are at LEAST 2, maybe 3, weeks from being ripe enough to start picking. We will announce the opening on our answering machine, this blog, and some classified ads in the paper. The pictures included here show a couple of varieties that photographed on July 6th.

Other common questions pertain to why do the berry yields vary so much? There is information at this link (also titled, "Blueberry Information on the right sidebar of this blog) that discusses some of the issues, which are multifaceted: winter conditions, moisture, pollination. Since we have different varieties (near as we can tell, about 4 or so) that blossom at slightly different times (over a period of a couple of weeks in early June (typically for us)), the weather conditions can negatively affect one variety while another experiences better conditions at a more optimum time. We see evidence of this in that some bushes are almost devoid of berries while others are loaded. This probably means that the bushes lacking berries blossomed at poor pollinating conditions. We tried to help the pollination by having some bees placed on the fields, but the beekeeper we were working with fell victim to poor beekeeping conditions and was not able to help this year. There were still a lot of natural pollinators around (the pictures below of some examples, although we see mostly swallowtail butterflies, bumblebees, and, to a lesser extent, honeybees (maybe because they are harder to see) were taken by Gen a few weeks ago down in Lansing) during the blossom season, but their presence does not necessarily guarantee pollination because they can be doing all that work for naught if the conditions are poor for the nectar/pollen. There really is no way to measure the effectiveness and so we are at the mercy of nature. We do not have the capacity to irrigate, so we are also subject to the vagaries of precipitation. We continue to mow the grass, which not only makes it easier to pick, but enhances air flow and keeps down weeds and diseases. Pruning, too, but we have not caught up to the neglect of decades ago.

Around the Farm

2007-06-13T16:15:00.001-04:00

The pigs are happy, we've moved them out of the stable, into a pen, under some pine trees. They have been rooting around, discovering lost items from previous owners, like a clevis pin and an powerline insulator. We have 3, 2 males and a female.

They lay around a lot. On warm nights they sleep outside of their hut, side by each, with legs resting on each other. We can see them from the window over the kitchen sink.

These are blueberry blossoms. Beautiful in a delicate and subtle sort of way. In an attempt to avoid the poor harvest conditions we had in '06, we made arrangements this winter with an organic beekeeper to place some hives at our place during the blossom season (late May thru mid June, after the cherries and apples). The plans fell thru when her bees didn't make thru the winter and her replacements arrived in similar shape. Since there was no backup plan, we had to rely on the natural bee population. John went out and provided lots of encouragement to the bumblebees and butterflies (mostly swallowtails). Our fingers are crossed.

Adam Figures has been making bimonthly visits to the farm to lend a hand. Although he prefers to work with his hands, I was able to convince him to climb on the tractor for this picture. Notice his Deere green colored cup AND the plowed field in the background. Those who visit us to pick berries in August should notice some agricultural changes to the farm.

In the hopes that this is a good omen, our cherry trees seem loaded with the early indications of fruit. Last year the trees were covered with blossoms but only a couple (blossoms, not trees) became cherries. This year Genny decided to take matters in hand and used a feather duster to pollinate some of the trees. Didn't seem to matter as all the trees are loaded.

Mike is Worth Remembering, too

2007-06-05T10:30:00.000-04:00

Those select few of you who follow this post may notice that there seems to be more pictures of Gen than Mike. There are several reasons for this. Mike was our 2nd (and last) child, so we possess far fewer pictures of him. He has always been "faster" and less "manageable" so he was more difficult to acquire with a still camera. Gen is quite the picture taker, so a lot of the pictures on this post with her in them were actually taken by her. Anyways, in an attempt to even up the score a bit, here are some photos of Mike to balance with Gen.

Mike has always liked fish (at least to hold) and fishing. This is a perch from ice fishing when he was around a year old.

Here he is with a trout from a friend's pond. At this age he would demand immediate cleaning and cooking and then he would scarf down the catch. He is much more patient now. In the Remember Gen post, there is a picture of her with a trout from the same trip. Mike ate both of the fish...

