Blueberries

Dear Blueberry Fans,

We were up in the earliest of blueberry rows this morning testing out the berries. OMG, the berries are large and extremely tasty. As a matter of fact the taste testing got a bit out of control. Let's just say I have enough antioxidants to last the week! We will open for picking this Saturday 6/22 from 9-5. The plan is to be open for picking Saturdays and Wednesdays. This will give the plants time to recoup between picking days. Our price this season will be $3.25 per pound. You can bring your own containers if you like. Come early. Depending on how many folks stop by, the currently ripe crop could be quickly picked out. Please pick all the ripe berries you can find on one bush before moving on to another. This is important for the plants' health and continued productivity. Pick only the darkest berries that give to the touch. Blueberries will not continue to ripen once they're picked.

The raccoon battle continues. The coyote urine has seemingly had little affect yet. The have-a heart trap we've purchased has, so far, been used for the raccoons amusement. It looks like they play the game of "Let's figure out how to get the bait without getting caught"! They are three for three. Early this morning at 12:30am we heard screaming coming from the chicken area. I staggered out to find Big Red the rooster literally tangled up in the electric fence getting a shock pulsing about every 2 seconds. He had obviously been running for his life. I had to cut the fence to free him. He seems fine today. I thought all the chickens were inside under lock and key, but I missed him some how. My Dad's wife Joyce said, "no offense, but it sounds like we could have a new reality show called, "Are You Smarter Than a Raccoon". Could be perfect for Jeff Foxworthy's newest hosting job.

The saga continues.

Vicky and Steve

Farm Update

Hi Everyone,

Things have been pretty busy on the farm. Much of the time battling these *%^#!! raccoons. I went up to the chicken barn two evenings ago to close things up for the night and surprised a raccoon eating out of one of the feed bags, In BROAD DAYLIGHT! We have found a product that is guaranteed to rid ourselves of the varmints. It's totally organic and will not harm them in any way. It's coyote urine in pellet form. We should have it today or tomorrow. I can't wait to get it down and see what happens. Once the raccoons realize that this is coyote territory they will move to a different area. We unhooked the electric from the fence I moved to the strawberries and hooked it back on the chicken fence after I saw a raccoon one night in the chicken yard. So that night the chickens were fine, but the ripe strawberries were eaten again. It's unbelievable! I hope the coyote pee works. Human pee didn't.....that's all I'm saying.

Asparagus is still coming, although slowing down a bit, along with the salad greens and we still have some garlic scapes to cut before we pull the garlic. We have pulled a couple of garlic plants up and the garlic bulbs look really good. Vicky is actually making sauce as I write this using some of the "Music" garlic. We will start pulling some the end of the week and hang it in the barn to dry a bit before we sell it. We should be good to go with it by the end of the month. The early blueberries are beginning to get that blue hue to them. We're hoping they will be ready for picking in another two weeks. We'll keep you posted.

We have decided to raise some broilers (chickens for meat) again this year. The first batch will be ready mid-July. Then we will have some every three or four weeks through the fall.

The 50 new 18 week old egg layers that we just purchased from Cedar Day Springs Farm in Bel Air are slowly settling in. The older residents in the coops don't take kindly to the new young ladies moving in on their territory. However our rooster "Big Red" loves it!

Vicky and Steve

This week

Hi Everyone,

Well, the strawberry caper has been solved. Why weren't we getting any strawberries? It wasn't the plants. It wasn't the weather. It certainly wasn't the farmer. It was RACCOONS!!
After all the rain and wet weather last week, I was out checking on everything and saw, what seemed like, thousands of footprints around the strawberry patch. I googled raccoon footprints and sure enough Mr. and Mrs. Rocky Raccoon were having themselves a nightly feast of our strawberries. We have moved some of the electric chicken fencing over to surround the strawberries. I'm sure Rocky and Rockette were in for a literal shock when they went to dine two nights ago. In the last two days we can see strawberries again on the plants. It's to late to share, as there won't be a full bounty at this point, but at least the questions have been answered.

This week we have available a nice mild salad mix and garlic scapes; those lovely shoots the garlic plant pops out a couple of weeks before the garlic bulb is ready to pull out of the ground. They are strange looking, but have a delightful mild garlic taste that you can chop up for just about any dish or salad.

