Some years Farmer Bill & I have taken traditional vacations - actually leaving town for days at a time. This winter finances don't allow for travel. However, I needed time off from my paid work, so I have taken a long week off. We were able to come up with plenty of small things to do and will spend a couple of days away from home at the end of the week. Thursday I dropped off a quilt top to be quilted, did a bit of shopping, and then met a friend for supper followed by a visit to a local quilt show. A lovely first day off. On Saturday Farmer Bill & I went to the Guthrie with Bill's Aunt Pat. Pat has season tickets to the Guthrie and generally invites us to attend a show with her once each year. [Farmer Bill generally reciprocates by inviting her to attend a baseball game with him.] On Sunday our daughter & son-in-law came and had dinner with us - Farmer Bill helped them do their income taxes. I spent about an hour transplanting tomatoes and will do some more over the next couple of days. Tonight we're going to Minneapolis for a program on climate change. Tuesday and Wednesday I plan to work on quilting and hope to go snowshoeing both afternoons - the weather should be wonderful for being outdoors. Thursday I'm dragging FB to Red Wing to wander through antique stores. We'll spend the night somewhere between Red Wing and Wabasha so that on Friday we can go to the National Eagle Center and Lark Toys. Saturday and Sunday I plan to work on quilting again & get in a couple more snowshoe walks. See, even when one doesn't go 'away' a vacation just flies by, the days full of possibilities. I hope to have a better frame of mind for going back to work (but secretly fear that I'd need something like a 6- or 12-month sabbatical for that).
The tomatoes look very good and are well on track to be transplanted in the hoop house on April 1. The orchard pruning is probably a bit behind schedule, but can be done well into May if need be. The newest trees have all been pruned & since we hadn't gotten to all of them last year they were really in need of attention. The recent snow (and any more that comes) was very welcome. Snow cover will help keep the trees and strawberries dormant longer into the spring. Cold and snow also help kill off insect and disease pests. Plants and seeds for this year's crops are all ordered and will start to arrive soon (obviously the tomato seeds have already arrived since they have to be started February 1). I'll help FB transplant in between other projects. The greenhouse we've been using for starting seeds wasn't available, so I allowed FB to use the back bedroom again this year. He'd like to build a small greenhouse - it really wouldn't need to be very large - but of course it would cost money & require money to heat it so it wasn't in the plans for this year.
Right now I need to go read a couple of chapters of one of the books I brought home to read this week (I've finished 2 of them so far) before I have to get ready to go to out. More later, perhaps.
Monday, February 25, 2013
Sunday, February 3, 2013
Thank goodness for great colleagues
The librarian
part of my life is often a struggle these days. Librarians everywhere face it, whether
they're in a public library, an academic library, or a K-12 school library.
There's a segment of the population who believes libraries are
irrelevant, that reading and the book are dead. Given that we have over
150,000 visits a year, I feel that I could argue we are relevant to a lot of
people in our community. It is true that the number of books we send home with people has gone
down, but the number of people coming through the door has gone up.
Many of them are using the free Internet access we provide. An ever-growing number are using electronic books. Others are coming in
asking for print materials and going away with resources accessed
electronically. The
circulation statistics don't directly include these items. And circulation statistics really don't tell you how many people come through the door who don't know how to use a mouse, find the address bar on an Internet browser, or read enough English to follow the instructions on how to print their document.
Several years ago the library system I work for went through a major staff reduction. Incentives were given to those willing to retire. After the retirees were sent off, the remaining staff was re-allocated across all 9 locations, based on a formula that was kept secret. My branch lost 60% of our librarian hours. We went from having 3.75 FTE Adult Services Librarians to having 1.6 Adult Services Librarians. I am now responsible for the work that 3 librarians used to do. [Our 0.6 FTE Librarian kept most of her previous responsibilities, but didn't take on anything additional at our branch; she now splits her time between 2 branches and has some responsibilities at each.] When I first started working at this branch in 2000, 4 librarians did the job for which I am now primarily responsible.
I'm here to tell you: one person can't do the work of three or four - and do it well. I can't go through my collections the way I used to. I have to call or email my community contacts rather than going out to meet with them. And I pile stuff on my desk to deal with later as I race from task to task, putting out whichever fire is blazing the highest at that moment; it looks like I live in a hoarder's cube...