Mike has always had a knack for steering a tiller-driven boat. He certainly has the sea-captain grimace down pat, eh.

Here he is with a crappie he caught when he was 4. Dad got skunked, which Mike proudly announced to the game wardens that met us at the dock upon our return from fishing.

Although now it is MUCH harder to get his rear out of the sack to go hunting, at one time I could not get away with leaving him behind. This is a picture of him at 5 yrs with a mallard that we got in North Dakota. On this particular day the rain was mixed with sleet and its trajectory to the ground was about 45 degrees. He didn't mind.

What Mike can lack in common sense, at times, he more than makes up for in enthusiasm. Here he "netted" a bluegill that his little cousin hooked from our dock at our camp. His cousin could bring it in no further, so Mike saw the only remaining option was to dive in and "retrieve" the fish. You can see the pleasure at his decision written all over his face. He now shows more restraint.

Memories of Gen

2007-05-16T16:32:00.000-04:00

Don't take the title of this post wrong. Nothing has happened to Genny. I just found some old photos of her and it got me sort of, well, sentimental. She is still at least a year away from leaving our nest. This is just a tribute to her as we wait the start of berry reports (first report in late June).I found this old picture from 1993 of Genny and me in our first duckboat, which I built from a kit (Folbot) purchased from cash wedding gifts received in 1988. Gen was and still is well known for falling asleep at the drop of a hat. In fact, she just fell asleep in my office while waiting for a phone call (I was not talking at all, by the way). The picture above was taken on the Portage waterway. We were participating in a flotila of sorts that was welcoming a Lake Superior--Lake Baikal (Siberia) "awareness" group. Don't recall the taker of the photo, a friend of Jackie Huntoon.

This was at a petting zoo in Dollywood, TN back in the summer of 1991. Little did we know that this would lead to an obsession with all things agricultural. More pictures of this obsession below (and throughout the blog).

Duckhunting in Duck Bay, near Chassell, with Jimmy Wood in 1992. Ten years later she would shoot her first duck and goose on the youth duck hunt opener from this very same location and same boat, sans Jimmy.

After a duck hunt, fall 1993.

Look at the concentration while fishing in the summer of 1994 (4 yrs old). I tried to fuel this interest into an obsession, but lack of success diminished enthusiasm to a more practical level.

If we could have just caught fish like this more often (farm pond raised rainbow)... (dog in the background was my brittany, Trisha, who passed on later that year, 1994).

"We" landed this salmon on Crooked Cr., where it joins the Kasilof, near Soldotna, AK, in June 2001. Gen's elbow was broken on the last day of 5th grade, on the monkey bars at recess. This particular fish made two long runs, the first downstream, then it seemed to tire, but then regained strength, turned and ran past us up stream for another long run. There were some frantic moments as Genny tried to ignore LOUD and mostly contradictory instructions from her overexuberant father on how to land the fish.

These were our first meat chickens. Gen quickly learned a personality difference between these chickens bred to grow fast and her favorites (bantams, see below).

This was her first, of many, pet chickens. She called this one Brownie (as artistically creative and technically ingenious, she can be, Gen has always been a lame namer of pets). Brownie was a pretty little something or other that sported partridge-colored feathering. Brownie not only would go on shoulder rides but would also allow being dressed up (by Gen) in doll clothes. Gen spent much more time playing with chickens than she did playing with dolls. Poor Brownie was a victim later in the fall to a barred owl that got into the coop and wiped out our first flock, save for one, Rosie, who spent a lot of time in a bird cage in the house before her death from old age (about 8 yrs for chickens). Improvements in our animal caretaking and chicken-coop security measures has resulted in "most" of our chickens expiring from old age these days.

Cabin Fever: March 38th, 2007

2007-04-07T12:48:00.000-04:00

The pictures provided in this post were taken by Genny Gierke, in the midst of a bout of cabin fever, which started October 11th and continues through at least Easter. Since we refuse to acknowledge snow in April, we are simply continuing March beyond the normal 31 day limit.

Some of the pictures were from the fall, including the one above, which was at the start of first snow storm in early October (see the link to that post).