We are picking up a number of pullets (18 week old chickens that are ready to start laying) in the next couple of days to add to our laying chicken numbers to keep those eggs comin'.

We planted another 400 onion plants and 50 sweet potato plants yesterday. We have 50 more sweet potato plants still to come and be planted. Herbs, peppers, cucumbers, beets, beans, squash, potatoes and tomatoes are off to a good start. Blueberries and garlic should be the next to be ready.

The farm looks so nice this time of year. Everything is still green and growing with few weeds to ruin the picture.

Vicky and Steve

Farm Update

Hi All,

We have some bad news. Some very bad news. News so bad that it's nearly impossible for me to type the bad news message. Here goes......Our strawberries have failed. The new plants we planted in the fall started out gangbusters and look good, but just aren't producing many berries and the berries that they are producing the birds are thoroughly enjoying. We are getting a few, but not enough to invite you all to come for strawberries. We are very disappointed, but welcome to farming. Was it the weird spring weather? Was it the different varieties we were trying for the first time? We'll, of course, try to figure it out.

So for now we still have asparagus, arugula, salad mix and spinach. We have had a lot of takers on the chive plants and we hope they work out for you. They're very hardy plants and as many have commented,"they're huge!"

Most everything has been planted now and with this nice rain we're having this evening, the seeds and small plants should have a nice start. I'm hesitant to say how good the blueberries look, but many of the bushes are loaded with young green berries.

We have decided to raise chickens for meat again this year. We will only be offering whole chickens though. If you're interested in purchasing a bulk order of chicken, please let us know how many you may want. That will help with ordering the birds. For those that just want to purchase chicken when they need it, we will have plenty of birds for you as well. We will do what we have done in the past and have the fresh chicken weekends when they first come back from the processor before they go in our freezers. The first 100 chicks arrive on the 31st. They will be available mid July. We trying to keep our price the same as it's been at $3.99 per pound.

We will be in and out all weekend so we have set everything up for self serve. If there is nothing in the cooler behind one of the signs, that means we are out of that item until Monday or Tuesday.

Have a great weekend!

Vicky and Steve

Farm Update

Hi Everyone,

Thought it was about time for an update. It's been awhile. It's been a busy week planting all the summer goodies. By tomorrow evening, if all goes well, we will have in the ground; potatoes, cucumbers, green beans, pole beans, tomatoes, summer squash, sweet corn and beets. Our sweet potato slips should arrive any day for planting. The asparagus is still coming and we have some salad greens and arugula available. We've been getting some calls about our strawberries and they're getting there. We're getting a few ripe berries now, but it will be another week or so to open the new field for picking. The blueberries are blossoming well and the garlic...Holy Cow! The garlic plants this year are huge! We are keeping all of our herbs together in one plot this year so some of the many gorgeous chive plants had to go. If you're interested in a chive plant or four please stop by soon and you can take your pick before they go in the compost pile. We have chives, oregano and thyme available now. Along with those we have planted parsley, basil, tarragon, and rosemary. They smell so good! It would be nice to have an in-house herb garden so you could smell them all year round!

We'll be placing some of the available produce in the egg cooler so you can self serve those items as well. That doesn't mean we don't want to chat or help you if you need it and don't be afraid to honk your horn. We just know that some like to "grab and go"!

Have a nice Memorial Day weekend if we don't see you before.

Vicky and Steve

Farm Update

Hi Everyone,

Just a quick update on what's happenin' down on the farm.

The asparagus is quite steady now.  We're getting 2-3 pounds a day.  It's $4.50 per pound.  We also have chives which wintered over as did the french thyme and oregano.  Chives are $3 for a big bunch and the thyme and oregano $1.50 for a nice amount.  As you can see the blueberries are blossoming, the garlic is doing well and the strawberries are about 3 weeks away.

Vicky and Steve

Asparagus Finally!

Finally, we are beginning to get some asparagus! It is a month later than normal! It is just starting so we are getting a limited amount. Before you come to the farm to get some, I would suggest you call first 410-215-6776 just to make sure we have some available. Vicky and I have been eating it for the last week. It's organic and delicious. $4.50 per pound.

Steve