The End of a Wonderful Season

One of our irrigation ponds.  Lots of fun for the family!

A few hours of weeding out in the heat today were quite relaxing.  It is so peaceful to hear the gurgle of the drip irrigation on one side, the whirr of the overhead irrigation on the other side, and the laughter of the children as they run through the sprinklers on the way to the irrigation pond for a swim.

What a change from the hectic pace of the strawberry harvest!  As every farmer knows,  harvest time is intense, and fraught with challenges.  Equipment, labor, and weather all have to work in harmony.  Add to that the variability of a U-pick farm, and all of your complex schedules, it is amazing how it all works out.

U-picking mother & daughter in-laws

Thank-you, thank-you, and thank-you, to everyone who came to our farm this year to participate in the harvest in some way.  Some of you picked your own, some of you brought children and grandchildren to learn about the harvest, some of you let us hire your teens as employees, and some of you made it possible for those teens to have a summer job by buying pre-picked berries.

Baby strawberry plants getting ready for the 2014 harvest.

Thank-you so much for checking the website, and arranging your schedules to get here when we were open.  Each year, we plant more strawberries, in the hopes that we will be able to stay open longer so as to be more convenient for you.  Last year we had only one acre, and this year, we had two acres.  We planted enough baby strawberry plants this spring so that next year we should have four acres of strawberries from which to pick. 

If you are on this mailing list, I'll alert you to the start of the strawberry season next summer.  If you have children or grandchildren who really want to come back to the farm for a visit, and can't wait until next summer, send me an e-mail, and we'll try arrange something. 

Enjoying the decorative duck pond by the driveway

U-pickers come in all ages

Teen employees

Strawberry patio

My mom flew in from Ontario to help us out.

My kids on the strawberry wagon

I think it was a tie, and since I'm the blogger, I get the last word:)

Dan and I were just speechless with amazement on Saturday to see all the people who came out after I sent out my e-mail and Facebook plea.  It was awesome.

Thank-you and thank-you and thank-you to all the people who responded.   We run a strawberry farm, and we could pretend that we are in control of our business, but we aren't.  We can control neither supply -- which is weather dependent, nor demand, which is people's schedules dependent.  All we can do is try to make the two meet in the middle. 

At the end of the day, we had 3 unsold flats, and maybe 3 unpicked rows of berries.  Since this has never happened before, Dan thinks he won, but I say it was a tie, because it is better to have a bit left over so that we know that everyone who wanted some, was able to get some, and for once we didn't have to turn people away.  Again, THANK-YOU...and keep coming.  We'll have berries the rest of this week, but after that they may stop producing as it gets too hot, so get them while you can. 

Does Dan Win?

This is it! The season is peaking!  All rows are producing, and we are pulling incredible strawberries out of the field incredibly quickly this morning.  Dan and I have a running contest going to see if he can grow more strawberries than I can sell.  He is feeling pretty smug right now -- thinks he's done it for the first time in 14 years.  I say, 'the day isn't done yet:)'

U-Pick: We need an army of pickers, though!  The wind has blown away the mosquitoes, the sky is overcast so it is not too hot, and it is simply lovely out in the strawberry patch.  Bring a stack of buckets and a camera to show off the fruits of your labor.

Pre-Picked: We also have a lot of extra flats of our incredible variety, Jewel, this morning if you want to pick some up to take them out to the lake.  Call (320)967-4718 or just stop in. 

after the 4th of July

Look at what I picked for the CMCS silent auction!

I hope you all had a fabulous 4th of July holiday.  The strawberries did.  The queen and her court all got down to the serious business of ripening.  All but one of our later season varieties are now ripe and ready for the plucking. Tomorrow there will be fantastic strawberries for you. 

Pre-Picked: We will have a lot of extra strawberry flats tomorrow thanks to all this ripening, so you may call or e-mail to place an order.  We're also taking orders for Saturday and any day next week.

U-Pick Friday: We open at 8 am, I'll post on the website when/if we are sold out for the day.  I don't know yet about Saturday -- things are ripening every time I turn around -- like watching kids grow up -- who can keep track?  I'll post on the website as soon as I know, though, so keep a weather eye on www.brouwerberries.com.