The people I work with help to make this craziness bearable. For the most part, they are hard working, smart, funny, and believe in the mission. They help me in myriad ways, as simple as coming up with new ideas when I feel tapped out and as in depth as weeding a collection that I don't have time to get to. I hope that I help them in return.
Several years ago the library system I work for went through a major staff reduction. Incentives were given to those willing to retire. After the retirees were sent off, the remaining staff was re-allocated across all 9 locations, based on a formula that was kept secret. My branch lost 60% of our librarian hours. We went from having 3.75 FTE Adult Services Librarians to having 1.6 Adult Services Librarians. I am now responsible for the work that 3 librarians used to do. [Our 0.6 FTE Librarian kept most of her previous responsibilities, but didn't take on anything additional at our branch; she now splits her time between 2 branches and has some responsibilities at each.] When I first started working at this branch in 2000, 4 librarians did the job for which I am now primarily responsible.
I'm here to tell you: one person can't do the work of three or four - and do it well. I can't go through my collections the way I used to. I have to call or email my community contacts rather than going out to meet with them. And I pile stuff on my desk to deal with later as I race from task to task, putting out whichever fire is blazing the highest at that moment; it looks like I live in a hoarder's cube...
The people I work with help to make this craziness bearable. For the most part, they are hard working, smart, funny, and believe in the mission. They help me in myriad ways, as simple as coming up with new ideas when I feel tapped out and as in depth as weeding a collection that I don't have time to get to. I hope that I help them in return.
Tuesday, January 29, 2013
New Year's resolutions
The first year I started this blog, I wrote quite a bit. Last year not so much. It was a hard year for farming and a hard year to work in the public library and that made it a hard year to write. I spent December and January being pretty lazy about the house and farm. Farmer Bill would suggest that he's been lazy too, but it's all relative. He and his right-hand man have done a lot of maintenance work on the machinery and tools, and worked outside when the weather allowed, even though they haven't put in the kind of hours they will during the growing season.
Speaking of weather... We were really hoping for more snow this winter. We had very little snow last winter, and not much rain over the summer, leaving us in a net deficit. The lack of snow cover during the recent cold spells means that the ground is deeply frozen. After it thaws, we're going to need a pretty rainy spring to get things back on track.
One of the things Farmer Bill does in the off months is go to conferences. It's a great way to get to talk to other growers and learn about new things. The big talk this year is a new insect that's arrived and is starting to cause problems in fruit crops. It's the Spotted Wing Drosophila (SWD) and it came from Asia, probably via international trade routes. It prefers soft fruits such as blueberries, cherries and raspberries and was found in those crops in Minnesota in 2012. Fruit specialists are looking at IPM methods of controlling this new pest, as well as various chemical (including organic) methods. Apparently SWD can inflict a lot of damage in a short time. Other fruit flies wait until there is overripe or damaged fruit to do their stuff. This fruit fly has a little serrated knife on its butt that lets it cut a slit in good fruit to lay eggs. Isn't nature amazing? We'll be adding monitoring traps for SWD in our raspberries, and maybe in the blueberries too, just in case (they won't be producing any fruit this year since they're only 2 years old). What we'll do if we discover this pest depends on research being done at universities across the country. Right now Farmer Bill is out pruning the apple trees. Generally, pruning should start about February 1. But if temperatures are above 20 degrees F. one can start pruning earlier. Since the goal is to prune and shape every tree every year, the earlier he can start the better.
One of the things I've been doing this winter is trying to improve my quilting skills, without a lot of real success. I continue to really enjoy the designing and piecing parts of quilting, and I think my skills there have improved over the years. But I can't get my quilting skills to a point where I am satisfied. I know I'm a bit of a perfectionist about it, and for some quilts it just shouldn't matter so much, but I'd still like my feathers to look like feathers rather than spikes. I've pretty much decided that hiring someone who IS good at quilting and has one of those really cool long arm machines is worth the expense for the quilts I really care about. I've contacted a long-arm quilter in the area and will meet with her soon to see if we're compatible. For 'lesser' quilts, I'll do the straight-line quilting that I'm reasonably good at and call it a day.
And for this post, I'd better call it a day, too.
Speaking of weather... We were really hoping for more snow this winter. We had very little snow last winter, and not much rain over the summer, leaving us in a net deficit. The lack of snow cover during the recent cold spells means that the ground is deeply frozen. After it thaws, we're going to need a pretty rainy spring to get things back on track.