Hopefully, the following is our LAST snow storm for 2006-07:
Late on March 34th

Early on March 35th, and it is only getting worse...

This is October 11th, but it could be today (March 38th).

This leprechaun does not wish to be caught.

Yeah, he is getting big...

I am pretty sure that this is not helping the training of this dog for hunting birds.

We told her if she didn't calm down, she was going to get her head stuck in something.

Cold Mountain imitation.

??????????

It is not backseat driving if I am also in the front seat. BTW, we have corrected this problem, both with the dog and this particular driver.

"You stick your tongue out at me again, and I'll bite it!"

When the bird is on your shoulder, you can't help but talk like a pirate.

So this is why pirates wear an eye patch.

How come the dang bird and brittany get all the PR?

Tractor Purchase

2007-03-26T10:13:00.000-04:00

We have made the plunge and bought a tractor. Here are the relevant specifications:

2001 John Deere Model 4500 MFWD w/342 hours of use
39 hp, 4 cylinder diesel, 35 hp PTO & 3-pt hitch
12/12 Glide Shift Transmission with Power Reverser
Front End Loader and Backhoe
5' Brush Hog

Bought it--can you believe this?--off e-Bay. It was being sold by a used tractor dealer in Connecticut, and we arranged for a shipping company to haul it here. Bought it on a Monday, it arrived in the morning of the following Thursday.

Ground is too wet to drive it around the farm and start working. Not to mention that it came with no manuals so we are not sure how to use it beyond what was necessary to drive it into the barn. More pictures, hopefully of it being used, are forthcoming.

Christmas Post

2006-12-16T18:23:00.000-05:00

Merry Christmas!
Thank you for visiting this posting. We have attributed our irregular (in terms of frequency, not content) Christmas mailings to our succumbing to various obstacles (printer out of ink, running out of stamps, writer's block, etc). So this year we chose to reduce the number of potential obstacles and try this electronic version of Christmas Greeting letter. I know that this form of a letter might seem to many as being cheap and cheesy, but we are hopeful that since it lended itself to us being prompt (for the absolute first time) and thorough, and the fact that there are many high-quality pictures from our mundane family activities that we can include in this online letter, the benefits will make up for the sacrilegious attack on the sacred art of writing humorous and heartwarming Christmas mass (the nonreligious form of mass) mailings. Please bear with us this year, complain if you like (there is a link to leave a comment below), protest by not putting our Christmas postcard on your wall or fridge, but we beg you to keep us on your Christmas list, because we enjoy reading about all of your own family's exploits.

For those of you not familiar with "blogs": these serve a purpose mainly for online journaling and discussion. We use our's partly for that and also for the web savvy berry pickers to check on the status of the crop. Our phone rings off the hook during the berry season (August) and the month before and after, and we are hopeful that the blog will eventually help to relieve some of the phone traffic during that time.

The most interesting Gierke news of 2006
Certainly the most interesting news from last year was John's 6-point buck, which he harvested with a bow from our farm. Many of you heard the story, so we won't repeat it here. A picture of the "trophy" is in the Fall Update.

Activities of Various Sorts
Isn't this a great picture? It shows Genny in the center along with some of her friends in an activity that they created for a Little Brothers--Friends of the Elderly Halloween party. LBFOE is one of the primary volunteer activities that we participate in regularly. Lynn visits an Elderly Friend regularly and does medical transport, John was involved in some roofing this fall, and we help at some of the holiday dinners as a family. The activity shown in the picture involved dressing up the elderly partygoers in costumes and then taking their picture with their favorite character. The pictures were printed and framed and given to the partygoers as they left. Hannah's (scarecrow) parents are the director and volunteer coordinator for LBFOE. Hannah and Gen have been friends since birth. John and Lynn started volunteering for LBFOE over 20 yrs ago.

