Tuesday, June 28, 2011

The Sweet Cherry season has started.

We will start the You Pick Sweet Cherry season on Wednesday June 29th. 6 days later than last year but right on time in an average year. The Dark Sweet Cherries are always ready 1st. Followed by the White Sweet Cherries one week later. It is hard to predict how long the season will last. That depends on the weather over the next several weeks. If the nights warm up then the fruit will ripen faster and the sugars will build up. The fruit will be sweeter but they won't hang on the trees as long as if the nights stayed cool and delayed the ripening. If the rain holds off and doesn't come as often as it did in the spring the season should last at least 4 weeks. Remember our trees are dwarf so you don't need a ladder. All of the picking is from the ground. We hope to see you soon!

Tuesday, June 21, 2011

The Strawberry season is going to be a short one.....don't wait!


The Strawberry season is going to be a short one. The heat of this past weekend and the predicted heat of this week coming will really shorten the season. We are irrigating in an attempt to slow things down but it is hard to control Mother Nature. Please don't wait too long.

The up side of this is the Sweet Cherries and Blueberries as well as the Raspberries, Currants and Gooseberries will be ready sooner-hopefully the first weekend in July.

Monday, June 13, 2011

2011 You Pick Strawberry Season starts the 16th.

Summer is finally here. Or least we hope so. The You Pick Strawberry season will start Thursday the 16th. This years You Pick Strawberry hours will be as follows: Monday thru Friday 7:30am to 12:30pm & Saturday and Sunday 7:30am to 2:30pm. Weather Permitting. Always check our website for the daily update if you intend to come out and pick. If you don't have the time or desire to pick for yourself no worries already picked fruit is available at the Farm Stand located at 4572 Lincoln Road. Just north of the You Pick Gate.

We anticipate the season lasting only 3 weeks. The very cool wet pro-longed spring has kept the plants small. Now that the days are warm to down right hot the berries are ripening all at once. One plant will contain 5 to 7 berries of all different sizes but they are all red to almost red. So don't wait long. We hope to see you soon.

Sunday, June 5, 2011

Juneberries!


Well the word is out. Alex Hinckley of Channel 8 News was here today to talk to Gary and I about our Juneberry planting. Thanks to the efforts of Jim Ochterski from Cornell Cooperative Extension of Ontario County and a SARE grant we have a 3/4 acre planting research project for the new super fruit - the Juneberry. Juneberries are sweet and flavorful. They taste like a Blueberry and Sweet Cherry and Almond all at the same time. The bushes are a year old and will bear fruit in June of 2012. Yes, that is a year away but it will be worth the wait. Stay tuned!

On Sunday, June 5, 2011 WROC Channel 8 produced the following news story about juneberries / saskatoons and their emergence as a “superfruit” crop in Upstate New York. Click this link to see the story: http://rochesterhomepage.net/fulltext/?nxd_id=254597

Wednesday, June 1, 2011

Where did the last 30 days go?


Boy have we been busy. Since my last posting we have planted peas, beans, sweet corn, onions, leeks, gladiolas, tomatoes, tomatilloes, peppers, eggplant, cucumbers, pickles, melons, summer squash, zucchini and apple trees. We picked up 18 new hives of Honeybees; took delivery of 10 quads of Bumblebees; are participating in a native pollinator research project with Cornell University. We put up and planted a new high tunnel hoop house for season extension. We have spent countless hours in the tractors plowing, discing, rototilling, mowing, spraying and planting. Some where in all of that time we have managed to eat at least 3 meals a day, sleep at least 5 hours a night and spend quality time with our 6 wonderful dogs on their daily walk. Oh and lets not forget laundry and the dishes. With any luck the stand and you pick will be open in 2 weeks!