One of the things Farmer Bill does in the off months is go to conferences. It's a great way to get to talk to other growers and learn about new things. The big talk this year is a new insect that's arrived and is starting to cause problems in fruit crops. It's the Spotted Wing Drosophila (SWD) and it came from Asia, probably via international trade routes. It prefers soft fruits such as blueberries, cherries and raspberries and was found in those crops in Minnesota in 2012. Fruit specialists are looking at IPM methods of controlling this new pest, as well as various chemical (including organic) methods. Apparently SWD can inflict a lot of damage in a short time. Other fruit flies wait until there is overripe or damaged fruit to do their stuff. This fruit fly has a little serrated knife on its butt that lets it cut a slit in good fruit to lay eggs. Isn't nature amazing? We'll be adding monitoring traps for SWD in our raspberries, and maybe in the blueberries too, just in case (they won't be producing any fruit this year since they're only 2 years old). What we'll do if we discover this pest depends on research being done at universities across the country. Right now Farmer Bill is out pruning the apple trees. Generally, pruning should start about February 1. But if temperatures are above 20 degrees F. one can start pruning earlier. Since the goal is to prune and shape every tree every year, the earlier he can start the better.
One of the things I've been doing this winter is trying to improve my quilting skills, without a lot of real success. I continue to really enjoy the designing and piecing parts of quilting, and I think my skills there have improved over the years. But I can't get my quilting skills to a point where I am satisfied. I know I'm a bit of a perfectionist about it, and for some quilts it just shouldn't matter so much, but I'd still like my feathers to look like feathers rather than spikes. I've pretty much decided that hiring someone who IS good at quilting and has one of those really cool long arm machines is worth the expense for the quilts I really care about. I've contacted a long-arm quilter in the area and will meet with her soon to see if we're compatible. For 'lesser' quilts, I'll do the straight-line quilting that I'm reasonably good at and call it a day.
And for this post, I'd better call it a day, too.
Thursday, November 22, 2012
Thanksgiving
This was a hard year for strawberry and apple farmers. The warm weather early in March meant that both the berries and the apples started growing too early. When the inevitable cold weather returned, the apple blossoms were frozen. Most of the strawberry blossoms were protected by watering - starting somewhere between 11:00 pm and 2:00 am and watering until the temperatures rose above freezing well after sunrise. But excessive watering encourages fungal growth and a leafspot problem developed that cut the strawberry crop about in half. The apple crop was about 5% of last year's crop when all was picked and done. The raspberries suffered damage from the frosts and an invasive pest newly arrived from the south. The blueberries came through pretty well and are a better stand than we first thought. They take a loooonngg time to 'green up' in the spring. We'll be better prepared for the wait next year and less prone to panic.
On the bright side, the tomatoes raised in the hoop houses did very well and because we had some of the first tomatoes, both grape and slicers, they sold for a very good price. Once the field-raised tomatoes came in, the prices dropped significantly and Farmer Bill will think this winter about whether to bother with field tomatoes. The cantaloupe also did well this year and customers continued to be amazed at the size of our melons. I have my doubts as to whether sweet corn makes any money, but it does create cash flow... and farmers always need cash.
All in all, a mixed bag of crop results; but Farmer Bill was able to make the mortgage payments and pay the property taxes and the help (less help needed, of course). So that's a positive. And of course, there's always next year. [This year we've used the phrase 'wait until next year' about both the farm and Farmer Bill's baseball team.]
We do have many things to be thankful for. Our daughter was married this year, and the couple bought a house and are settling into married life. Our son & d-i-l moved to Maine and her new job is proving to be a good one, with possibilities for future growth - and we actually talk somewhat more often than we did when they were just an hour away. Both Farmer Bill & I remain healthy. My job has never been in danger and I continue to enjoy most aspects of the work. I hope to be able to find more time for writing over the winter and into the next year. I get a lot of great ideas during my long drive to and from work, but rarely do they make it to print. Maybe next year...
Happy Thanksgiving to all.
On the bright side, the tomatoes raised in the hoop houses did very well and because we had some of the first tomatoes, both grape and slicers, they sold for a very good price. Once the field-raised tomatoes came in, the prices dropped significantly and Farmer Bill will think this winter about whether to bother with field tomatoes. The cantaloupe also did well this year and customers continued to be amazed at the size of our melons. I have my doubts as to whether sweet corn makes any money, but it does create cash flow... and farmers always need cash.