Lynn and Gen remain actively involved in 4-H and the Houghton County Fair. John and Mike play supporting roles, as needed. Lynn is the co-office-manager of the Fair, which gets her off the farm for at least a day a week throughout the year. We joined the Farm Bureau this year, and now consider ourselves "card-carrying" members of the farming community. Given our ineptness at working the land, it is a good thing we have the privilege of doing this as a hobby and not for sustenance. We hope to elevate our status of dressing like farmers to driving like farmers by purchasing a tractor so that we can start digging holes, trenches, brushhogging and the like. Tractor purchasing is a complicated ordeal and the online search consumes much of John's "farm time". It will be nice when it is over so that we can get him outside to do some real work...

Agricultural News
We still have our two llamas (Stewart (l) and Pete (r)). Both are males, Stewart being 6 years old and Pete a spry 16. Their "training" is going slow. Both are still a bit skittish, except when we carry llama treats. They are very curious creatures and quite dog like in their loafing around. Llama droppings are, apparently, a delicacy to dogs, as both of our dogs can't seem to get enough. We are often asked about the llamas' reputations of spitting. They only spit at each other, so far, and only Mike has been caught in crossfire. Lynn and Genny sheared them in June and a friend spun the wool into yarn. Lots of potential here to deploy some puns, but I will refrain so that you will read on.

We raised two pigs. One went to market (see Fair Results). It takes a family to raise swine, it turns out, and we mostly enjoyed the experience and plan to repeat this coming summer.

Our women-folk continue to dominate poultry competitions in the county (again, see Fair Results). John's brother's youngest daughter, Annika, seems to have been born with the "knack" for chickens. During her weeklong visit this summer, every one of the chickens was "treated" to several visits to the inside of our house every day. Now when the chickens are acting up, John puts a poster of Annika in the pen and they all start behaving.

After experiencing a banner blueberry crop (over 10,000 lbs harvested, and that much probably went unharvested) in our first summer (2005), we were not prepared emotionally for a subpar year (less than 3,000 lbs picked and practically nothing went unpicked), which is what we got this year. Our disappointment was exceeded by many of the regular pickers who rely on our farm to fill their freezer with blueberries. The wild blueberry crop this year was nonexistent, which made customers even more desperate for domestic sources (not to mention that it comforted us knowing that our low yield was not the result of some amateur mistake). The lower yield most likely was due to poor spring weather during the pollination period (according to "experts"), resulting in sporadic berry production and slow ripening. A picture of the banner year is in our first posting. We hope to work out some share cropping with bee keepers for this year to help with pollination. Figure it can't hurt, unless we get stung--so to speak. The picture on the postcard we sent with the link to this Christmas post was in front of our "berry" building, which we use for storage and facilitating berry weighing and the money box. It was built by a Pete Olsen, a Finlander in Tapiola. John had to remove and replace the roof to facilitate transporting the building here, and Gregg Bluth and Tom Figures helped with putting the roof structure back in order. John's brother efficiently shingled it during his visit with his family, including Annika-the-chicken-catcher.

Family Pets
It sure seems that news about our pets (see Libby and update) draws the most attention on our blog. At left is Broemer (9 years old last summer) after being sheared for the summer (her "wool" was not spun by the way), Libby (2.5 mos. at the time, now 9 mos.), and Caesar, a sun conure, about the same age as Lib. Although they appear to co-exist peacefully, the tranquility is rare. Broemer is usually the brunt of the teasing that alternates from Lib and the bird. She takes it in stride and has even developed some survival skills, such as pretending to want to go outside, allowing Libby to go first, and then turning around to return to her napping while the wild one searches for pine cones to chew.
What Libby lacks in common sense and manners, she more than makes up for in looks and enthusiasm/affection. Although Mike's dog on paper, she is really beholden to everyone, listens to no one. She has a lot of peculiar habits (e.g., window licking) and likes to run, jump, and ride in cars. Our friends' youngest son, Adam Figures, adores her and vice versa. During good weather they can entertain each other for over an hour with some game that involves, throwing, chasing, and chewing pine cones, of which we have an endless supply on a daily basis.
The bird is Gen's, and she has semi-trained it to do its business in a trash can and simultaneously she trained Libby, which given her propensity for manure wasn't hard, to clean up when the bird doesn't use the trash. Caesar is a loud, obnoxious beast--yet affectionate. He loves all kinds of food (esp. dogfood), except birdfood. He also does not hestitate to shower in the sink or play with dog toys.