Thanks, Sarah 

Opened for U-Picking

Hello, from Berry Bonanzaville

We pulled a lot more strawberries out of the field the past three days than we anticipated, which bodes well for the next few weeks.  It is so wonderful to see those heavy blossom packs, and the berries swelling with juice from all the moisture we've been receiving. 

Pre-picked:
We are taking orders for Monday-Saturday, for the first three weeks of July.  Just let us know the day you want them, and we'll get them ready for you.  You can call (320)967-4718, e-mail brberries@gmail.com or Facebook Brouwer Berries your order. 

U-Pick:

This was it...drum roll... we opened for U-picking at 8 a.m. on Saturday morning.   I wish I'd taken a picture of all the eager and happy pickers that rolled into our yard in the middle of a brief rainstorm at 7:30 on Saturday morning.  My  husband hasn't been able to stop raving about everyone's great attitude, even as they all got soaked.  We tried to tell people the rain would pass, but they were so impatient to get their hands on the berries that they just took off into the field.  We were able to stay open for U-picking until 10:20, which was great.  It is so wonderful that the fields are producing so well so that there will be enough berries for everyone who wants them.  

 

We plan to be open for U-picking Monday - Saturday the first three weeks of July.  I'll post on the website as soon as we are picked out.  We're only picking out of a 3rd of the field yet, and there will be more queen berries the next few weeks as later varieties ripen.  I will also post plans for future days on the website as soon as I know them, so keep an eye on the website homepage, www.brouwerberries.com

Free Farm Visit:

We love children, and children love it here. If you are picking up a flat of berries, or picking your own, plan for some extra time with your children or grandchildren to visit our little critters.  The children can go right into the cage with the bunnies.  They can watch the waterfall and the goldfish and the ducks in the pond.  They can try hunt down the free range banty hens and the little flock of chicks that follows one of the hens.  You can admire my gazillion perennial gardens that I inherited from my mother-in-law, and you can place bets on how long I'll be able to maintain them:) 

Strawberry pricing and purchasing details

One Flat = @10#  = $35.00

Hello!

We've been pruning and sprucing up, and the farm is beautiful and ready to welcome you... almost!

Pre-Picked:

If you'd like your berries picked for you, we will have about 10 flats available Thursday, Friday, and Saturday.  The strawberries are amazing this year -- enormous and sweet. You may call or e-mail to reserve one of those flats for yourself, first come first served.  Flats will be ready by 10 am, and you can pick them up anytime before dark once your name is on it.  A flat has about 10#, and is $35.00.  I'll e-mail you back to confirm we have a flat for you. You may also place orders for any day in the next three weeks.  I'd recommend reserving flats as soon as possible around the 4th of July. 

U-pick:

We will open either Saturday or Monday for U-picking.  The berry packs look incredible, and there will be fabulous picking.  We have six different varieties this year, which will ripen progressively.  U-pick is $1.65/#.  Please bring your own containers, such as ice cream buckets.  We will weigh your containers for you before you go out to the field. 

U-Pick is first come, first served.  We do not make appointments.  We open at 8 am, and close when we are picked out for the day.  As soon as we are sold out, I will post it on the website, so please check www.brouwerberries.com for current picking conditions. 

Markets:

We will only be able to take strawberries to the markets if we do not sell out at the farm. Thank-you for your understanding. 

Looking forward to welcoming you to our farm,

Sarah
 U-Pick:
 Ice cream buckets would be $8-$10 each, depending on how full they are piled. 

The Fight with the Dragon

The Dragon Whose Name is Lamb's Quarter

In the heat and humidity of the week, I took out an army of fearless teens.  We wore our battle armor -- gardening gloves -- and fought a great fight with the dragon weed whose name is Lamb's Quarter.  Lamb's Quarter, considered edible by some, is our mortal enemy, but we were strong and brave, and we hunted him down until he cried for mercy.  Now, he lies in the hot sun, gasping, and we reign triumphant in the shade, sipping well-earned iced tea. 

The Queen strawberries have rewarded us, their faithful courtiers, by showing some red! My kids collected a handful this morning, and we think we will be able to bid you welcome to our Kingdom of Strawberries July 1, or possibly late next week, to collect the jewels of the realm:)

From the Captain of the Infantry,

Sarah