All in all, a mixed bag of crop results; but Farmer Bill was able to make the mortgage payments and pay the property taxes and the help (less help needed, of course). So that's a positive. And of course, there's always next year. [This year we've used the phrase 'wait until next year' about both the farm and Farmer Bill's baseball team.]
We do have many things to be thankful for. Our daughter was married this year, and the couple bought a house and are settling into married life. Our son & d-i-l moved to Maine and her new job is proving to be a good one, with possibilities for future growth - and we actually talk somewhat more often than we did when they were just an hour away. Both Farmer Bill & I remain healthy. My job has never been in danger and I continue to enjoy most aspects of the work. I hope to be able to find more time for writing over the winter and into the next year. I get a lot of great ideas during my long drive to and from work, but rarely do they make it to print. Maybe next year...
Happy Thanksgiving to all.
Saturday, June 23, 2012
And it's over...
Amazing. Farmer Bill will pick the last of his strawberries on Monday - and that's it for this year. The crop suffered from frost damage & angular leaf spot. The frost was one that was missed - possibly when we were in Scotland for our daughter's wedding, or possibly shortly after we came back, or maybe even earlier. We really don't know... which indicates it might be time to think about a different frost alert system. Food for thought for next winter. Angular leaf spot was a problem across our area, wherever people used sprinkler irrigation to do frost protection. The bacterium lives in the soil and spreads to the strawberry leaves via splashing water. It is hard to control, but there is a spray that seems to get good results - and is labelled for organic use, which is an added bonus.
[If you haven't read my previous diatribes on whether organic producers spray, they do. None of us wants to poison the earth, the people eating our produce, or ourselves. But farmers who are in farming to make a living need to have a crop to sell, and sometimes (often) nature throws us a curve ball that we have to figure out how to hit. An organically-approved pesticide means that the chemicals in it have been proven to break down rapidly, leaving little or no residue on the produce.]
We started picking the summer raspberries this week and the response has been good - because the crop looks pretty good.
We're seeing splashes of red in the grape tomato hoop house, the melons are blossoming like crazy (get busy, you bees!), and the slicing tomatoes look good to me, but I haven't seen any red yet. There's a LOT of sweet corn planted - on our place and at a neighbor's place - but Farmer Bill says he's not planting off the farm after this year. It's too hard to keep up with the additional acreage during strawberry season. I've been encouraging him (okay, maybe I've been nagging a little bit) not to expand every year. We're not getting any younger, and the 16-hour days seem harder every summer. In the middle of strawberry season he usually agrees that he should cut back, but in the middle of the winter when he's rested again, almost anything seems possible.
It looks like the Zestar! might actually be our most plentiful apple variety for this year. After the April 10 frost, where all the existing blossoms were frozen, the Zestar! put out a few new clusters here and there. Most trees actually have a few apples on them!
It's still a long slog through the summer. I'm hoping that the tomatoes, melons, and sweet corn continue to do well. And that Farmer Bill can find a couple of good marketing staff to help him get them sold.
[If you haven't read my previous diatribes on whether organic producers spray, they do. None of us wants to poison the earth, the people eating our produce, or ourselves. But farmers who are in farming to make a living need to have a crop to sell, and sometimes (often) nature throws us a curve ball that we have to figure out how to hit. An organically-approved pesticide means that the chemicals in it have been proven to break down rapidly, leaving little or no residue on the produce.]
We started picking the summer raspberries this week and the response has been good - because the crop looks pretty good.
We're seeing splashes of red in the grape tomato hoop house, the melons are blossoming like crazy (get busy, you bees!), and the slicing tomatoes look good to me, but I haven't seen any red yet. There's a LOT of sweet corn planted - on our place and at a neighbor's place - but Farmer Bill says he's not planting off the farm after this year. It's too hard to keep up with the additional acreage during strawberry season. I've been encouraging him (okay, maybe I've been nagging a little bit) not to expand every year. We're not getting any younger, and the 16-hour days seem harder every summer. In the middle of strawberry season he usually agrees that he should cut back, but in the middle of the winter when he's rested again, almost anything seems possible.