Broemer is still hunting, but, like John, at a more "methodical" (a.k.a. "slooowwwer") pace. The two of them go out alone a lot, and based on how they return still clean and gameless, we often wonder if they are just sneaking away from the normal household turmoil.

Travel
Mike and John joined Ron Falta and a buddy of his at a lodge in Eastern Ontario for a week of walleye and bass fishing. Both caught and released large (mid-20-inch walleys, high-teen inch smallmouth) fish and caught sufficient smaller ones for eating, mostly as shore lunches. The trip was great. Unfortunately Genny didn't go, so there are no pictures per se.

Lynn and Genny went on an unsanctioned (i.e., not approved by the Gierke Travel Bureau because it did not involve fishing or hunting) trip to visit our friend, Olga Kovalenko, in New Jersey. They went to a broadway musical (Rent) and did sightseeing in NYC. They have pictures, but the Blogger is lacking the pictues at the moment, so you will need to contact them for city pictures, if you like. The Blogger's official position is that if there is not a fish or an animal (or a kid) in the picture, why post it?

John's work has taken him to Nicaragua multiple times. He has a graduate student assigned there for her Peace Corps' and masters' research, and he has traveled there with Aqua Terra Tech students for their research. Both of these projects are aimed at improving the drinking water situation for communities and families. Gen was supposed to accompany him on his summer trip but couldn't due to a problem with her passport renewal. He is spending the first 14 days of the New Year there with his ATT students, performing field surveys.

Some Pictures from Around the Farm
All of the pictures were taken by Gen, who is really starting to display some photography skills in an artsy sort of way. Here are some from around the farm, with no real stories to along with.

Fall Updates

2006-10-26T10:50:00.000-04:00

On Oct. 11, we awoke to a significant snowfall, that closed schools (except MTU). The snow lasted for a few days and we are now experiencing pleasant weather (40s/30s).

John harvested a 6-pt buck at dusk on the evening of Oct. 25. His first deer with a bow.

Fair Results

2006-08-31T08:50:00.000-04:00

Some may think that this is a picture of the Grand Knight of the Klingville chapter of the Klu Klux Klan--but quite to the contrary. This is Genny "modeling" a Peruvian hat and poncho (made from llama wool) and a llama (not our's) at the Houghton County Fair to highlight the use of domestic animals for wool fabrics.

Genny also maintained the Gierke womenfolk dominance of poultry fitting and showing in Houghton County, gaining top honors for this as well as for her birds, culminating in the Matt Manderfield trophy for overall honors (an award her mother won a few years back).

Mike anchored the swine fitting and showing and his pig was the largest of the Fair, tipping the scales at a "svelte" 295 lbs. There is a monetary advantage of coming in furthest from 1st, however, because his is the last-chance pig at the auction, so the bidding was highly competitive, and given the pig's size, he made out like a bacon bandit.

Its all over but the shouting...

2006-08-22T13:18:00.000-04:00

The later varieties of berries were picked out quickly, totaling only a little more than 300 lbs. Picking now has slowed to a couple hours per quart, which is not worth the trouble driving out. Therefore we are closing for the season. Thank you for your consideration. See you next August, and hopefully the crop will be better.

Last Volley for 2007: Opening Saturday 19 August

2006-08-18T08:14:00.000-04:00

The later variety of berries are 90+% ripe, and so we will re-open for picking on Saturday, 19 August, and we will remain open until we are picked out. When this crop is harvested, we will close for the year. There is no way to estimate how long picking will last, because we can not estimate the amount of the crop on the bush, nor can we guess how many pickers will show on a given day. We URGE you to CALL (906.523.6112) and listen to the answering machine message to get the most up to date report.