It looks like the Zestar! might actually be our most plentiful apple variety for this year. After the April 10 frost, where all the existing blossoms were frozen, the Zestar! put out a few new clusters here and there. Most trees actually have a few apples on them!
It's still a long slog through the summer. I'm hoping that the tomatoes, melons, and sweet corn continue to do well. And that Farmer Bill can find a couple of good marketing staff to help him get them sold.
Saturday, June 9, 2012
Strawberry Season
It's officially strawberry season again. We took our first strawberries to the markets on May 31 and June 2. Farmer Bill opened his strawberry patch to pickers on June 5. This is about the earliest we've ever opened. The strawberry crop looks good this year, mostly. There is some frost damage in the upper field, and the early variety - Wendy - really isn't working out. There just doesn't seem to be a really good early strawberry variety. Farmer Bill used to grow Annapolis as his early variety. It is good tasting and does well for size, but doesn't get sweet until it's very ripe, so if you let the field get ripe, the mid-season berries are ready to pick... and you've lost your advantage of having an early variety.
The apple crop is mostly non-existent for 2012. We had incredible, record-setting warm weather in March, which woke the trees up and got them blooming early. Then April came in with normal April weather and the blossoms froze. It looks like we'll have 5-10% of the normal crop of apples. There will be, almost literally, a few of everything, but not very many of anything.
Other crops will have to take up some of the slack - there are an awful lot of cantaloupes and watermelons planted this year. Both hoop houses are full of tomatoes - grape tomatoes in one and slicers in the other. The hope is that Farmer Bill will have some of the earliest tomatoes that bring the best prices. There is also a LOT of sweet corn planted (and more plantings being planned, I'm sure - Farmer Bill knows better than to tell me how much sweet corn he's growing).
The raspberries look really good this year. They are covered in berry buds now & I expect them to start turning red any time (actually I've eaten a few almost-ripe raspberries). We'll definitely start picking them early - maybe as much as 2 weeks early. Farmer Bill is hoping to do well with the raspberries this year - partly to help make up for the apples, partly because it's time for the raspberries to start pulling their weight & producing some income.
It was a busy day today at the strawberry patch. Our picking crew worked hard for 4 hours picking several hundred pounds of strawberries that were almost all sold by the time we closed at 2:00. The PYO operation was steadily busy, too. We're still in the beginning stage of picking, which means that the berries are a bit larger, but further between. Next week there will be more clusters of berries, and that's when the PYO customers are really happy. A huge part of Farmer Bill's job is to manage the customers' expectations & keep them happily toiling on their knees through the strawberries. He's really good at it.
The apple crop is mostly non-existent for 2012. We had incredible, record-setting warm weather in March, which woke the trees up and got them blooming early. Then April came in with normal April weather and the blossoms froze. It looks like we'll have 5-10% of the normal crop of apples. There will be, almost literally, a few of everything, but not very many of anything.
Other crops will have to take up some of the slack - there are an awful lot of cantaloupes and watermelons planted this year. Both hoop houses are full of tomatoes - grape tomatoes in one and slicers in the other. The hope is that Farmer Bill will have some of the earliest tomatoes that bring the best prices. There is also a LOT of sweet corn planted (and more plantings being planned, I'm sure - Farmer Bill knows better than to tell me how much sweet corn he's growing).
The raspberries look really good this year. They are covered in berry buds now & I expect them to start turning red any time (actually I've eaten a few almost-ripe raspberries). We'll definitely start picking them early - maybe as much as 2 weeks early. Farmer Bill is hoping to do well with the raspberries this year - partly to help make up for the apples, partly because it's time for the raspberries to start pulling their weight & producing some income.
It was a busy day today at the strawberry patch. Our picking crew worked hard for 4 hours picking several hundred pounds of strawberries that were almost all sold by the time we closed at 2:00. The PYO operation was steadily busy, too. We're still in the beginning stage of picking, which means that the berries are a bit larger, but further between. Next week there will be more clusters of berries, and that's when the PYO customers are really happy. A huge part of Farmer Bill's job is to manage the customers' expectations & keep them happily toiling on their knees through the strawberries. He's really good at it.
Monday, May 28, 2012
Looking over the fields
We'll be picking some early strawberries to take to market this week. Yesterday was a blistering 90+ degrees with lots of wind & the berries ripened as I watched (and we had a lovely compote of fresh strawberries & bananas and frozen blueberries for dessert - yum!). The temperatures going forward are much more moderate - with even a potential frost one night (in our low-lying field). Moderate is good for the berries. Too much heat & they ripen faster than we can pick them and before they can grow big & fat. However, we can get by for an entire week with no more rain... the drought of last fall is completely broken, we've had record rainfall for the month of May (and our basement hasn't flooded once -- hurray!), but now we need things to dry up a little bit.
This will be our 9th year selling fruit from SRF. Our mailing list has grown to over 1000 names, and I'm finally biting the bullet and have contracted with a company to create an email list. Earlier this year I set up a Facebook page for the farm and I'm trying to post on it occasionally. The website that I created years ago is still our main focus on the interwebs, but FB is a force that must be acknowledged. I'll be putting up a sign at the checkout stand for people to 'Like' us on FB. The average age of our customers is probably about 50 or so, but every year we get new, younger people coming out to pick or buy berries. And there are a lot of 50+ folks on FB now, too.
This will be the earliest we have ever started picking strawberries. Including the 10+ years of Bill's Backyard Berries in White Bear Lake.
My journey through the orchard was a sad one, as it has been since April 10 when the frost hit the blossoming trees. If we get 5 bushel of Honeycrisp I'll be amazed (a 'normal' harvest would be 250-300 bushel). The SweeTango dropped most of their apples, too, so not much help from them this year. They, however, are still young trees, and we wouldn't want too much crop on them anyway. The Zestar! put out some new blossoms after the frost, and there may actually be more Zestar! than we'd guessed - which was zero - but again not even 1/10 of our normal crop. Last year not much strawberry crop, this year not much apple crop. I wonder if we'll ever get a year where we get a good harvest from both main crops.
The raspberries look very good; it's a new patch that was planted 2 years ago & produced lightly last year. The bees, who didn't get much out of the apple blossoms, are crazy busy in the raspberries. Farmer Bill hopes to get a decent crop - and some sorely needed cash - out of the raspberries - which will be ready early too - before the 1st of July for sure.
Tomatoes in the hoop houses are growing like crazy. If the pollination happens as expected Farmer Bill should have some of the first tomatoes on the market - which bring very good prices from Minnesotans starved for real tomato flavor.
The melons were transplanted last week. One batch got planted a bit deep and is taking a bit longer to get going... the other field looks very good. If you like cantaloupe you should really buy a locally grown & ripened cantaloupe. Of course, then you'll never be able to buy supermarket melons again... Did you know that cantaloupe do not ripen after they're picked? They do soften (begin to break down), and their smell intensifies (as they spoil), but they are as sweet as they will be when they're picked. We have to tell customers that our melons are ripe & they should NOT under ANY circumstances leave them sitting on the countertop for 3 days. Eat them that day, cut them up and store in containers, or refrigerate them & eat within a few days.
Farmer Bill has planted peas every year for the past 4-5 years - he mostly does edible pods now, after trying shelling peas and snowpeas in the past. Many of our strawberry customers will go out and pick a pile of peas to take home, or buy some if they're already picked. This year the peas won't be ready until late in strawberry season so he'll have to try to sell them at markets and to raspberry customers. And I'm not sure who's going to pick all the green beans Farmer Bill planted this year. I'll pick enough for the two of us to eat next winter, but I really don't do picking any more - between work and home duties (and arthritis in the knees) I don't have much time.
The sweet corn is growing, but the planter struggled again this year and the fields will be a bit spotty. I like sweet corn, but one ear once a day is enough for me. Farmer Bill is known to eat 4 or more ears of corn at a sitting. And he'd probably do that twice a day if he could - if he had time at lunch - or at least until his stomach rebelled. I don't mind picking sweet corn sometimes (you do it standing up, which is a plus), but it always seems like a lot of work for the return. Sweet corn takes a lot of space on the load, and it's a lot of work to sell. Farmer Bill grows one heritage sweet corn variety - Jubilee - that I use for freezing and we love having it in the freezer to put in soups and stews and to eat as a side dish. It has real corn flavor as opposed to most of the new varieties that are like eating corn-flavored sugar. But the old varieties turn starchy soon after picking, so Jubilee has to be cooled (we use well water & Farmer Bill turned our garage into a drive-in cooler) and then sold with the caveat that customers must eat it that day or the next. It will not hold in their refrigerator all week.