14 August 2006: Still Closed

2006-08-14T10:11:00.000-04:00

We remain closed as the later varieties of blueberries ripen. Please continue to check in about the picking status, which is updated here on the blog and on our answering machine (906/523-6112)

Libby Update at 4.5 mos

2006-08-13T10:28:00.000-04:00

There was an anonymous request on our blog to post an update on Libby. Here is a current picture. She is a quite a specimen of athleticism and agility, painted with an overabundance of enthusiasm. We are trying to schedule a brain implant, as it appears she may be lacking one. We are going to see if one grows in naturally.

Berry Building

2006-08-13T09:41:00.000-04:00

We replaced the old, broken-down berry building with this new, hand-made building. Pete (Pekka) Olson, of Tree Hugger Lumber in Tapiola built it. Lynn wanted a fancier roof than what it came with, so we hired the best roofer from Greg Oja's Roofing in Sault Ste. Marie, MI to shingle it. Took the roofer, Jeff Gierke, less than 8 hrs, including beer breaks, to finish it up. The building is made from local aspen and the corners are swedish style.

11 August 2006: Please wait a bit to pick

2006-08-11T09:22:00.000-04:00

I am sorry to report that the picking is getting slimmer. I suggest waiting a week or two, until the varieties that ripen later come in. It appears that the varieties that have ripened thus far are pretty well picked.

8 August 2006: Berries are few

2006-08-08T09:38:00.000-04:00

Berry picking remains slow. Although we have fewer pickers than last year, they are collecting berries faster than they are ripening. Approximately 2000 lbs have been picked. There are many berries still to ripen, but it is not possible to estimate when the best times to pick are. Although it has been suggested that we close the farm to picking for a few days, we are reluctant because it is impossible to get the word out and so it is inevitable if we did close, there would be a number of people showing to pick who would be disappointed (or worse). We are purposely not advertising this year simply because the yield can not sustain more pickers. It has been suggested that the lower crop yield is due to inadequate pollination last spring, and this is consistent with the reports of practically no wild berries. We plan to arrange for beehives next year, and hopefully that will address one of the natural factors affecting the abundance of berries.

Cass Tech Kids Visit

2006-08-04T14:33:00.000-04:00

Here are some kids from Lewis Cass Technical High School in Detroit. They were at MTU as part of the Summer Youth Program and visited the farm to pick berries, hold chickens, and pet pigs.

1 August 2006

2006-08-01T08:43:00.000-04:00

Blueberry fields are about 50% ripe. We are allowing pickers, but warning them that the picking is slower due to the need to be somewhat selective to collect only ripe berries. We anticipate that next week the peak should start, and this usually lasts about 2 weeks, and then the picking gets somewhat slower again for a few more weeks.

As of 30 July, almost 700 lbs of berries have been picked.

20 July 2006

2006-07-20T12:26:00.000-04:00

Blueberry Status as of 20 July 2006:

Bushes are loaded with "green" berries but ripening fast. We surely will open for business by Aug. 1, and maybe as soon as 28 July. Keep checking this blog for updates.

Pigs & Llamas

2006-06-02T14:16:00.000-04:00

Our livestock situation grew in May with the addition of 2 male piglets. Mike is raising one for market (to be shown and auctioned at the Houghton Co. Fair at the end of August) and the lesser one for us.

We acquired two llamas (both geldings) in October 2005.

Olivia Anne (Libby) Joins the Farm

2006-06-02T09:30:00.000-04:00

The newest addition to the family is a Brittany Spaniel puppy (born 2 April 2006). She is Mike's dog and he has named her Olivia Anne (after the patron saint (St. Anne) of the island of Brittany where the breed originated), but we call her Libby. She is rambunctious and precocious for a few hours in the morning and the evening, and otherwise sleepy. Our 9-yr old Golden likes playing with her for about 5 minutes per day, and otherwise wishes she would go away. Genny's parrot likes to terrorize the puppy as often as possible. It is hard to tell if the parrot is being trained to hunt bird dogs or vice versa.

Gierke Blueberry Farm

2006-05-15T16:54:00.000-04:00

January 2006

August 2005