Well, Farmer Bill just came in from his round of the fields & announced "There's nothing to do out there, so I came inside." We'd better go have lunch and then get back to it... because of course there's so much more to do than we'll ever get done...
This will be our 9th year selling fruit from SRF. Our mailing list has grown to over 1000 names, and I'm finally biting the bullet and have contracted with a company to create an email list. Earlier this year I set up a Facebook page for the farm and I'm trying to post on it occasionally. The website that I created years ago is still our main focus on the interwebs, but FB is a force that must be acknowledged. I'll be putting up a sign at the checkout stand for people to 'Like' us on FB. The average age of our customers is probably about 50 or so, but every year we get new, younger people coming out to pick or buy berries. And there are a lot of 50+ folks on FB now, too.
This will be the earliest we have ever started picking strawberries. Including the 10+ years of Bill's Backyard Berries in White Bear Lake.
My journey through the orchard was a sad one, as it has been since April 10 when the frost hit the blossoming trees. If we get 5 bushel of Honeycrisp I'll be amazed (a 'normal' harvest would be 250-300 bushel). The SweeTango dropped most of their apples, too, so not much help from them this year. They, however, are still young trees, and we wouldn't want too much crop on them anyway. The Zestar! put out some new blossoms after the frost, and there may actually be more Zestar! than we'd guessed - which was zero - but again not even 1/10 of our normal crop. Last year not much strawberry crop, this year not much apple crop. I wonder if we'll ever get a year where we get a good harvest from both main crops.
The raspberries look very good; it's a new patch that was planted 2 years ago & produced lightly last year. The bees, who didn't get much out of the apple blossoms, are crazy busy in the raspberries. Farmer Bill hopes to get a decent crop - and some sorely needed cash - out of the raspberries - which will be ready early too - before the 1st of July for sure.
Tomatoes in the hoop houses are growing like crazy. If the pollination happens as expected Farmer Bill should have some of the first tomatoes on the market - which bring very good prices from Minnesotans starved for real tomato flavor.
The melons were transplanted last week. One batch got planted a bit deep and is taking a bit longer to get going... the other field looks very good. If you like cantaloupe you should really buy a locally grown & ripened cantaloupe. Of course, then you'll never be able to buy supermarket melons again... Did you know that cantaloupe do not ripen after they're picked? They do soften (begin to break down), and their smell intensifies (as they spoil), but they are as sweet as they will be when they're picked. We have to tell customers that our melons are ripe & they should NOT under ANY circumstances leave them sitting on the countertop for 3 days. Eat them that day, cut them up and store in containers, or refrigerate them & eat within a few days.
Farmer Bill has planted peas every year for the past 4-5 years - he mostly does edible pods now, after trying shelling peas and snowpeas in the past. Many of our strawberry customers will go out and pick a pile of peas to take home, or buy some if they're already picked. This year the peas won't be ready until late in strawberry season so he'll have to try to sell them at markets and to raspberry customers. And I'm not sure who's going to pick all the green beans Farmer Bill planted this year. I'll pick enough for the two of us to eat next winter, but I really don't do picking any more - between work and home duties (and arthritis in the knees) I don't have much time.
The sweet corn is growing, but the planter struggled again this year and the fields will be a bit spotty. I like sweet corn, but one ear once a day is enough for me. Farmer Bill is known to eat 4 or more ears of corn at a sitting. And he'd probably do that twice a day if he could - if he had time at lunch - or at least until his stomach rebelled. I don't mind picking sweet corn sometimes (you do it standing up, which is a plus), but it always seems like a lot of work for the return. Sweet corn takes a lot of space on the load, and it's a lot of work to sell. Farmer Bill grows one heritage sweet corn variety - Jubilee - that I use for freezing and we love having it in the freezer to put in soups and stews and to eat as a side dish. It has real corn flavor as opposed to most of the new varieties that are like eating corn-flavored sugar. But the old varieties turn starchy soon after picking, so Jubilee has to be cooled (we use well water & Farmer Bill turned our garage into a drive-in cooler) and then sold with the caveat that customers must eat it that day or the next. It will not hold in their refrigerator all week.
Well, Farmer Bill just came in from his round of the fields & announced "There's nothing to do out there, so I came inside." We'd better go have lunch and then get back to it... because of course there's so much more to do than we'll ever get done...
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)